A heads up to a journalist who called me yesterday asking if I knew about THIS & THIS (he also wanted to know if I was at the meeting yelling in the background 🙂 I was not, only LOSERS do that).
I did know that there has been planning for it over the past 3 years but it was kind of a sticker shock considering they will have to bond for it (higher property taxes). While the City of Sioux Falls is throwing $10 million at a college for ‘landscaping and other stuff’ the county is borrowing money for kid jails. Maybe we could spend $60 million on an advanced tech mentorship program from DSU to public school students in Sioux Falls. Now that’s crime prevention. I’m sure Matt Paulson is all over it!
Ask the journalist to do a story on JDC. Have him look at the numbers of kids who JDC has brought into their facility over the last 10 years. I’m not talking the number of intakes – they do that over the phone- I’m talking the number of kid inmates that are delivered, by cops, and held at JDC. It will floor you how the numbers have declined thanks to the R legislatures take on juvenile justice. Almost every kid gets farmed out to nonprofits they contract with for a “cooling off period” I’m not kidding you. You wonder why violent crime with juvis and guns are up??? Look no further than the state legislature. 50 million $ for a facility that will never hold anyone is outrageous!
The city has doubled. The prisoner population has become at least double. Offloading youth from the jail into a juvenile facility makes sense. Perhaps an addition to the jail can be avoided. Juveniles could have a better chance for rehabilitation away from the general prison population. It’s time for the county to spend with bonds. They’ve been to conservative while the city ruined their credit building inferior design double priced play castles. The county manages its budget. The city skips reporting and (likely) is in default. The future should be one government with only the county and no more city corruption.
No brainer! No!
Reality is kids don’t get locked up now. Kids basically have to commit murder to get locked up. Courts refuse to hold juveniles accountable for crime and its why the same kids reoffend knowing there is no consequence.
This new proposal is for 64 beds. I’ve been told the “count” is consistently in the teens or lower. I would like to see full population numbers from the county. No reason taxpayers should pay for a 50 million dollar facility and staff with full bennies for a handful of kids having issues. There has to be much cheaper alternatives
This should be built near 6th and Cleveland to reduce transportation costs.