THIS IS AN OFFICIAL NEWS SITE FOR CURRENT AND RETIRED CORRECTIONS OFFICERS! This blog will keep up on current events affecting Detention Deputies and Corrections Officers. SINCE 2006!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
5 Years in the New Jail
5 years ago we were jammed into the old City Hall jail. We were short staffed and over crowded. Beds were so short that inmates were forced to sleep on "boats" (portable bedding units) in the dayrooms of quads. Often inmates spent 12 - 16 hours in intake waiting for a bed. Our average inmate count for July of 2001 was 532.
Then the new jail opened:
Today, the new jail has been open for 5 years. We are short staffed and overcrowded. On weekends inmates are often forced to sleep on "boats" and may spend 12 hours in intake waiting for a bed, if one becomes available at all. The average count for July 2006 was 792. We've had recent inmate counts as high as 885. We only have 842 beds and as you know not all can be used due to inmate classification.
The County Board in its' wisdom opted to build a "booking facility" that added only an additional 333 beds to the already exisiting 509 beds in the City Hall jail, rather then building the 1400 bed high rise jail that was originally planned. They spent $108 million on this, about 1/5 of what they're willing to spend for a ball park.
We live in a time when the mayor of Minneapolis gets shouted down at a neighborhood press conference, and leaves, all while Minneapolis has record levels of murder and violent crime going on.
The more things change. The more they stay the same.
Then the new jail opened:
Today, the new jail has been open for 5 years. We are short staffed and overcrowded. On weekends inmates are often forced to sleep on "boats" and may spend 12 hours in intake waiting for a bed, if one becomes available at all. The average count for July 2006 was 792. We've had recent inmate counts as high as 885. We only have 842 beds and as you know not all can be used due to inmate classification.
The County Board in its' wisdom opted to build a "booking facility" that added only an additional 333 beds to the already exisiting 509 beds in the City Hall jail, rather then building the 1400 bed high rise jail that was originally planned. They spent $108 million on this, about 1/5 of what they're willing to spend for a ball park.
We live in a time when the mayor of Minneapolis gets shouted down at a neighborhood press conference, and leaves, all while Minneapolis has record levels of murder and violent crime going on.
The more things change. The more they stay the same.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Kudos to Sheriff McGowan
This is a rare day, but I must agree with Hennepin County Sheriff Pat McGowan's decision to work against Keith Ellison in the 5th District Congressional race. According to today's Star Tribune, Republican Sheriff McGowan has endorsed a Democrat, "former DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson for Congress in the Fifth District on Monday, saying Erlandson understands Washington best." While I have no endorsement preference in the 5th District, I must agree with Sheriff McGowan on this: "... McGowan took aim at Ellison. "For him to stand up and say that he is going to be a champion of law enforcement in Washington is hypocritical," McGowan said, asserting that Ellison has "never been a supporter of law enforcement in the state Legislature."
Although Teamsters' DRIVE has endorsed Keith Ellison, I stand against him. He is a racist, he was an active member of the Nation of Islam, and even once called for a separate state for black people. He also has worked against our detention deputies at times they were falsely accused of wrong doing.
Politics makes strange bed fellows. Republican Sheriff McGowan is endorsing a Democrat, and I, a Teamsters union steward, is disagreeing with DRIVE's endorsed candidate and standing with Sheriff McGowan, at least as far as being against Keith Ellison.
Although Teamsters' DRIVE has endorsed Keith Ellison, I stand against him. He is a racist, he was an active member of the Nation of Islam, and even once called for a separate state for black people. He also has worked against our detention deputies at times they were falsely accused of wrong doing.
Politics makes strange bed fellows. Republican Sheriff McGowan is endorsing a Democrat, and I, a Teamsters union steward, is disagreeing with DRIVE's endorsed candidate and standing with Sheriff McGowan, at least as far as being against Keith Ellison.