With a lingering deadline for applications on state-funded jail
expansion projects, Sheriff Curtis Hill has led San Benito County’s
effort and made a wise decision to partner with San Luis Obispo
County on the re-entry portion of the proposed program.
Partnership makes sense for efficiency and likelihood for state approval
With a lingering deadline for applications on state-funded jail expansion projects, Sheriff Curtis Hill has led San Benito County’s effort and made a wise decision to partner with San Luis Obispo County on the re-entry portion of the proposed program.
Talks among counties and the state over how to spend $7 billion on jail expansion and re-entry programs have been rocky at best, but San Benito County has at least a chance to score a relative victory by getting funds to support an improved, manageable re-entry process.
Crucial programs must improve
These are crucial programs, especially considering the overpopulation of California’s jails and prisons and high recidivism rates that only keep the fire burning. But it’s equally as important to make sure the dollars are used efficiently, that local officials maintain a certain level of authority, and that this major investment by taxpayers reduces the burden.
A partnership with a much larger county not only makes good business sense in that it escalates the level of efficiency each ally would gain, but it also strengthens San Benito County’s chances of gaining approval on the application and shaping the program to the local needs.
Hill and other officials have done a good job of balancing the necessity to consider what’s best for San Benito County while also realizing that improving inmates’ chances of success once they leave is, in some ways, just as important as the punishment itself.
We can’t afford to go without these dollars and the benefits they bring to everyone’s safety. It’s an investment that simply can’t fail – for everyone’s sake.
