Jail query: not where, why

On Dec. 10 I attended a Spokane County workshop for public comment on the siting of the new jail. The audience’s conversation quickly turned from siting the jail to rejection of the new jail. Most testimony was not NIMBYism but rather about changing our system to negate the need for a new jail.

Discussion included mental health care, substance abuse treatment, community service, streamlined processes, alternatives to jail sentences and better schools. Seventy-seven percent of cases in Spokane District Court go to jail; nationwide it is 23 percent.

The U.S. has the highest per capita incarceration rate in the whole world. At the same time, violent crime in the U.S. is decreasing. Jails have not solved the 40-year war on drugs. Washington state is shutting down prisons. We need to look at our system in this county and reduce our jail population, not build a new jail.

Stevens County turned down their most recent ballot for a new jail 2-1. From the testimony at the hearing last night, I expect the same will happen here in Spokane County when the new jail is put on the ballot.

Linda Krogh

Spokane