[Winona] Why get involved?

[Craig Brooks]

Chris, you raise two specifics I'd like to respond to.
Regarding security and the County Office Building and space for Human Services (where I work), other than the news article I am not aware of any consultant recommending demolition of the County Office Building.  When space is added and remodeled to accommodate moving Community Health (and others perhaps) into the space, the County Office Building will have to be made bigger and due to security concerns need to me remodeled to provide for better security than it now does.  I would be shocked if anyone actually recommended tearing down a twenty year old building and starting over.
Regarding a jail, I am not so sure a broad based citizen input process has ever been done.  I too hate study after study.  However, I also dislike plowing ahead with a preconceived idea and not allowing for true examination of alternatives.  If it were more cost effective for every County in the State to have their own residential lock ups, we would have 87 State Hospitals for the mentally ill, we would have 87 secure detention centers for delinquent kids, we would have 87 secure sex offender facilities, etc.  I do not believe a complete analysis has been done of the cost effectiveness of every small county in Minnesota insisting they have their own jail.  The only reason I can see for a group of counties not entering into a cooperative agreement to build and maintain a regional jail is primarily turf.  Every County Board and County Sheriff insists they must have their own jail.  I know the cost of maintaining many small facilities for the mentally ill, mentally
 handicapped, chemically dependent, delinquents, emotionally disturbed children, etc. would be astronomical compared to regional development -- and that certainly includes considering the cost of transportation.  And, even more important in my opinion, is a need to focus on reducing the need to use a jail in the first place instead of pushing more and more for locking people up.  I am pretty sure our Country locks up more people than any other place on this planet.  I know we have the proven interventions in place to reduce the possibility that a person will re offend and to intervene early enough to prevent the serious crime from being committed.  Those interventions would cost less than the system we have now of attorneys, judges, court cost, appeals and jail cost.  The current system resists alternatives to incarceration.  Jail is the best training school for criminal behavior you could invent.  There is no evidence it creates a deterrent for the person to commit crime. 
 Jail is needed to protect the public from serious offenders just as such incarceration is needed for untreatable sex offenders.  Local jails in the country are filled with persons suffering from mental illness and chemical dependency.  There is not enough focus on rehabilitation and prevention and early intervention.  
 

  


----- Original Message ----
From: Chris Nelson <winonamn at charter.net>
To: winona at mnforum.org
Sent: Saturday, December 9, 2006 4:33:26 PM
Subject: [Winona] Why get involved?

[Winona Online Democracy]


           Don't forget another reason folks might not get involved:
  
 When study groups formed by a board look at an issue and present their findings the board and the board decides that another study group needs to be made to study what the last study group studied.  My point being the 3 study groups that studied the jail overcrowding problem.  All three study groups recommended the construction of a new building.  The last study group came to the same conclusion.  Now a new study group is to be formed to study what the last group recommended.  Yikes!
  
 How many knowledgeable and informed volunteers would want to sit on a group knowing that it is very likely that this group's recommendations will end up just like the last 3 groups (not acted on)?
  
 While I'm at it.......how come a (being one person without known credentials)  "security expert" can recommend building an entire new building for Human Services because the cost of retrofitting the building for security will be too expensive be the gospel,  but when 3 study groups that comprise judges, cops, county attorneys, and the average citizen say there needs to be a new building built all the studies are poo poo -ed?
  
 Chris Nelson
      
 
 
_______________________________________________
This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy
All messages must be signed by the senders actual name.
No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list.
To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit
http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona
Any problems or suggestions can be directed to 
mailto:winona-admin at mnforum.org 
If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at
 http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mapnp.Geeks.ORG/pipermail/winona/attachments/20061210/91c5785e/attachment.html