Tom Bennett - Clatsop County
Transition Center Goes To Control Of Sheriff's Department(Wednesday Meeting, 02-23-2011)
The Transition Center, opened in 2006 at the North Coast Business Park in Warrenton, is a dormitory-style residential facility that serves as an alternative sanction for local offenders. Budget forecasts indicate that the facility’s operating costs will exceed available revenue by 2012.
The county manager is taking input on the study’s recommendations and a final decision will be made by March 31.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
STUDY RECOMMENDS TRANSITION CENTER CLOSURE
A comprehensive review completed by an outside consultant recommends that Clatsop County close its Transition Center and place the Community Corrections Department under the direction of the County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the report, rising costs and declining revenue have made the Transition Center’s operations financially unsustainable, while lack of communication between the Sheriff’s Office and Community Corrections has hampered the efficient use of sanctions for local offenders....Read Full Clatsop County Release
STUDY RECOMMENDS TRANSITION CENTER CLOSURE
A comprehensive review completed by an outside consultant recommends that Clatsop County close its Transition Center and place the Community Corrections Department under the direction of the County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the report, rising costs and declining revenue have made the Transition Center’s operations financially unsustainable, while lack of communication between the Sheriff’s Office and Community Corrections has hampered the efficient use of sanctions for local offenders....Read Full Clatsop County Release
12 comments:
Study Finds Inter-Departmental Squabbling Recommends Center Closure
NorthCoastOregon• Thu, Feb 17, 2011
Inter-departmental squabbling between the Transition center and the Sheriff's Office played into a recommendation that Clatsop County close its Transition Center and place the Community Corrections Department under the direction of the County Sheriff’s Office.
What happened McGee, you missed this part.
No, I didn't miss it.
McG missed that part because it isn't there.
Nowhere in the report does it say or imply that the reason is "inter-departmenta' squabbling."
The County's CEO thought it was necessary to remove the head of CCC and that move has the support of a lot of people, including many of her former employees.
Ask a local defense attorney about what kind of programs their clients got at the TC?
The answer is very little. It was a very expensive crash pad and drugs were being brought in and used.
It wasn't working and it was running off a slush fund that no other county department has or would be allowed to use in such a manner.
Anyone involved in the system except maybe the criminal know Clatsop County has needed a new jail for at least 15 years. The county has spent over half a million dollars on a series of studies that say the same thing over and over.
The Sheriff proposed a very economical rebuild about 4 years ago for less than $6 million that the then-existing County Commission and management ignored.
If you want treatment, you need a jail bed to back it up.
If you want someone to behave on probation - where the vast majority of people convicted go - the POs need the ability to threaten their probationers with a jail bed, even if for a short period of time, to get them to comply (show up, quit using drugs, look for a job....)
This hatred directed at Bergin is ridiculous.
Former Sheriff Raichl was just as big an advocate and he tried to get a $15 million jail bond passed 8 years ago and it was voted down.
I've asked County Manager Cole to elaborate on the allegations and legitimacy of this socalled squabbling as portrayed by NCO.
Anonymous said...
Clatsop County has needed a new jail for at least 15 years.
Complete and utter B.S.
1:22 PM
Anonymous said...
"Anonymous said...
Clatsop County has needed a new jail for at least 15 years.
Complete and utter B.S.
1:22 PM"
You disagree with "Anonymous", "Anonym"?
How is that?
You don't think we need a new Jail and/or the extra beds?
Seems to me that has, indeed, been in current focus for about that amount of time.
If we put aside the political hype, the question remains, if the county needs more jail beds how does it justify letting beds at the transition center go vacant? As far as the sheriff's solution (s) are concerned, the facts are that he did not coordinate his research with the county staff and the places where he wanted to move, such as the second floor of the court house, were already assigned to other departments or already in use. Other ideas, like moving his offices to the old darigold building without any remodeling did not account for the needs of his staff to work in something other than a large room full of desks with bare rafters and no heat. If the sheriff really needs a new jail, he ought to get moving on some plan. Simply saying the need does not fulfill it (unless, of course, someone is just trying to develop justification as to why he has not done anything but whine).
So much for the transition center. I bet that within two years the building is in use by CCSO for offices and we have no more jail space than we do now. Bergin just cannot handle the idea there are other ways than jail to deal with some offenses. But, time will tell.
The vast majority of people convicted of crimes, even felonies, do NOT go to jail.
In Clatsop County and elsewhere.
They go on probation....almost 90% of them.
The ones in jail are people who fail to show up in court over and over. In fact the only way you are in jail in Clatsop County is because one of our three elected judges have sednt you there or refused to allow your OR release.
But with very little real treatment available, with a huge employment problem even for people who are not convicted criminals, and a need to get people who keep stealing, drugging, and drunk driving behave requires the Sheriff to have a jail as a base option.
The County has hired now close to half a dozen outside experts who have said we need a new jail, more law enforcement staff, and now have recommended the Transiiton Center be shut down and "re-purposed."
Re-purposed meaning what exactly?
Re-purposed means instead of using it as an adult day care center where people spend the night you use it for a day reporting center where you conduct classes and a less passive operation that makes people actually do the stuff they were ordered by the judge.
Re-purposed is a good idea then. Thanks.
I thought re-purposing meant the transition center would be used for CCSO staff offices or the so called drug team since, unfortunately, I cannot imagine our Sheriff doing anything but putting people in jail to rot. I will hope that there is an enlightned person somewhere in his staff who could promote your kind of re-purposing and still keep his job.
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