When the city of Seattle announced its plan last May to build a
seven-acre municipal jail in Highland Park, Haller Lake, or Interbay,
neighbors made a stink at public meetings about the jail-siting
process, but were told the city had no other choice.
The city’s long-standing lease on several hundred beds in the
downtown King County jail is up in 2012, and the county has told
Seattle that it needs to find a new home for people arrested for
misdemeanors like drunk driving.
The county has projected an increase in the number of beds it will
need to house felons over the next decade, which means that cities like
Bellevue, Seattle, and Renton will need to find somewhere else to hold
misdemeanants.
Now a group of activists who say they’re dissatisfied with the
city’s lack of transparency and refusal to explore other ways of
reducing the local jail population have filed a citizens initiative,
Initiative 100, to give voters the final say on whether the city builds
a new jail. The initiative would also require the city to figure out
“how incarceration rates could be decreased.”
It was only a matter of time. The city has held numerous public
meetings on the jail-siting issue, none of which have done much to calm
outraged neighbors. Highland Park residents screamed that it would be a
social injustice to put a jail at either of two prospective sites in
their poor neighborhood; Haller Lake residents and Aurora Avenue
businesses cried foul over the possibility of adding more crime to
their already seedy strip; and Magnolia and Queen Anne residents
remained suspiciously quiet over the city’s plan, likely guessing that
the city wouldn’t be stupid enough to put a jail in the middle of their
rich, likely-to-be-litigious hoods.
Real Change executive director Tim Harris, who has taken a
leading role in the anti-jail group Citizens for Efficiency and
Fairness in Public Safety, says the city-led jail-siting meetings he’s
attended have been “some of the most disempowering meetings I’ve ever
been to. [Your] concerns are captured on a piece of butcher paper, and
that’s as far as it goes.”
Neighborhood activists like former Highland Park Action Committee
chair Dorsal Plants—who recently announced he’s running for city
council—have also been complaining for months about the city’s
lack of outreach to communities that could be affected by the jail.
“There’s still people unaware of the [siting] process,” Plants
says.
“We’ve been trying to… let people know where we are with things,”
says Katherine Schubert-Knapp, a spokeswoman for the city’s fleets and
facilities department. “It’s a tough project. We wish we weren’t in
this situation either, but we’re losing all of our jail beds and we
have to do something with our misdemeanants.”
In addition to an extension of the jail contract, Harris’s group is
asking the city to develop “a strategy to address racial disparity” in
arrest rates. For instance, a 2001 University of Washington study found
that 63 percent of those arrested for drugs were black while only 19
percent were white. The group is also seeking the expansion of programs
like Communities United in Rainier Beach and a King County
housing-voucher program, which have been shown to reduce recidivism
between 30 and 82 percent. Harris says, “There are more effective…
ways to be able to look at the problems people are being jailed
for.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” Harris adds. “There are a lot of
really good arguments for not building the jail.”
If the city and county fail to reach a deal in their ongoing
negotiations, the city is eyeing six potential sites—one each in
Highland Park, Shoreline, Interbay, Bellevue, downtown Seattle, and
unincorporated King County.
The fate of I-100 remains to be seen. In 2002, Harris pushed an
initiative to increase funding for homeless shelters to $400 million a
year; that initiative was ultimately shelved when the group cut a deal
with the city to increase shelter funding. So far, Harris says,
organizers have collected “several hundred signatures.” That’s a long
way from the 25,000 they’ll need if they want to make a vote on the
jail a reality. 
There is a big hole in the ground between 3rd and 4th, James and Cherry, already owned by the city of Seattle and waiting for a jail. It’s a block down the hill from the Seattle municipal court building, so it would be an ideal site for the jail. Too bad the city has the insane idea to put luxury condominiums on the spot.
For a guy who’s done so much good reporting on this issue, this article is disappointingly shallow. And the dismissive last paragraph is both sloppy wrong and unnecessarily dismissive. $400 million is ten times the current annual city spending for homelessness and housing combined. Don’t they have editors there? The initiative goal in 2002 was to add 400 shelter beds. We gained the required signatures and qualified for the ballot on a budget of around $15,000. The deal with the city council added 200 shelter beds and ensured that the Seattle Housing Levy would focus on those at below 30% of median income. And this at a time when the bottom had fallen out of the General Fund and human services were very much on the defensive. We cut a deal from a position of power and poor people won. A little fucking respect, please.
