Public discussion necessary

Those of us involved with Spokane County Detention Service Project commitment to improve our criminal justice system welcome the high level of community interest and comment. A robust public discussion is required to create the right solutions for this important public safety initiative.

But constructive dialogue requires accurate information. Recent letters regarding efforts to create a program-driven community corrections center and build a replacement for the Geiger Corrections Center, an unsafe facility never designed to be a jail, have tried to advance individual agendas with incorrect and misleading statements.

Here are the facts:

• The Sheriff’s Office and all three county commissioners support programs designed to stop people from returning to jail.

• Drug and alcohol treatment, cognitive programs, work search, education, parenting and life skills, and responsible re-entry programs were implemented a year ago and will continue.

• The jail was built for 462 inmates; we struggle daily to safely and securely house up to 700 offenders in an overcrowded environment.

• Recent reductions in the number of inmates have not eliminated overcrowding.

• Waiting will not solve this problem. The Geiger lease expires in 2013.

More information is available at www.spokanecounty.org/JEP. We look forward to everyone’s continued interest.

Michael Sparber

Jail project manager

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office

Spokane