Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jan 2005
Source: Chelsea Standard, The (MI)
Copyright: 2005 Heritage Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.chelseastandard.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3666
Author: Maria Sprow, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

VOTERS TO DECIDE ON JAIL, PUBLIC SAFETY MILLAGE

Washtenaw County Jail Cmdr. Kirk Filsinger sat at his desk last week
and made a statement most leaders wouldn't want to admit.

He said the Washtenaw County Jail is broken. And he needs voters to
fix it Feb. 22, when they head to the polls to vote on Proposal A, a
0.75-mill, 20-year tax that would expand the jail.

If approved, the millage also would increase mental health services
within the jail, fund construction of a new 14A District Court House
attached to the jail and increase reintegration services.

It would cost $75 a year for the owner of a home valued at $200,000
with a state equalized value of $100,000.

Those in favor of the millage list dozens of reasons why such measures
are needed. Those reasons primarily include daily overcrowding at the
county jail, security risks with the current courthouse and the need
for mental health services and police training.

In addition, supporters believe that having an overcrowded jail makes
other programs, including drug rehabilitation, ineffective because
many of those arrested realize they will receive, in most cases, an
early release from jail as a result of overcrowding.

"The reality is -- and the word on the street is -- pick jail (over drug
treatment) because you're going to get released in 30 days," Filsinger
said.

He added that an overcrowded jail is an ineffective jail.

While Filsinger shows off one part of the jail during a tour of the
facility, an inmate, acting like an old friend, tells him this is his
last time in jail. In fact, he swears to it.

Filsinger asks how many times he has been in before, and the inmate
alludes to this being his fourth, fifth or maybe sixth stay.

"People with six, seven probation violations continue to get released
early," Filsinger said.

Critics of the millage, however, believe the new tax will be spent
unwisely on more beds. Jail officials plan to add about 200 new beds
in the next 10 years.

"What is a jail for? A jail is for protecting society by locking up
dangerous people," said attorney Kim Easter, who was participating
Monday in a town hall debate about the millage request.

"Many people in our jail are not dangerous," she said. "We have to
decide as a community if it's worth raising these millions of dollars
in order to house people who may not be dangerous."

Sheriff Dan Minzey said voters have to ask themselves who should go to
jail and who should not. Currently, he said, many of those who commit
misdemeanors and non-violent crimes do not.

"I like to ask people, 'If someone came and stole something from your
store, should they be locked up? If someone committed a misdemeanor
assault, should they be locked up?'" he said. "The way we are headed,
we are saying no."

The jail expansion would include demolishing existing housing units
and developing two larger units, each holding 80 to 96 beds in their
place. The proposal also would include building a new intake unit with
80 to 96 beds, as well as housing for special-needs inmates.

While walking through the jail last Thursday, a visitor would have
seen about 30 cots on the jail's gym floor. The gym hasn't been used
for exercise in two years, Filsinger said.

"If all (cells) were full, we would have 332 inmates," he said. "We
have 356 here today and 23 who are housed in other counties."

Opponents of the millage, such as the No Giant Jail Committee, which
was spearheaded, in part, by Scio Township Trustee Charles Ream,
believe many of those inmates may not belong in jail.

They say incarceration is not the answer to substance abuse, and
several of the inmates housed at the county jail are there for drug
problems and crimes. They also think the county could save money by
cutting down on its marijuana testing and spend the money on other
programs.

The committee's sticking points include data showing that arrests in
the county have dropped 26 percent between 1997 and 2003. It asks why
more space is needed if arrests have dropped.

Filsinger said more space is needed because many of the crimes
occurring in Washtenaw County are more violent.

The No Giant Jail Committee also asks why $264 million in taxpayer
money from the millage should go toward operational costs.

Proponents said covering operational costs is necessary to properly
execute expansion plans.

The committee also accuses supporters of Proposal A of trying to sneak
its way into passage.

At the town hall debate, County Commissioner Leah Gunn, D-Ann Arbor,
said officials from several townships asked the Board of Commissioners
to delay putting Proposal A on the ballot in November.

"There were officials in townships who asked us, begged us, not to put
it on the ballot because they had their own public safety millages,"
Gunn said.

Though opponents have dubbed the millage a "jail millage," supporters
say the jail expansion is just one part of a multi-tier plan to fix a
broken system.

"It encompasses all aspects of the jail system," Filsinger said. "It's
a public safety millage."

Filsinger added that the county has an obligation to have a jail that
is not overcrowded. If the millage does not pass, he said, the jail
will still need more beds, and the county may have to cut as many as
200 positions to pay for them.

Still, other necessary components of the millage would go undeveloped,
he said.

As part of the millage, a new courthouse with three rooms, including a
larger room for jury trials, would be built where Huron Valley
Ambulance is now housed. Filsinger said the new courthouse is
necessary because of safety concerns with the current courthouse.

"You will find that the majority of people who have died on duty have
died transporting people," Filsinger said.

There have been more than 60 security issues at the district court
office in the last year, Filsinger said. Some stem from transport,
while others result when the county brings victims and suspects
together in close quarters.

A probationary residential center, where inmates would be allowed to
leave during the day to go to work, also would be constructed on the
premises.

"You leave jail and you go back to your old lifestyle," Filsinger
said. "This will provide a structure to re-integrate (inmates) into
society."

In addition, the millage would help fund police training related to
identifying the mentally ill. The training also will make officers
more aware of other resources available to help the mentally ill,
which would keep some out of the court system, Filsinger said.

It's estimated that about 25 percent of Washtenaw County inmates
suffer from a mental illness, he said.

Even taking the other parts of the millage into consideration, passing
Proposal A could be difficult. Not only are there opponents, such as
Easter, who do not believe a jail expansion is necessary, but there
are others who, given millages that passed in November, may not want
to see anymore of their hard-earned money leave their pocketbooks.

"It appears that we have less support from some of the more rural and
outlying communities," Filsinger said, adding that problems with the
jail system are often seen as a city problem.

"But, ultimately, if you have bad guys out on the street, they are
going to migrate toward those areas." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake