And it is going to be a big-ass jail, too.
The adult inmate population bed requirements anticipated in the future are 844 beds in 2015; 1,180 beds in 2025; and 2,450 beds in 2050. These estimates are based on the projected growth of the inmate population in Whatcom County (Omni 2008).
From the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Jail-zilla.
Okay, lets see if I can give you a sense of how big Jail-zilla will be...
Go to the Bellis Fair Mall.
Jail-zilla will be bigger than that.
And Phase One of the Jail-zilla Project will cost County Tax Payers a paltry $140 million dollars.
That $140 million is a down payment. That gets us the initial 844 bed facility. The 2,450 bed Phase will probably cost a bit more.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the current Average Daily Population of the County Jail is 431. In less than five years, Jail-zilla's Phase One project will have double that many beds. But the population of Whatcom County isn't going to double.
So, the County's inmate population is going to have to just skyrocket in order to fill up Jail-zilla.
And I have no idea how we are going to fill up Phase Three of the Jail-zilla Project. We would need about... six times the population we have now... about... one and a half million people living in Whatcom County?
Wow.
That... doesn't sound right at all.
Why do we need such a big-ass jail? What kind of people are we expecting to move to Whatcom County in the years to come?
Oh, and based on the DEIS, it's too much jail or nothing.
No option for a jail that would scale to meet any accepted population projections for Whatcom County into 2050.
Here is the link to the County Page where the DEIS can be downloaded.
This 230+ page document is online now.
Get your readin' spectacles and bone up on your speed reading methods, because you have until the 19th of November to make a comment on this document.
Get the County's attention while you can.
Apex asks, "What kind of people are we expecting to move to Whatcom County in the years to come?
ReplyDeleteZombies, lots of them. And because they stay alive the jail has to be extra big and everyone knows that zombies do not respond well to rehab, diversion sentencing or alternative corrections.
I looked: it's jail-zilla or a crime spree. Either way we face a bleak future.
ReplyDeleteIsn't growth grand?
ReplyDeleteAnon 3 - oddly, the numbers aren't going up relative to population growth. They are moving from 0.2% of today's population locked up to 0.4% locked up in 2015, to 0.78% locked up in 2050. That's 0.78% of the increased numbers!
ReplyDeleteApparently all of our growth will be criminal types.
Exactly my point. Higher population densities are more likely to result in higher per capita crime rates.
ReplyDeleteIn 1992, Helen Ladd studied "Population Growth, Density, & the Costs of Providing Public Services."
She found that density increases up to 250 people per square mile (ppsm) resulted in lower per capita costs for public safety.
However, once density exceeded 250 ppsm, per capita public safety costs increased. For example, she found the per capita cost at 2400 ppsm was roughly 50% greater than at 250 ppsm.
I believe Whatcom County will experience more per capita incarceration as the county's population and density increases.
As I said, ain't growth grand?
How about a water boarding facility for white collar criminals / Council members? I would pay extra taxes for that!
ReplyDeleteWhy is everyone here "anonymous"?
ReplyDeleteKen,
ReplyDeleteLatte Republic visitors, just like people who visit Sam Taylor's political blogs, can choose to remain anonymous when they post.
We also have commenters that post under their own name.
Ken, it's easier and there are a lot of trolls laying for Ms E.
ReplyDeleteWhatcom county defers a lot of jail time, now we can have them longer and so it will be more expensive and require more personnel. Good for employment right?
Forget that shorter sentences mean most people, who respond to only a short time in jail, will lose less work time, be more likely to be rehabilitated, rather than hardened and angered by excessive punishment, and cost us the taxpayer less. This is all a money grab for the local police state.
Waterboarding, (torture) of anyone is not funny except to those with the intelligence of unaware children
ReplyDeleteI agree. Torture is never funny. So, why do we continue to incarcerate vetrans suffering from Post Trumatic Syndrome and individuals who are mentally ill?
ReplyDeleteOur progressive society has turned "jails" into mental health facilities with guards and bars.
Waterboarding is USA American Military policy.
ReplyDeleteLearn to love it.
Who said it was funny? Are you some kind of comedian? Saying waterboarding is not funny is not funny either.