No New Jail
(Without significant reforms first, and it MUST be intended for lower capacity.)
Local Organizations Request Additional Early Release & Reduced Custody In Spokane County Jail As Public Health Protection During Covid -19 Pandemic - READ MORE
The New Jail proposal and the unintended consequences of COVID-19
Published June 7, 2020 by Curtis Hampton
There are very few positive consequences of COVID-19. But with the implementation of social-distancing, the Spokane County Jail population has shrunk by approximately 400 people, these type numbers have not been seen in over 25 years. One of the primary concerns prior to release was if these individuals in question would pose a public-safety risk.
Simply put, we have released the very people that Smart Justice reformers have long been saying we should release – mostly pre-trial defendants charged with nonviolent crimes who have failed to show up for a previous court appearance – and the sky has not fallen.
Research shows: pre-trial incarceration of people facing nonviolent charges, many of whom remain in jail only because they can’t make bail, is expensive, unfair and ineffective, and it can be replaced in many cases with community supervision without endangering the public.
The current narrative is whether to build a new jail at some point, perhaps later this year. That conversation comes on the heels of years of research and recommendations from two inter-related efforts to study the system. Both have focused on reducing the jail population through an expansion of community supervision programs for low-level, pre-trial offenders.
Currently, hundreds of people are now back with their loved ones and if not for the virus, they would still be in jail – and the sky has not fallen because they are back in our communities.
Activist have long argued that these individuals shouldn’t be jailed in the first place. The MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge, meant to study the system and find ways to reduce the jail population. The county has hired the JFA Institute to study the population and produce projections and recommendations.
Both efforts suggest that we could drop the jail population by hundreds, rely more on community supervision and supportive services, at much less cost than jailing people.
The coronavirus shows us that, when it comes to cash bail, the system is simply out of touch. There is no public safety rationale behind letting someone go if they can come up with $2,000 or $5,000 or $10,000 or even $50,000 – and keeping someone locked up only because they can’t afford bail.
Spokane County is currently considering using federal coronavirus relief money to increase jail capacity with temporary structures.
Federal money given to Spokane County to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic could be spent to expand jail capacity in the county, under a plan under consideration by county commissioners.
The proposal to erect temporary jail buildings meant to last at least 15 years was under consideration in Spokane County even before the coronavirus became a problem in Washington.
But jail officials now argue the units should be paid for with money provided by Congress through Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act funding because the extra space would allow them to keep inmates farther apart during the pandemic.
The Spokane County Jail has been overcrowded for decades and normally has between 900 and 1,000 inmates in custody between the downtown jail and the Geiger Corrections Center on the West Plains.
After COVID-19 cases were detected in Spokane County, the jail population was reduced significantly to allow inmates to social distance while incarcerated. Judges allowed inmates with low bonds, misdemeanor arrests and health conditions to be released.
Detention Services Director Mike Sparber and jail staff asked the county commissioners to consider using a portion of the $90 million the county received for COVID-19 response and recovery on fabric buildings, known as Sprung Structures. In interviews, Commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French said they were considering the proposal but had not made a decision.
Finally, after many years of framing the discussion around jail overcrowding and the need for a bigger and better jail. The data from independent consultants suggest we will find greater value by investing in reform, community supervision and supportive services, at much less cost than jailing people.
If we continue to proceed as we have always done, then it’s inevitable that we will need to build a new jail that will cost Spokane citizens millions of unnecessary dollars.
No New Jail without Reform – No disguised Temporary Structures under the guise of COVID-19.
No New Jail—Talking Points
SYSTEMIC ISSUES
1) REFORM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM RATHER THAN REINFORCE IT.
Explanation: There is broad agreement, both locally and nationally, that several aspects of the criminal justice system are dysfunctional. Spending millions of dollars on a new and bigger jail invests in those dysfunctions.
2) A NEW AND BIGGER JAIL WOULD REINFORCE THE PROBLEM OF MASS INCARCERATION.
Explanation: “If we build it, the system will fill it,” for it is the nature of systems to fill vacuums. By building a bigger jail we would perpetuate and exacerbate a broken system.
3) INCREASING COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES WILL REDUCE INCARCERATION RATES.
Explanation: In February Spokane City Police made a presentation of a diversion program to the SRLJC, which illustrates this important point. The Jail Diversion Unit created in cooperation with Frontier Behavioral Health has already proven effective in reducing incarceration and increasing police productivity by redirecting people with mental health issues to treatment, rather than punishment.
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
4) A NEW JAIL WOULD EXTEND AND PERHAPS INCREASE THE BAIL PROBLEM; FIX THE BAIL PROBLEM AND THERE WILL BE MANY UNOCCUPIED BEDS IN THE COUNTY JAIL.
Explanation: Spokane has the 2nd highest percentage of people currently in jail held without bail. That percentage is 77%. To state the obvious, these people are presumed innocent, but they cannot afford bail. Spending time in prison creates hardship for these members of society, their families, and their employers. By incarcerating these innocent poor people, we jeopardize their employment, strain marriages and other relationships, and potentially separate them from their children. Going to trial wearing a prison jumpsuit increases the chance of being found guilty. Wasting months in jail motivates individuals to accept a plea bargain, even when innocent.
5) ELIMINATE OR REDUCE THE NUMBER OF BEDS RENTED TO FEDERAL AGENCIES IN ORDER TO REDUCE OVERCROWDING.
Explanation: Part of the overcrowding in the current jail is caused by the County Commissioner’s decision to rent beds to Federal law enforcement agencies. The overpopulation puts incarcerated humans at greater risk and further dehumanizes incarcerated persons.
6) USE COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AND FREE UP APPROXIMATELY 300 BEDS.
Explanation: As reported in the Spokesman Review recently, Spokane is underutilizing community services, which results in greater expense for our criminal justice system. Free up beds AND save money at the same time!
EQUITY AND JUSTICE ISSUES
7) A BIGGER JAIL WITHOUT REFORMS WILL COMPOUND RACISM.
Explanation: Whatever the intent of individuals, the results of our current criminal justice system are racist. A bigger jail will only perpetuate the racial disparities we are trying to eliminate.
8) RESTORATIVE JUSTICE REQUIRES SMALLER JAILS, NOT LARGER ONES.
Explanation: Punitive justice is not justice, but has become a means for our government to dehumanize its citizens. Criminal justice reform restores citizens to contribute to the greater good. Spokane School District is beginning to demonstrate the benefits of practicing restorative justice.
For more information contact Pastor Walter Kendricks at (509) 534-4878