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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, August 8, 2003
| Contact: |
Graeme Sackrison, Lacey Mayor, 360-491-2314 |
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Adam Rivas, Yelm Mayor, 360-458-8401 |
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Don Krupp, Thurston County Chief Administrative Officer,
360-786-5440 |
Justice
Planners Have Praise for Citizen’s Group
OLYMPIA – Members of the Justice Project
Oversight Committee (JPOC) today had strong praise for the efforts of a
citizens group called in to evaluate work done so far toward a solution to
overcrowding at Thurston County’s aging jail.
The JPOC, made up of mayors of the cities and towns in Thurston County,
one County Commissioner and a Superior Court Judge, has been working together
with city managers and administrators for more than two years to come up with
a plan for a new jail facility. The
12-member Citizen’s Value Analysis Team (CVAT) was asked to go over
information compiled so far and to give recommendations based on that review.
Lacey Mayor Graeme Sackrison says the group did an incredible amount of
work. “The CVAT had a huge
amount of information to absorb over a short period of time and they did a
fantastic job. These individuals
gave up much personal and professional time to study a complex matter and come
up with advice for us to use to ensure any potential solution is fiscally
responsible and a good long-term fit for the county.”
Among other findings, the CVAT report underscores
the need to build a new jail facility to properly house prisoners who
frequently have to sleep on the floor of the current jail, or violators who
are not arrested at all because there is no room.
Briefly stated, the report also recommends that the current jail be
retained for use in some form, that efforts also be made to cut criminal
justice spending by finding more alternatives to incarceration and that costs
for any new facility be as frugal as possible while providing a reasonable
solution.
“We will take the recommendations of the
citizen’s group into account as we move toward a final proposal,” says
Yelm Mayor Adam Rivas. “To that
end we have already undergone several levels of expense cutting and believe we
are headed toward a cost figure that is more reasonable than our first
attempts. Again, we want to thank
the CVAT for all their hard work and we will use their report as a filter to
evaluate work done so far and future work, toward any potential solution to
this important community challenge.”
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