http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090425/NEWS/904250330/1001More Oregon jails charge inmates fees

April 25, 2009

Anyone thinking that spending time in jail, with three squares and a bed, might be a good way to wait out the recession, think again.

More Oregon jails are charging inmates — as much as $60 per night.

In Polk County, a similar fee system was implemented in 2002, jail commander Lt. Keith Bowdle said. Inmates who later are convicted for the crimes on which they were held are charged $10 per day, he said. Though Bowdle said only a fraction of that money is actually received, it adds up to $2,000 to $3,000 per month.

Jails in Douglas and Klamath counties jails have been doing it for several years, and this week Springfield City Council voted to join them — immediately charging Springfield inmates held at Lane County Jail in Eugene, and later this year charging inmates in the new Springfield municipal jail, expected to open in October.

Springfield City Council President Dave Ralston said the city doesn't expect to make much money. He said by charging $60 per night, that would mean perhaps $18,000 per year. But with revenue down because of the recession, every dollar helps.

"City budgets are very tight," Ralston said. "Every jurisdiction is looking for ways to cut costs and increase revenue.

The city decided to build its own jail and start charging inmates because it was frustrated that when police arrested suspects, and took them to the overcrowded Lane County Jail, they were back on the streets in a matter of hours.

"We're hoping that if they are going to commit crimes, they are going to do it somewhere else," Ralston said.Soon they'll be offering financing options to suspects for their interrogation, just like in the film.

LOL! OMG... I really should purchase a copy of Brazil. That's one of my favorite movies ever.

While I was aware of the Douglas county thing, I have alot of family there. This does seem rather counterproductive, as the jails themselves are a rehabilition center. Sure it looks good on paper, as what I will be saying in a few sentences does as well. Douglas County also, for those released from jail, having served their terms, also sues those who can not pay, or will not pay, as well as the ones who can not pay in a more timely fashion. Then, they go right back into jail, accrue more jail hotel time, and it turns into a big circle. Particularly the child support crew and the "mountain men"(they generally make very little money living off the land, hunting, fishing, etc.) Mostly, the practice of charging inmates is for those under 4 months of sentencing, after 4 months, you get state pens generally.

Arizona has an interesting one where they put people out in tents in the middle of the desert, then, charge them for it as well.

If for-profit prisons become common I expect we'll see a lot of stories similar to this one: Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13judge.html?_r=2&hp)

And we'll have the added benefit of having lobbyists for the prison industry lobbying to punish more crimes with longer prison sentences. Lovely.

If for-profit prisons become common I expect we'll see a lot of stories similar to this one: Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13judge.html?_r=2&hp)

And we'll have the added benefit of having lobbyists for the prison industry lobbying to punish more crimes with longer prison sentences. Lovely.
Sounds like the suggestion I heard the other day. Senators (and judges too, I guess) should dress like race-car drivers so we can figure out who their corporate sponsors are.

Which is itself part of a perpetuating cycle. Politicians once prided themselves on getting people out of prisons and being productive members of society. Now they pride themselves on making more prisons, increased police presence, for more often than not the simplest of offenses.

Which is itself part of a perpetuating cycle. Politicians once prided themselves on getting people out of prisons and being productive members of society. Now they pride themselves on making more prisons, increased police presence, for more often than not the simplest of offenses.Because all those middle class SUV-driving white voters want all those scary "sex offenders" (and other bad non-white people) away from their obese kids, and will elect anyone who promises to put as many people in prison as possible.

Plus, all those cops, prison guards, contractors, nurses, and so on who profit from the broken system are a powerful lobbying force.

I mean, if we only incarcerated people who were truly dangerous to society, we'd have to close down 90% of our prisons, and those people would have to find real jobs.

Senators (and judges too, I guess) should dress like race-car drivers so we can figure out who their corporate sponsors are.
Hah! That's a good idea. I imagine that there be more than a few senators sporting Exxon codpiece's ("Drill, baby, drill!").

Now they pride themselves on making more prisons, increased police presence, for more often than not the simplest of offenses.
Aye, for example, it's hard to see the logic in locking up drug users. If the concern is that their drug use could lead to them becoming unproductive members of society, then putting them in prison or even just saddling them with a criminal record strikes me as being incredibly counterproductive.

It kinda depends on the drug usage as well. Some people just use recreationally and responsibly, for well, being illegal, all the while being productive members of society. It is generally the addicts who steal everything in sight to pay for their habits generally that tick off people. But, I am talking mainly about things like disorderly conduct(maybe they just had a bad day, or went slightly nutty), stuff like indecent exposure(like getting caught tinkling in a back alley) leading to a lifelong sex offender status. And other such small non violent crimes that can get you a a few days in jail, or a few months.

It is generally the addicts who steal everything in sight to pay for their habits generally that tick off people.They wouldn't have to steal everything in sight if the drugs were legal and merely regulated by the government.

How much crime is attributable to acquiring (not using) the two most common and most dangerous drugs, alcohol and tobacco? None really, because they're openly available on the free market.