What should proposed justice center look like?
When county officials and the public decide just how much to spend on a proposed justice center, they should probably take a look at those who will use it most — the county’s prison population.
That’s the advice two consultants gave the public last week at a meeting on the proposed justice center, as they outlined the challenges facing the county’s legal system, including the constant problem of a county jail that is almost always full.
The idea of a new justice center is still very much in the planning stages, and whether the public wants to fund such a facility is still up in the air, but county law enforcement and legal officials are all in agreement that something needs to be done with the current courthouse and jail.
Legal representatives, including district court judges, county attorneys and Sheriff’s office employees have been meeting over the past few months to discuss the idea of building a new justice center, and last Thursday’s presentation by Diane Moore and Kevin Warwick largely confirmed what they already know — that the county’s legal system is struggling to keep pace with a prison population that is continually growing.
And that often means lower level offenders are routinely turned away from the county jail, or left to navigate a judicial system that has a hard time providing intermediate solutions to sentencing and parole requirements.
“All you have is aspirin or intensive care,” said Warwick, who, along with Moore, are consultants with the National Institute of Corrections.
Moore and Warwick travel the country providing feedback and design ideas to counties and cities of all shapes and sizes, that are building new prisons and justice centers, and Lake County is experiencing many of the problems they see nationwide, they said.
The problem is varied, but boils down to the fact that while judges can hand down a variety of sentencing options, the county jail — and local parole officers and law enforcement agencies — often struggle to meet the sentencing requirements of the varied prisoners they are required to handle.
While the county jail has several tiers to handle minimum, medium, and maximum-security prisoners, it lacks facilities to process the greater variety of prisoners local law enforcement encounters, the consultants said.
Some of those prisoners have constant medical needs, some of them might benefit from halfway houses, and many of them might benefit from a “day reporting facility,” for example, in which lower level offenders can serve their time without taking up valuable bed space — all options the county can’t currently offer.
After analyzing the jail and courthouse system and interviewing key players last month, Warwick and Moore noted what all local law enforcement officials have routinely struggled with — in order to book one prisoner in, one often has to be let out.
“You’re at max all the time. You have to let somebody go because you have somebody worse coming in,” Moore said. “All of the decisions [about who to house in the jail] are predicated on the fact that your jail is always full.”
Newer prison designs have popped up around the country to meet the changing inmate needs, which include medical, offender history, and sentencing stipulations, but the county jail is very limited in the types of inmates it can handle, and the overall judicial system is tied because of that, Warwick noted, hence his analogy about the aspirin or intensive care.
In other words, it’s all or nothing, with little middle ground to serve those convicted of crimes who might be able to meet their sentencing requirements by coming to the jail during the day and leaving in the evening, for example, or for those who routinely require medical attention.
The current jail, built in 1974, doesn’t have an in-house medical lockdown facility, so Sheriff’s deputies and detention officers routinely transport prisoners to St. Joseph and St. Luke hospitals, whereas a new facility could enhance public safety and reduce staffing burdens by incorporating a special section for just those types of prisoners.
Prisoners with chronic medical problems is just one area that a new justice center could resolve, the consultants noted. The larger issue is meeting the needs of the entire population convicted of various crimes, many of whom aren’t necessarily sentenced to prison time, Warwick noted.
The county is having problems with even allowing people to serve their time, since the county jail provides limited options, and is constantly full, the consultants said. According to data they provided, the county has had to turn away some 600 prisoners since 2000, although they emphasized a firm number was not available.
Any new jail, and overall justice center being planned, should focus on hard data, the consultants said — essentially, an analysis of exactly the types of prisoners being served, but with room to grow. And while their presentation didn’t focus as much on courtroom space and other factors, they said getting input from everyone involved will address these issues.
However, time is of the essence. Rising construction costs are forcing cost overruns at new prisons around the country, and the longer the county waits before proceeding, the more it’s going to cost, Moore emphasized.
“You’ve reached a critical mass point, so you’ve got to be creative,” she said. “Time is working against you as far as construction costs.”
Among their recommendations:
— Form a long-term Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to discuss ongoing issues, even after a new justice center is built, if it comes to fruition;
— Conduct a formal needs assessment to evaluate future space, program and staffing needs;
— Develop a mid and long-term strategy to plan for future jail “bed” needs (i.e., identify what types of prisoners the county will have to house well into the future);
— Educate the public about problems in the judicial system, such as a lack of courtroom space, jail overcrowding, staffing levels, and funding issues;
— And start a serious discussion about funding options, and include the public in that.
The consultants noted that a variety of state and federal funding options such as grants can help, but the consensus is that most of any new facility will have to be funded by taxpayers, and it’s going to cost well into the millions. However, by identifying the specific populations served, data can drive just what type of justice center is best for Lake County, Moore said.
“What fits for you? What works for Kevin’s county or my county or Missoula doesn’t necessarily work here,” she noted.
“The idea is ‘pay me now or pay me later.’ This building is not set up to deal with the needs of the community. It’s not just the jail, it’s the whole justice center,” Warwick said. “The train is coming down the tracks.”