[Letter to the Editor of the Gaylord Herald Times submitted August 12, 2006]
After seeing Jail Initiative Fact Sheet published by Otsego County it was clear that I would vote “NO” on the construction of a new jail.
Before seeing the fact sheet I was more concerned with cost of 1.6 mills over 20 years, which would have personally cost me over $4,000 over 20 years. After seeing the fact sheet I was shocked to see the type of people that are being jailed in Otsego County most of which should never be in jail to begin with.
According to the Fact Sheet Crime Statistics, in 2005-2006 there were 3,627 charges against inmates residing at the jail. Fifty-one percent (51%) of charges were drug related. Apparently, many of these are people smoking dope, getting high and ……..threatening public safety? No, just screwing up their own lives. Why waste valuable jail space on pot heads? Hey, if inmates are truly a public threat, such as drunk driving, I believe they should be in punished in jail and detoxed, but for idiots who want to shoot LSD and watch Pink Floyd videos, why send them to jail? That is not an efficient use of my tax dollars!
In addition, I do not see the value of jailing misdemeanor criminals which were 67% of the outstanding warrants as of May of 2006. I see the failure of the New Jail Proposal as a catalyst for proper pruning of the criminal justice system of Otsego County.
Secondly, for those who DO belong behind bars, I want the most discomfort possible. Jail is should not be a social service, it should be punishment. My, how the pendulum swings from cruel Medieval torture to 21st century “rehabilitation” (and cable TV). Where is the middle ground of punishment by confinement? While I am personally compassionate towards the remorseful that have broken laws, I see the role of the county jail to punish.
If you think that 8-12 inmates per cell is crowded, go talk to submarine crew from the U.S. Navy, maybe they could explain what overcrowded accommodations are. I frankly do not care that hardened criminals are uncomfortable. Committing serious crime is not a ticket to Club Med.
If there is a valid safety concern for inmates such as putting hardened criminals in the same cell as first time offenders, then slap the first time offenders with a hefty fine and let them go. Next time they won’t be first time offenders. If Bubba wants to “play” with the other inmates, then either Bubba needs serious restraints placed upon him, or perhaps he belongs in a more restrictive correctional facility.
Thirdly, my “NO” vote on the jail proposal was a personal referendum on what I have seen as over-zealous laws and police officers.
The most recent example is that a good personal friend was stopped by the Gaylord City Police this past week and the corner of Dickerson and M-32 and given a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. When asking the officer what else he had done to be stopped, there was no other reason. The officer said that they were in the middle of a “campaign” to enforce seat belt use. A “campaign?” Without going into a diatribe on my views of useless and intrusive laws, let me say that stopping a driver for not wearing a seat belt is government tyranny.
When fines are delivered to the citizenry to enforce useless laws (“air crimes”) it is strictly revenue raising. In the past it was know as highway robbery, now we call it “Click It or Ticket”. Police need to stop acting as the county pillagers and focus on something serious, such as, oh…..crime fighting.
While this is not directly tied to my nixing a new jail, the “NO” vote is my voice of opposition to law enforcement gone amuck.
Incidentally, I voted “YES” on all other proposals, which provided an actual benefit to me, a citizen of Otsego County.
After seeing Jail Initiative Fact Sheet published by Otsego County it was clear that I would vote “NO” on the construction of a new jail.
Before seeing the fact sheet I was more concerned with cost of 1.6 mills over 20 years, which would have personally cost me over $4,000 over 20 years. After seeing the fact sheet I was shocked to see the type of people that are being jailed in Otsego County most of which should never be in jail to begin with.
According to the Fact Sheet Crime Statistics, in 2005-2006 there were 3,627 charges against inmates residing at the jail. Fifty-one percent (51%) of charges were drug related. Apparently, many of these are people smoking dope, getting high and ……..threatening public safety? No, just screwing up their own lives. Why waste valuable jail space on pot heads? Hey, if inmates are truly a public threat, such as drunk driving, I believe they should be in punished in jail and detoxed, but for idiots who want to shoot LSD and watch Pink Floyd videos, why send them to jail? That is not an efficient use of my tax dollars!
In addition, I do not see the value of jailing misdemeanor criminals which were 67% of the outstanding warrants as of May of 2006. I see the failure of the New Jail Proposal as a catalyst for proper pruning of the criminal justice system of Otsego County.
Secondly, for those who DO belong behind bars, I want the most discomfort possible. Jail is should not be a social service, it should be punishment. My, how the pendulum swings from cruel Medieval torture to 21st century “rehabilitation” (and cable TV). Where is the middle ground of punishment by confinement? While I am personally compassionate towards the remorseful that have broken laws, I see the role of the county jail to punish.
If you think that 8-12 inmates per cell is crowded, go talk to submarine crew from the U.S. Navy, maybe they could explain what overcrowded accommodations are. I frankly do not care that hardened criminals are uncomfortable. Committing serious crime is not a ticket to Club Med.
If there is a valid safety concern for inmates such as putting hardened criminals in the same cell as first time offenders, then slap the first time offenders with a hefty fine and let them go. Next time they won’t be first time offenders. If Bubba wants to “play” with the other inmates, then either Bubba needs serious restraints placed upon him, or perhaps he belongs in a more restrictive correctional facility.
Thirdly, my “NO” vote on the jail proposal was a personal referendum on what I have seen as over-zealous laws and police officers.
The most recent example is that a good personal friend was stopped by the Gaylord City Police this past week and the corner of Dickerson and M-32 and given a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. When asking the officer what else he had done to be stopped, there was no other reason. The officer said that they were in the middle of a “campaign” to enforce seat belt use. A “campaign?” Without going into a diatribe on my views of useless and intrusive laws, let me say that stopping a driver for not wearing a seat belt is government tyranny.
When fines are delivered to the citizenry to enforce useless laws (“air crimes”) it is strictly revenue raising. In the past it was know as highway robbery, now we call it “Click It or Ticket”. Police need to stop acting as the county pillagers and focus on something serious, such as, oh…..crime fighting.
While this is not directly tied to my nixing a new jail, the “NO” vote is my voice of opposition to law enforcement gone amuck.
Incidentally, I voted “YES” on all other proposals, which provided an actual benefit to me, a citizen of Otsego County.
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