Who Pays For
It
Sometimes government is sheer lunacy.
Some may say idiocy and it is tempting to agree with that
characterization but that is non-productive. Sometimes, when I look
at what passes for decision making in the various arms of government
I ask myself if those whom we elect have ever been exposed to
governmental theory or philosophies of government. Now, I realize
that there are many who will ridicule me for bringing this up since,
in their eyes, it is just plain common sense and anyone should be
able to see it. As I have often said, sometimes what we need is some
uncommon sense and that is in short supply and often drowned out when
articulated.
The Pulaski County Magistrates are
exploring closing the detention center (that is what the jail is
politely called these days), perhaps to make it sound like it is not
a place where we confine people against their will to protect our
society from their harmful influences. And that is exactly what we
are doing, or should be doing, with our jails although they have
become as much debtor's prisons and profitable enterprises as
anything else.
The Magistrates are upset that it costs
money to run a jail and that some people who are not inmates are
unhappy with the way they are being treated. As the Jailer said, it
is an inherently dangerous job so prospective employees should not be
surprised when they find themselves in undesirable situations. That
being said it is also up to the Jailer to use practices that minimize
the threat when working with the inmates and safety always costs
money. The Jailer's salary is set by constitutional authority and he
gets paid whether or not there is a single prisoner inhabiting the
building. Some Jailers in this state are doing just that.
It seems that most of the Magistrate's
concerns are that detention center employees are complaining about
working conditions at the jail and they are complaining to them.
Magistrates are geared toward dealing with complaints, preferably
without offending a prospective voter so it is difficult for them to
look at the issues dispassionately. However, I would suggest that if
the Fiscal Court finds these issues difficult to deal with they could
ask for an audit from the state auditor who, as Somerset found out,
would be only too willing to comply. It being that the respective
governments are from the same political party may be beneficial.
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| Jailer-David Moss |
But, here's the deal. Jails, detention
centers, Sheriff's departments, City Police and all other agencies
that detain offenders are acting at the will and direction of the
public they serve. Supposedly they are doing that to keep those
offenders from acting in harmful ways toward those societies but is
that strictly true? If the society being protected wants this kind
of law enforcement then shouldn't the taxpayer pay for it? The
problem is that society does not want to pay for it. As a result all
sorts of court fees, fines and judgments are assessed and the Jailer
is expected, unrealistically, to operate his facility with those
resources and to do it in a way that society will not be offended or
the inmate will not be treated inhumanely. What this does is places
the fiscal burden of running these facilities, the purpose of which
is to protect society, squarely on those who are in many cases the
least able to afford it. We might as well face it. If you are flush
with money you most likely will not become a resident of the Pulaski
County Detention Center. Then when those destitute people can't pay
those fines, etc. they are declared in contempt of court and jailed
which is a fine end run around the proscription of debtor's prisons.
Some prisoners at least are assessed fees for being graciously housed
against their wills and then held in contempt when they can't come up
with the money they couldn't make while they were in jail. In
addition, the state pays a per diem for each prisoner held so there
is an corrosive incentive to putting more people in jail. This is no
surprise nor is it happening only in Pulaski County. This is one of
the things that the investigative committee found in Ferguson,
Missouri after the riots there. The practice is endemic to our
country.
So, if a society demands that offenders
be housed in jail for whatever offenses the public demands then who
should foot the bill? Well, it is the taxpayer who insisted they be
put there and it is the taxpayer who should pay. If the taxpayer
does not want to pay that much money then the answer is simple.
Don't put that many in jail. This is not rocket science. Someone
has to pay the piper.
Kentucky jails more people than another
other state in the union. If Kentucky were a nation it would rank
7th in the world in incarceration of its citizens. It is
estimated that from 70% to 80% of those inmates are there for
offenses related to drugs. Some serious and some for simple
possession or sale of small amounts. People who represent no
imminent threat to the citizenry. But we do not need to just ignore
them. We need to do the counseling and rehabilitation necessary to
free them from addiction and diminish their burden on the treasury.
Yes, I know there will be failures but doing this will result in a
smaller bill to the taxpayer and, hopefully, a productive citizen for
our society.
So, here's My Take. STOP PUTTING SO
DANGED MANY PEOPLE IN JAIL. If we are going to put people in jail
then we have to pay for it because it is something that we demanded.
If you demand that someone come do something for you do you expect to
get it for free? And, Magistrates, you have the responsibility for
taking care of the county's business and you should do it without
being so concerned with re-election. If a constituent complains then
either take care of it if the complaint is just or educate the
constituent as to the points of the issue. Quite a few issues here
in Pulaski County could be dealt with by doing this.
