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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Our Voice: City jail is key to cleaning up Flint's streets and reputation; approve tax to fund it, along with police services millage
Published: Sunday, April 24, 2011, 5:45 AM
By Editorial Board | The Flint Journal The Flint Journal
One of the most remarkable and revelatory gatherings in Flint last year occurred outside of the public eye.
A December meeting called by the Editorial Board of The Flint Journal brought together every key player in the fight to find some solutions – and quick – to Flint’s vexing crime problems.
The mayor was there, as was his police chief. So, too, was the county sheriff and prosecutor, the city’s state representative, the region’s state police commander, the head of the local drug enforcement task force, the U.S. attorney’s office and a representative of our congressman.
The urgency to fix the problem was palpable among the meeting’s participants. Each articulated their philosophies, the tactics they already were employing, the resources they did or did not have. In some cases, there was evidence of alliances, some fledgling, some long-standing.
There also were clear differences of opinion, and the faint outlines of some legacy turf issues. Just as the discussion was bogging,
state police Flint Post Commander Lt. Phil Hart made a statement that cut through the inertia with a bolt of clarity:
I could put two more squad cars in Flint today, he asserted, if there was a place to put suspects who were arrested. With no jail space, his officers would be relegated to writing appearance tickets, and all that would do is frustrate police and embolden criminals.
Until that situation changed in Genesee County, he said, those officers would continue to help out in Saginaw County — an area that has seen a dramatic decrease in violent crime in the past year as law-enforcement agencies cooperate to arrest and jail suspects
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Lt. Hart’s matter-of-fact statement wasn’t as far-reaching, bold or strategically ambitious as some of the proposals laid out in that meeting. But it crystallized a practical, achievable first step in a very complex problem. More jail space would produce more arrests, and more arrests would put police back on offense in the ongoing battle for Flint’s neighborhoods.
On May 3, Flint residents have an opportunity to be a part of that first step by voting in favor of a dedicated 2-mill tax to reopen and operate the Flint City Jail. The three-year levy would add about $40 to the average residential tax bill in the city, and generate about $2.1 million in the first year.
A second ballot issue, a renewal of 2 mills of tax for police services, also faces voter approval.
Those skeptical about sending more of their hard-earned money to City Hall, where financial management has not been a hallmark for the past decade, might want to view these investments with a bit more confidence.
First, the money collected from the jail millage will be spent only on the operation of the jail; it cannot be cut by budgeters or applied to other areas of shortfall. Second, it will set off a near-immediate chain of events that is long overdue in Flint: Police will have incentive to pursue and arrest misdemeanor suspects – the people they cannot arrest now, because the Genesee County jail is overflowing with more serious felons
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These who are left to walk free are the prostitutes and scrappers, the loiterers and those breaking into homes. True, they are not the most fearsome violent offenders, but they are a baseline criminal scourge that contributes to the justified feelings of insecurity, and the overall perception of lawlessness, inside city limits. Start arresting some of them, and others won’t feel like they can rob, steal and intimidate with impunity.
And as Lt. Hart said, if the state cops can arrest, they’ll come back to work inside Flint. That’s a welcome and immediate doubling down of the tax money. And here’s a piece of perspective: In Saginaw County, where its sheriff’s department is asking for a tax increase that is in part to maintain 160 jail beds, the marketing message essentially is “don’t be like Genesee County.”
True, the Flint City Jail has been a political and budget football since it opened in 1967. It was closed in 1987, reopened in 1999 and closed in 2001, reopened in 2007 and closed just a year later. There is no guarantee that it won’t be subject to the vagaries of shifting circumstances.
But Flint has been desperate for a clear, fail-safe way to attack the crime problem, and the criminals who seem to operate with impunity. If the solution improves the perception of Flint to folks outside the city, that’s great, too; but the most important perception an increase in arrests will have is on those who have used Flint’s neighborhoods as a hunting grounds for far too long. Criminals will fear the approach of police cruisers, not mock them.
Opening the city jail is the most immediate, unambiguous way to have that impact. And the only way to open the jail is to dedicate the money to do it. A yes vote on the 2-mill jail tax is prudent, but that’s only part of the answer. Without approval of the second police tax, to maintain community policing, the value of an open jail is severely diminished.