Moreover, the fact that only “a few hundred signatures” have been collected mere days after the City Clerk’s approval of a ballot title is hardly evidence of impending failure. More than 300 fired up people attended last week’s panel discussion on this issue, and our campaign launch event is still more than two weeks away, on Thursday, February 19th, 7:30-9 am at Town Hall. Had you cared to be helpful, you might have mentioned this. If this is what progressive activists can expect from the boys at Seattle’s premiere alt-newspaper, it’s a damn good thing Real Change’s circulation keeps growing.
But Tim, the Stranger would have had to send a reporter to attend the forum to know the fact that people attending are ready to start collecting signatures. If I recall, this was one of the points that Silja Talvi was making too. Even alt-media treats the issue like trash.
As you can see, don’t do Harris any favors, he’ll stomp you for it. And he overlooks an important issue: the KCJ is a sewer of a place. I hope some of those jail diversionary measures are expanded, but they should come with a new jail as well, if only for humane reasons. And don’t think that, wherever the jail is located, the rest of the city won’t vote for it.
Anyone have links to neighborhood activism sites addressing this issue? Specifically, I’m wondering about Magnolia or Interbay.
Thanks.
Heres an idea…stop jailing people for petty misdemeanors. Throwing someone in jail for a bag of weed, or for getting a DUI on a bicycle is completely absurd. (and yes, you can get a DUI on a bicycle)
I completely agree with publicsdefender….that giant hole where the old City Hall used to be is a perfect spot for the jail. Throw a new building there and its over…No more complaining. I wish for once this city would just do something and not worry about what 20 people have to say at a town hall meeting. If people really cared, you would see 1,000 people at those meetings. I’m shocked that there was no mention of “the well being of children” in the neighborhoods mentioned in this article.
One last thing….the city does not need to be shelling out cash to fund homeless shelters. I’m all for getting the homeless off the streets, but let a private organization or charity deal with that. At least then I know more than 30% of the funding is actually getting to where its designated. And to all you people who are going to say that I’m a terrible person for saying we shouldn’t help the homeless, let me ask you one question….whens the last time you donated to a homeless shelter, or a soup kitchen, or any charity for that matter? Maybe for once you “progressive” (aka socialist) activists should look at what you can do personally, instead of petitioning the city to thrown money at our “problems.”
I’m glad someone is trying to come up with an idea to make this situation better, but instead of voting for a new jail or not, maybe this initiative should focus on eliminating the ridiculous misdemeanors that, for some reason, warrant jail time.
Why is it that during all of the news coverage concerning building of a jail the “misdemeanor” label is used to marginalize the need for a jail in the first place?
-Someone steals from your store: Theft(Misdemeanor)
-Someone punches you in the face at random for no reason: Assault (Misdemeanor)
-Someone breaks into your car and steals your i-pod: Carprowl (Misdemeanor)
-Someone follows you in public yelling obscenities at you, your children or boyfriend/girlfriend: Harassment (Misdemeanor)
-Someone breaks breaks the windows in your car/house:Property Destruction (Misdemeanor).
The list goes on and on and before I become tiresome I’ll end it. Misdemeanor crimes are not petty. Jails are necessary and needed. Its just too bad N.I.M.B.Y. is a reality. End of story.
I think the jail should be put in an area where the poverty rate is higher as opposed to Magnolia, Bellevue, etc…
Reason being this…
higher poverty rate usually means higher crime rate
higher crime rate is more arrests
more arrests need more jail space
Typically there are a limited number of police officers on duty each night to take the calls and each call could potentially take a long time…
So… locating a jail in an area with a higher poverty rate makes sense!
The police won’t have to drive as far to take people to jail. Short commutes to jail would cut down on fuel expenses, wear & tear on law enforcement vehicles, and most importantly it puts officers back in the field quicker because they’re not spending time chauffeuring people to jail.
