Faced with an overcrowded jail and an underused juvenile detention center, Lane County is looking to raise funds to expand its criminal justice system.
Nearly 4,500 prisoners left the county jail before completing their sentences last year, and Sheriff Jan Clements hopes voters will approve Measures 20-38 and 20-39 this November to cut that number back.
Stephen Carmichael, director for the John Serbu Youth Campus at the Lane County Juvenile Justice Center, said the two measures will force young offenders to face the consequences of their crimes.
But the opposition, led by political activist Steve Kutcher, says that if voters approve the measures, they will provide funding for unnecessary prisons.
Ballot Measure 20-38 would generate $10 million a year for four years by increasing property taxes 55 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value. These funds would support a larger population at the county inmate work camp and Juvenile Justice Center, add staff to supervise the increased populations and open a female wing of the juvenile center’s alcohol and drug treatment center.
The accompanying bond Measure 20-39 would provide just over $8 million to build a new jail intake center that would increase the incoming population by 65 people. Like 20-38, Measure 20-39 would raise property taxes 3 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
Carmichael said the two initiatives are vital to preserve the effectiveness of the county’s justice system because he said without adequate funding juveniles won’t learn they can be held responsible for their actions.
“Last year we had about 5,000 crimes, but we had only 36 beds,” he said. “There’s no way to hold kids responsible.”
Clements also said that it’s hard to make inmates feel punished. By federal regulations passed in 1986, all jails have to keep their populations at certain levels by releasing criminals that pose the least threat to society.
Kutcher, however, said the reasons to vote for the measures are completely unsound. The local activist said he is organizing a committee to oppose the measures.
“The crime rate is going down and instead of decreasing the number of prisons they’re increasing it,” he said.
Kutcher agreed prisons are crowded but said that’s because the county is convicting people that don’t need to be convicted.
“The major problem is there’s a bunch of people in jail who shouldn’t be there because of victimless crimes,” he said.
Victimless crimes, in Kutcher’s opinion, mainly include drug possession. He argued the county should look at other crimes instead of prosecuting the “victimless” ones.
“Crimes against our environment they don’t take very seriously,” he said. “There’s crimes all over our county against air and water that go ignored.”