Urgency, anger and passion to do the right thing aren’t going to begin solving Flint’s epic struggle with crime; it will take resources and a solid plan. City residents should make an investment in the solution by voting yes on both the jail and police service millages on May 3. |
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Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:07 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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patclawson April 24, 2011 at 6:50AM
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Reopening the Flint jail is a necessary step in fighting crime, but it will do little good unless our local judges gets serious about processing criminals through the system in a more expedited way and cleaning up the enormous backlog of outstanding warrants.
There are now about 40,000 outstanding warrants in Flint and Genesee County. Our local criminals know that 67th and 68th District Court warrants aren't worth the paper they are printed on because there's little chance the warrants will be enforced. Opening the city jail would help increase arrests, but it does little to clear up the judicial processing bottleneck.
One of the biggest deterrents to crime is the certainty of punishment. Flint criminals know they are not going to get picked up on most warrants because the judges don't work at night and there are not enough beds to lodge them overnight in the County Jail. The dirty little secret in Flint is that few arrests are made on District Court warrants outside of 6AM-2PM, Monday through Thursday.
Since there is no certainty of punishment and little fear of arrest, should anyone be surprised the crime has exploded out of control in Flint?
It's no secret that our local judges need to spend more time in the courtroom and less time on lengthy lunch breaks. Also, too many judges are getting a head start on the weekend by knocking off early on Fridays. We need regular night court sessions to process prisoners, possibly keeping at least one judge and courtroom on active duty around the clock 24/7/365.
We need to see some leadership on the part of the judiciary. The judges need to wake up and smell the coffee - FLINT IS IN A CRIME EMERGENCY.
If we don't have enough judges, then let's import some visiting judges from surrounding counties as a temporary measure to help clear up the warrant backlog.
And since warmer weather is arriving, why not set up tents and porta-potties and house lower-risk prisoners temporarily at Atwood Stadium to alleviate jail overcrowding? If Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix, Arizona can use tent cities, why can't Sheriff Pickell?
Pat Clawson
patrickclawson@comcast.net
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offdahook April 24, 2011 at 7:59AM
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Why not Pickell ? Because he has never really got it!! He thinks he is the head of all county law enforcement and has never had the same passion for the jail, even though it is his main function. He dos not have one tenth the grit of Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona. Time for Pickell to step aside.
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offdahook April 24, 2011 at 8:00AM
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Why not Pickell ? Because he has never really got it!! He thinks he is the head of all county law enforcement and has never had the same passion for the jail, even though it is his main function. He dos not have one tenth the grit of Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona. Time for Pickell to step aside.
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Bullseye April 24, 2011 at 7:24AM
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I do not see how a few more jail cell will help! Once they are full we will be turning the bad guys lose again. It would take a much larger jail house to do any good! If anybody hears of a city owned large empty multiple story building that needs a little work let city hall know. Hint, hint GT. They could ease some of the over crowding at the to small new county jail,"for a price" and take prisoners from other places " for a price". Flint could become the jail capital not the murder, or auto, or what ever other bad title someone can think of.
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shanedr April 24, 2011 at 7:49AM
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Why should voters approve any millage?
We have a mayor who flat refuses to deal with the waste at city hall. There are no safeguards to guarantee any millage actually goes to its stated purpose - witness the mis-direction of the senior millage.
Before I will vote for any millage for any purpose I want to see a major change in the way the city, and county, does business.
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bluesky101 April 24, 2011 at 8:15AM
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This whole thing is just another scare tactic to get the voters to vote in millage.
ALL NEW MILLAGES JUST MEAN MORE MONEY YOUR political croonies can spend on their pet projects and a city jail AIN'T ONEOF THEM.
Unless Flint croonies change their ways of doing business everyone should VOTE NO
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intheknow767 April 24, 2011 at 8:28AM
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I am told BY THE SHERRIFF'S DEPARTMENT that opening the City jail contributes to jail overcrowding because it is a 72 hour facility ONLY. Therefore, those inmates must be transferred to the County jail... Therefore, will opening the city jail solve anything?
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jtbagel2 April 24, 2011 at 9:04AM
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If the Flint Journal thinks it is such a good idea based on comments from the State Police, then how about putting out some more facts. Are you advising people to vote for a real jail in the City of Flint or are you asking people to vote for a temporary holding cell facility?. How many beds are at the jail? What are the real costs to operate this facility and why have we had to close it several times in the past when we had more money. How about some pictures for this "Jail" that you refer to as though it is comparable to the County Jail or for that matter any real jail.