If the jail is constructed in a low income area I think there are some really important aspects that shouldn’t be overlooked. First and foremost the jail has to be aesethically pleasing. It should be built like a multi-use development (think Burien Town Square)… retail on the street level which would include a Starbucks, donut shop, cozy diner for visitors, and last but not least a gift shop.
The leases would be done below current market rate with the stipulation that they have to hire any qualified rehabilitated person that applies. This helps people acclimate to life as a reformed person, builds their resume, etc… it also cuts down on re-offending rates which are in part due to not being able to get a job and serves as a good example to others released. Businesses wouldn’t have to worry about problems with their new hires… the jail is right upstairs. All the lease money would go to help fund the jail which would reduce the cost to taxpayers.
The gift shop would be staffed by supervised inmates with good behaviour. Items in the gift shop would include T-Shirts with sayings like “I went to jail & all I got was this lousy shirt”, shot glasses, and other novelty items. The gift shop would also include items crafted by the inmates… paintings, sculptures, greeting cards, etc… each inmate would be entitled to 25% of the sales of their items, this will help them on their release from jail, the rest would go to jail expenses, thus reducing the tax payer burden.
The next story on top of the retail would be new offices for City employees & council members, meeting rooms, etc… and a reception area for inmate visitors.
Above that would be the jail and all it entails.
So… long story short… build a multi use jail development in a low income impoverished area and help the community and those in it. Plus save tax payer dollars & reduce the crime rate!
How is putting a JAIL in a low-income area the same as “bringing more crime” to the area? Am I wrong, or would putting people inside a jail actually stop crime?
This article was, as someone pointed out, very shallow. I think the question we should be asking is not “do (opponents of the jail) have a chance,” but “do they have a point”? And, does the writer of this piece have a point? Why is it relevant that drug arrests disproportionately target black people? Building a jail is not a social justice issue — don’t confuse the real issue (the urgent need for space to incarcerate criminals) with a phony social justice plea. That’s every bit as stupid as when my fellow liberals come to an anti-Iraq war protest but want to also discuss Palestine, the environment, domestic poverty, etc. Focus, people!
Tess,
Check out the northend neighborhood group at:
http://ballingerneighborhood.org/default…
and the 2 Highland Park sites:
http://thehighlandparkoutlander.blogspot…
highlandpk.net
not sure of any others.
Nimbyism is alive and well in Seattle.
As economic inequality persists and progresses in Seattle then crime rates will go up especially in light of our current economic situation. Being in jail for even a short amount of time is rehabilitative in its own right. Let them stew on it for a couple of days, weeks, or months.
At least it’s not a maximum security prison they’re building! Sure a lot of these people going to this jail will be dirtbags but others will be pot smokers, public drunks, and other human annoyances that are not due a comparison to murderers, rapists, and child-molesters. I say build the jail and where do I apply for a position?
Seattle needs a new jail period, theres no getting around that. crime will only get worse in the future. popuation increases, thus crime increases. deal with the fact. As for the stat of more blacks getting arrested then whites for drugs, deal with that reality too folks. The facts are there are more blacks than whites commiting these crimes, especially in public. what do you want? the police to drive by the blatant black crack dealer on the corner? leave him be he’s black lets go look for a white guy? no,you arrest who you see, and respond to the calls you get. Black people if you don’t like it, quit dealing and buying drugs. why is the majority of the inmates in prison black? Cause they commit a mojority of the drimes its that simple . in all my life ive never seen a judge go “let him go he’s a white man.” So deal with reality, i’d welcojme a jail in my back yard. It would mean more cops in my neighborhood,and less crime. Who wants to rob a house with the jail outside the window, or sell crack across the street? Answer is no one. Do you want them in jail, or walking down the street, grow up and deal with it.
….just throw them in the hole, number 12: with beryl stevens…
that’ll teach the city fistical responsibility
“a strategy to address racial disparity”
here’s one: Hey black people – stop doing drugs.
I believe we must look at alternatives to jail. I believe that Tim is correct on many of his ideas.
The one thing that hasn’t been covered and I’m sure Tim agrees, is that we have way to many people in jail that have mental illness even with a mental health court and we have no place to put them, but it seems obvious to me that Jail is not the answer to solving that problem.
We need to look at alternatives.