Cells oversold

Do we need another megajail when the crime rates are going down?

And why are they going down? The major reason is that the population is aging. Most street crime is perpetrated by males age 14 to 25. That demographic is shrinking.

But Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich started selling the county commissioners on a big, brand new jail almost three years ago. He apparently thought crime and criminals would increase like they always had. The U.S. is a nation that has over two million people in jails and prisons. That is more than any other nation on both a per-capita basis and in actual number.

After all that study and research they planned a vote on the $265 million jail in April of this year. Now they are jerking the voters around and cutting the total cost by $66 million. And they can’t seem to decide whether to put it on the ballot in August or November. They have yet to ask the plan commission for an emergency change in the comprehensive plan to locate the urban sprawl jail. Are they serious?

Shouldn’t they work to keep more people out of jail? The city does.

Bart Haggin

Spokane