I have been told the same thing that "intheknow767" points out so why don't you elaborate on the fact that it is not a real jail but rather a holding facility. I have seen the Jail and I assure you it is not what you think of when you speak about a Jail. Also the bit about $40 dollars per taxpayer is based on the value of many dilapidated houses that pull the average assessment down to $16,000 per house. I can assure you that most people that will ultimately pay the tax have houses that are worth more than $16,000 in assessed value and thus it is more than $40 dollars, but that is not the issue.
We need more police and not necessarily State Police that will work if we pay for a real jail. If we are not goiing to have a proper facility to really house inmates than all this does is add a day or two to the process we have in place right now. After the reporters have done their research on the jail then come back and make a recommendation, but until then your opiniions as editors and also as mostly non residents are just uneducated opinions without all the facts to share or to back up those thoughts. Give us facts and data not just feel good opinions without any background data.
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calclips April 24, 2011 at 10:00AM
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At the most it will allow Flint PD a place to put those causing trouble, getting into fights, arguments, drunk in public, etc... overnight or for 72 hours before they can be arrained by a judge. This could, in some instances, prevent other more serious crimes that are retaliatory in nature.
Another thing to remember: when you start putting more people in jail the amount of work done by detective bureau goes up as well. For every person you put in there a detective has to look over a police report and make a decision of whether or not to charge someone. Then they have to do a warrant request, get it sworn out by a judge, etc....
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bphammer April 24, 2011 at 10:03AM
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City jail key to cleaning up Flints streets? If it should pass I doubt that it would constitute more than a temporary minor alleviation of the symptoms of a major malady. Flint reached a tipping point decades ago.Projected revenue will not meet the minimum needs of public safety.It needs an intervention.It needs life support .It needs leadership.
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peeps April 24, 2011 at 10:18AM
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I want to know how much revenue a 2-mill tax increase will add up too. I read that the average homeowner will pay approximately $40 more a year. Citizens continue to be asked to pay more in taxes at what seems not too big a deal. However, when each item is added to an already heavy tax burden it becomes a problem for those of us still paying taxes.
Why not go outside Flint for some help. Why don't we ask some of our former atheletes who are now making millions to help us out. Why don't we put collection containers in every business in Flint and ask for donations to help us make doing business in Flint safe. Why not ask every person who will visit Flint this summer for the Cars Cruise, Concerts in the Park, the Crim, etc. to make a donation to open our jail and for money to keep it running. Of course, we could also ask the guy who we paid $9 million dollars for Genesee Towers to help us out too.
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FREEDOMOFTHEPRESS April 24, 2011 at 10:20AM
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What garbage! The Flint City Jail is just an empire for some tyrants in the city government and a big waste of the tax dollars...keep it closed.
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doinit4me April 24, 2011 at 11:13AM
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Without question opening the City of Flint jail is a step in the right direction. The benefits of having the jail available are immeasurable.
Imagine for a moment that you catch a drunk with about 8 warrants out for his arrest using your front door as a urinal. You call the cops and they acutally come over and arrest the guy. Then what? Currently the guy would be back in an hour or so. Open the city jail and he gets punished immediately regardless of whether or not he goes to the county jail or ever gets in front of a judge plus, he is "unavailable" for a couple of days.
Vote yes for the jail. You won't regret it unless you have to spend some time there.
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jimpse April 24, 2011 at 11:55AM
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Why don't they address the real problems of the murderers and drug problems in the city. Prostitutes and loiterers are not killing each other. City jail is just a lock up and most are out within 24 hrs. Unreal how the people in Flint are being railroaded into believing this will help. Leadership needs to address the the real issues not cover them up. Go for a millage that will bring police back not open a temporary holding tank. When the punks know the police can't show up they know they can get a way with anything
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Flint MI USA April 24, 2011 at 3:02PM
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Pat - great post.
I like the Atwood Stadium suggestion. I have long advocated a strong approach to the non-violent offenders incl what your suggesting plus let these type prisoners do "work details" incl street clean ups, brush removal, graffiti coverup, etc. Security would be minimalissue. Food can be brought in from local urban crops. Why not start now??? |
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Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:15 am |
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