It is difficult to engender public empathy for inmates. Those incarcerated in the Clark County Jail likely landed there through their own actions, meaning that complaints about safety or overcrowding or a lack of services often are regarded as the price one pays for endangering the public.
But as Clark County ponders how to deal with an increasingly outdated jail, allow us for a moment to turn that discussion around. Allow us to look at the issue from the perspective of the corrections officers who play an important role in protecting the public from criminals.
If a jail is unsafe for inmates and poorly serves their needs, it also is unsafe for deputies who work there. And that should be of concern for taxpayers who pay the social and economic costs associated with an inadequate jail. Having appropriate space and services is not a matter of creating a country-club experience for inmates, despite public opinion that often embraces that trope; it is a matter of creating an acceptable work space for deputies and reducing recidivism. In the process, it speaks to our values as a community.
Those are the issues facing Clark County officials as they ponder the future of a jail built in 1984. The jail was constructed with space for 300 beds, but by 2015 there was a daily average of 700 inmates. A report last year by consultant DLR Group suggested that the facility will require about 1,200 beds by 2036, and that much of the interior needs to be replaced — including plumbing and electrical systems.
Various options for upgrading the facility ran from $63 million to $284 million, leading Corrections Chief Ric Bishop to say, “I know I had sticker shock.” Many Clark County residents likely had the same reaction, but as Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt told The Columbian, “We need to have a conversation with the community about what happens in the jail.”
That conversation can begin with recommendations from the consulting group (http://tinyurl.com/l9fffme). It can continue with input from the public and recognition that a county jail is important to public safety.
Such safety is compromised when an overcrowded jail leads to the early release of large numbers of inmates or limits the services that help keep offenders from becoming re-offenders. As a recent series by Columbian reporter Jake Thomas detailed, overcrowding contributes to inadequate mental health services, limits the time that inmates can meet with lawyers or social workers, and leads to delays in booking and court proceedings. As Bishop noted, delayed booking slows down arresting officers and keeps them off the streets.
While the price tag for an upgraded jail can lead to sticker shock, so can the cost of an outdated jail. The report from DLR Group warned that the current facility could leave the county open to lawsuits from inmates, and jail officials say additional crowding could lead to shipping inmates to other counties such as Yakima. Not only would that be costly for the county, but it would remove inmates from local support systems that are essential to preventing recidivism.
Limiting repeat offenses must remain the primary goal of our criminal justice system. There is a reason our society refers to “corrections” rather than “punishment,” and that is because we believe that all but the most hardened criminals can become contributing members of society.
In helping them to make that transition, it is essential to have a jail that meets the needs of inmates, the public and corrections officers.
