Last night, we received an email from the Sheriff indicating that he will use Asset Forfeiture funds to avoid laying off patrols that cover the rural Western Townships--whose budgets are so small they can't afford the patrols themselves. (Larger townships like Anderson, Green, and Sycamore had more dollars available, and were able to support more patrols from their own budgets).
This is good news for those Townships and public safety overall, good news for deputies who would have been laid off, and means we don't have to drain our reserve funds any further.
I appeciate the Sheriff's willingness to be flexible at this challenging time.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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3 comments:
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Way to send the elephant running with their tail between their legs !
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The reason inmates refuse to go to Riverside is beause it is worse than boot camp. I think they're trying to break people down like the army does and then "re-build" them, but the process is soo humiliating and the inmate suffers worse penalities for even trying. Word has gotten around to not even try it all Riverside because if you can't handle it and opt to go back to the jail instead, the judges are very punitive. Same's starting with the mental health court. A little over the top, forcing people out, sending people to jail for sometimes inconsequential inadherence to theprogram - then, the person goes bak to "regular" court and the judges don't look at the good that happened, they look at the failure to do it perfectly. It again becomes punitive where trying and not succeeding is worse than not trying at all.
I say this in spite of the fact that both programs' intentions are good, especially the mental health court, but sometimes they go a little over the top and set the person up for easy failure instead of reinforcing the good behaviors that have improved their situation overall.
By the way - I'd reduce the county funding of the sheriff and redirect the funds to the townships to reduce the sheriff's wayward power. This would maintain patrols and allow townships to administer their own polie departments.
It is River City, not Riverside. It is a treatment facility, not a jail.
And yes, it is demanding. The purpose of River City is behavior modification. It isn't easy to change life-long habits, but River City is committed to doing just that.
Many of the residents have substance abuse issues. Until we address those issues, they will continue to cycle in and out of our justice system, costing the taxpayers time and time again. With River City, we can get people off drugs and try to show them a new (non-criminal) way of life. A noble cause in itself. However, it is a fiscally conservative idea as well. With some treatment dollars up front, we can stop these folks from committing crimes in the future to support their habits, which translates into less incarceration, less court resources, etc. down the road.
It's simple- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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