The Gang of Four has no clue about what kind of jail facilities we need | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    In all the debate about building a new jail what may be the most important issue has gone completely un-noticed by the people proposing to spend twenty million dollars or so. Generally stated, that issue is: Alternatives to incarceration.

    Hood Richardson has mentioned this several times but not one of those pushing to build a new jail has even acknowledged that it is an issue that needs thorough attention. The Jail Committee has blindly accepted a bogus population projection from a group that stands to make more money the larger the jail is, if it is ever built.

    Simply put, the Gang of Four, as well as Judge Wayland Sermons and Sheriff Alan Jordan, have no clue about what kind of jail is needed, or even whether the current jail is sufficient. They have no clue because they have not compiled the data to determine what the need is.

    Anyone with common sense knows that not all inmates incarcerated in the county jail are the same. Their characteristics range from dangerous, violent sociopaths to non-violent people who are actually in jail simply because they don't have enough money to keep from being locked up. Some of those are deadbeat parents not paying child support, some of whom have committed only the crime of being laid off their job. Others are there because they can't post bond. But we suspect the largest segment is there because they got tangled up with dope or driving while impaired.

    We don't know the characteristics of the jail population  -  either today or over time. The county does not assess the inmates and there are no records that would allow anyone to determine what the actual "need" is. But what we suspect is that a substantial part of the inmate population over time are people who have addiction problems and need help. Another batch is probably people with mental health problems. The question we should be debating is whether all of these people should be lumped together with all the other inmates in one facility and all treated the same.

    Rather than build a larger jail, why has the Gang of Four not first considered if there is a more effective ways to deal with the larger segments of the jail population. Maybe some should be housed in a treatment facility rather than in a lockup with violent criminals. Maybe some should be housed in a "minimum custody" dormitory like facility. And maybe some of these may should be housed at home, under electronic monitoring. Perhaps some of these should be housed in a "tent city" like Sheriff Joe Arpaio uses, or a "work farm" as was used years ago in some counties. We don't know. But the point is that neither does the Gang of Four. They simply have not taken the trouble to even try to find out what we really need in terms of custody for criminals in the county.

    What we do know is that the needs of the inmates are not all the same. Some need to be in maximum security, perhaps in isolation. Others need mental health treatment. Some, like Otis of Mayberry, don't even need to be locked up.

    Before the Gang of Four spends a boatload of money designing jail cells in a new facility, and doubling the staff of the current facility, they should find out what the needs are. The only way to do that is with solid data and information.

    Al talks about the threat of a law suit if a "catastrophe" were to happen in the jail. But he fails to realize is the possibility of a law, probably Federal, or lawsuit that may come some day that prohibits lumping all inmates into the same facility. We already have such a law about juveniles. Is it not reasonable to assume that some liberal judge will decide that inmates that need treatment can't be locked up in Al's Jail?

    We just don't know what the future holds, but this much we can bank on: The future will not be like the past. That makes it imperative that the County do some solid planning before spending millions of dollars, based on a false assumption that the future will be like the past in terms of the needs a jail will have to meet.

    And as with a custodial facility, the Gang of Four and the Sheriff have not even considered addressing the facility needs of the Sheriff's Department by decentralizing the offices. Frankie Waters, an announced candidate for County Commissioner, has already suggested having two satellite Sheriff Offices, one in the northeast and the other in the southeast portions of the county. You don't have to be a facilities expert to see the utility of that, both in terms of expense but also in more effective service delivery.

    This Gang of Four is the same bunch, along with Jay McRoy, who has wasted over $40 million of the tax payer's money in Beaufort County over the last few years. And nearly all of that waste came from the same lack of sound planning, based on solid data. But beyond simply not doing their homework, these people have exhibited a lame-brained lack of ability to understand the issues they are dealing with. None of these is worse than Al Klemm, who is holding the deciding vote on this jail issue. It was Al Klemm who pushed the "Field of Dreams" economic development approach that wasted ten million dollars and killed more jobs than it created. And it was Al Klemm who voted for every single one of the school bond projects that resulted in school seats being built where there were, and never will be, enough students to fill them up, while leaving overcrowded classrooms in other areas. That blundering cost the taxpayers over $20 million. And it was Al Klemm who cast the deciding vote to give away $50 million in hospital real estate and give control of our health care to a Greenville outfit that is now sucking millions of health care dollars out of the county and making decisions about our health care system without any real local involvement. Now Al is pushing for a new jail...with nothing, as he says, but his "best guess" as to what the actual needs are.

    And none of this speaks to what is really much more important and that is weighing the "need" for a new jail and law enforcement palace against the other needs of the county, such as better EMS service, better schools, health services etc. etc.

    The People of Beaufort County deserve better government than this...but then again, maybe we are getting what we deserve...as long as we continue to elect the likes of Al Klemm and "never saw a dollar of other people's money they did not want to spend Democrats."