By Drew Johnson
Corrections1 Editor
SEATTLE — While corrections officers and prison administrators around the country struggle with the persistent problem of overcrowding, several jails in Washington State are facing a much different dilemma.
Jails in King County, Washington are suffering from too much empty space, according to a recent Seattle Times report.
The problem has arisen because of a policy that required cities within the county to send their misdemeanor inmates to nearby, cheaper, facilities. Now King County jails are competing with others to house inmates, the Times reports. And competition is tough.
Nearby Snohomish County charges just over half what King County charges per prisoner each day. King County officials are considering whether to lower their daily charge per prisoner in a bid to attract offenders back to their jails.
The glut of space marks a big change from 2002, when the average daily inmate population in the county was so high that officials told neighboring counties they had to remove their misdemeanor inmates from King County lockups so taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay for their incarceration.
King County Council legislative analyst Clifton Curry told the Times the county’s inmate population has slid partly because it has invested in drug and mental-health courts that emphasize treatment over incarceration.
One has to wonder what all this means for local corrections staff, many of whom are already struggling because of budget cuts in Washington.
The King County Corrections Guild has warned that eliminating too many officer positions would jeopardize the safety of officers, inmates and the public, the Times article said.
Let’s hope that, for King County officers, fewer inmates doesn’t automatically mean fewer jobs.
Read the full article at the Seattle Times.