No Room at the Inn

We've been hearing for some time that our relatively new west side jail is filling up and filling up fast. There are a number of reasons behind the occupancy problem - a major one being that the state often fails to pick up prisoners sentenced to stays in the state penitentiary. Overall the Metropolitan Detention Center has been receiving high marks for its operation since the city pull-out (ABQ Journal - Subscription). But the fact remains that we're putting them in faster than we are building new space to house them in.

(Sidebar)
Just to be clear, the primary function of a jail or a prison is not punishment - nor is it rehabilitation. If a would-be criminal views prison as punishment and is deterred from committing a criminal act, great! Likewise, if by some miracle a prisoner is "rehabilitated" while serving as a guest of the state, it's an unexpected benefit. But... the primary function of a detention facility is to protect the rest of us from those who would do us harm by keeping them separated from the general public. That's it and that's all.

We believe that building and operating jails with sufficient capacity to meet the detention needs of the community is a matter of public safety and therefore, a core function of government. Build more, build often and find ways to keep criminals away from the general public.
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Last night a call went out from MDC - there's no room at the in. Our Eyes tell us that APD dispatch informed officers that the Metropolitan Detention Center was full and could not take any new prisoners. A little while later, officers were told that MDC would be processing out some prisoners to make room but that it would be 3 to 4 hours before they could take any new prisoners.

The first thing that ran through our mind was "who the heck are they kicking loose?" Assuming that there's a reason for a prisoner's detention, letting them go is a cause for concern. Apparently the "no vacancy" sign was only lit last night. But it underscores the on-going crime problem that we've got in the Albuquerque metro area and the dangerously high occupancy of the MDC.

If there are times when there's no room at the inn, it's time to build a bigger hotel - even if the addition is a tent city. Jail officials shouldn't be forced to release their "guests" early simply because they need the space.

Not a Crime After All

By now everyone knows that most counties and the state itself face jail overcrowding problems. With the state's population growth of about 117 people a day, which according to UNM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research places New Mexico's population over 2,000,000 (ABQ Journal - Subscription), it's no surprise that our jails are full almost before they open. Bernalillo County's Metropolitan Detention Center is the perfect example.

In 2004, the average inmate population at the west side jail was around 2,000 on any given day (ABQ Journal - Subscription). According to jail officials the jail is now running at 122% of capacity or around 2,440 inmates. To us that means that the police are doing their jobs. By putting criminals in jail they protect the rest of us... end of story.

Unfortunately judges have traditionally taken a dim view of jails that are overcrowded. That's understandable to a certain point, but jails and prisons shouldn't be country clubs either. In our opinion, they should be a place that guests should want to do just about anything to stay out of. But we digress...

The result is that county officials are caught between population growth, the state who won't take charge of prisoners unless they serve over 364 days, judges who often gerrymander sentences to keep offenders out of the state "big house," and rising health care costs that the county is responsible to provide its inmates.

In typical bureaucratic fashion, the solution being proposed is not to build more jails to keep the rest of us safe, but to change what is actually a crime in to a "civil" offense (ABQ Tribune). We agree with former Chief Metro Court Judge William Lang when he says, "It never made sense to me that someone who didn't get their dog neutered ended up in jail." (With the possible exception of The Mayer's (a.k.a. Sally Mayer) HEART ordinance, which should have landed her in jail.)

Unfortunately when a law is decriminalized like say uh... running red lights, due process rights go out the window along with an impartial judge. The accused stands in front of an administrative lackey who presumes you are guilty. (Reminds us of the old joke... "We'll give you a first class trial, followed by a right proper hangin.'") Cities and Counties LOVE the idea because along with (allegedly) solving their overcrowding issues they get to keep all of the money.

The Mayer proposed just this type of decriminalization last year. Thankfully the idea was euthanized this past May. However, today's Tribune story threatens to revive the idea under the banner of relieving overcrowding. Bernalillo County's Public Safety Director John Dantis is in favor of the idea.

Dantis is pushing the traffic tickets measure as a way for at least 3,600 people a year to avoid jail for minor traffic offenses, including improper lane changes, failing to yield, some speeding violations and not paying tickets or not showing up in court for such offenses.

- ABQ Tribune

Like guilt, sentencing on minor offenses should be determined by a judge. Legislatures should determine sentencing guidelines that fit the nature of the crime and take in to consideration the danger posed by the offender to the general public. In other words, jail time should continue to be an option for judges, which means that the offenses must continue to be criminal in nature. Further, it is imperative that the accused be tried before an impartial third party... a judge that is not employed by the same party as the prosecution.

If the Legislature wishes to act to reduce sentences for those proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order to reduce jail overcrowding, let them risk the ire of their collective constituents. It simply makes no sense to find out that all of those criminal acts that people have been prosecuted for in the past aren't crimes after all, just so we can reduce inmate population and make a little additional money on the side.

Eye Told You So

The Mayor lost and won. Monday night the city council overrode Marty's veto (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). The taxpayers of Albuquerque will have to wait until July 1, 2008 to get their tax cut and Marty will be busy posturing as a man of the people for the next year.

Curiously, Mayor Chavez has now decided to impose some sort of accountability from Bernalillo County with regard to how the $9 MILLION appropriation is spent. We're the first to want accountability in government and from government, but exactly how is the mayor going to get more accountability from the county with less money and no operational control? It was after all, the mayor who decided terminate the joint operations agreement with the county (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required).

Meanwhile, the council won and lost. By overriding Mayor Marty's veto the council sent money to the county and imposed their will upon the 11th floor. That money is our money and it's bound to come back to haunt the councilors (O'Malley and Winter) in their upcoming re-election bids. In truth, it will hurt Councilor Winter the most since he presents himself as a fiscal conservative. However, it's unlikely that Pauline de' Pascal will be able to build a campaign on a single partial misstep, particularly against a two term incumbent.

Spinning for Dollars

This upcoming Monday night the city council is set to get its budget back complete with a line item veto from the 11th floor (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). Mayor Marty is peeved because the council decided to fork over $9 MILLION to the county in order to help support the Metropolitan Detention Center. If the vote goes the way it did on the 21st, the mayor's veto will be overridden.

Unfortunately everyone is trying to play politics with this one. Mayor Marty is all over the media claiming that he's "glad the council voted for my tax cut [emphasis added]. Unfortunately, they missed the point. I want to give a tax cut to Albuquerque families immediately. I don't want the City Council to suck out another $9 million from taxpayers" (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required).

Meanwhile the majority of the council is busy trying to have it both ways (voting for a deferred tax cut while giving $9,000,000 to the county) or trying to save face by being able to claim that they at least voted for a tax cut.

At this point it's all rhetoric. Council President O'Malley came out early and linked the tax cut directly to keeping the 1/8 cent gross receipts tax through July 1, 2008 and fell right into Marty's trap.

You may have heard by now that The Almighty One has shall we say, higher ambitions. Yep, the mayor wants to run again for governor. This tax cut move has been rightly characterized by some of our Eyes as a ploy to make him look like a fiscal conservative. We were suspicious of the move from the very beginning. Since Marty took over, the city has out spent inflation by some $125 MILLION (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required).

(Sidebar)
Remember this is the same Marty who wants to dump $240 MILLION into a 19th century streetcar benefiting a few hundred people along Central. Coincidently, that's about the same amount (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required) that it would take to fix the Paseo Del Norte/I-25 interchange that services tens of thousands of vehicles daily. But we digress...
(End Sidebar)

Right now, the mayor is winning the spin war. He's characterized the council as a bunch of fiscal oafs that want to send $9,000,000 to the county - no strings attached, while the valiant Marty battles to give you back your hard earned cash. Meanwhile his arch rival in the last mayoral election, Brad Winter is being attacked on the radio by a group calling itself the Committee for Responsible Budgets for not cutting taxes (which he did... just not January 1, when the mayor originally proposed).

The result is that the mayor will almost certainly look like the good guy no matter what happens Monday night. The only way that we see for the council to turn the table is for them to readdress the tax cut, moving the effective date to January 1, 2008 and then make the $9,000,000 contribution contingent upon excess city revenue that will hopefully be generated by the tax cut.

We really don't believe that the county should be hitting the city up for cash when their budget is light. After all, city residents are still paying for the jail through an increase in county taxes that was equivalent to a decrease in city taxes. In fact, the county should be taking in more revenue than the city for jail operation due to the increase in tax base.

This budget is not all bad. In fact, Councilor Cadigan shot us an email to point out that there's a 3% pay increase included in this budget for police officers. We just believe that our priorities need to be Police, Fire, Infrastructure, Administrative, Amenities. The Chavez administration has spent an inordinate amount of time and our money building amenities that continue to place an ever increasing burden on the city budget and our wallets.