Write Against More Jail Spending

This spring, there will be yet another push for Dane County to borrow millions more to build a larger “consolidated” jail building (6 floors / 825 beds) than what the current County Board members support alongside expanded commitments to community services (5 floors / 725 beds).

Writing letters to the editor is an effective way to show support for a smaller jail with expanded commitments to community services. To increase your chances of having your letter published:

  • Highlight any relevant experiences or expertise that you have

  • Keep letters to between 150 and 200 words long (that’s shorter than you think!)

  • Put some of the below talking points IN YOUR OWN WORDS

In your letter, highlight two or three of what you consider to be the most important reasons to support a smaller jail. Here’s a list of potential points you could make:

  • Racism drives our perceived “need” for a larger jail

    • In Dane County, the incarceration rate for Black people is 1,400 per 100,000, compared to a national incarceration rate for Black people of 616 per 100,000 – more than double the national rate

    • The incarceration rate for white people in Dane County is 87 per 100,000

    • If the incarceration rate for Black people in Dane County was the same as the incarceration for white people, the number of Black people in the jail would be less than 30; instead of around 400

    • Committing to a new, larger jail facility is committing to a status quo in which the number of people in the Dane County Jail is primarily driven by one of the worst racial disparities in incarceration rates in the country

  • A jail population review panel with the authority to modify bails and release people could address this needless incarceration of people for low-level offenses, who are currently only in jail due to their inability to pay bail

  • Larger projected jail needs do not take into account the positive impact of the Crisis Triage Center or expanding the CARES program

  • Jan 2023 report from JFA Institute identified most immediate impacts on reducing jail population from ending contract to accept federal inmates, expanding electronic monitoring program (which has 90% success rate), and expanding pretrial release

  • JFA recommendations from Jan 2023 report include

    • Develop a criminal court continuance policy similar to the one developed by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) that requires all requests to be submitted in writing to the court at least 48 hours prior to the hearing and only for reasons acceptable to the court.

    • Develop automated tracking of all continuances granted by the court in terms of entity requesting the continuance, reason for the request, decision by the court and the length of the continuance.

    • Develop a monthly report that summarizes the number and types of continuances granted by the court, average length of continuances, entity requesting the continuance and the reason for the request. 

    • Increase the pool of private attorneys under the Dane County Criminal Defense Project by increasing the billing rates to more competitive levels.

    • Increase the number of community-based treatment beds sufficiently to eliminate the number of jail residents who are awaiting a CAMP, Pretrial Services, or other treatment bed.

    • Discontinue the federal contract to house federal detainees.

    • Implement an expanded supervised pretrial services program that targets defendants who are charged with felony crimes and have been in custody for three days or more.

    • Fully operationalize the current Jail Population Review Team (JPRT) so that the JPRT can request the courts to take actions on people currently incarcerated in the jail who do not require further periods of incarceration.

    • These reforms would reduce jail population by estimated 128 people, mostly through the last three recommendations

  • Opportunities to reduce the jail population highlighted by the Black Caucus and others

    • Weekend court to reduce unnecessarily lengthy holds

    • Bail reform, to minimize cash bail and promote fairness and transparency

    • Arrest reform, to end the practice of arresting victims of crime on outstanding warrants for nonviolent incidents

    • Ending the practice of accepting federal prisoners, who mostly are not local yet account for 12 - 13% total jail population

    • Limiting the length of probation and parole holds

    • Increase alternatives to juvenile incarceration

    • Regular reporting and review to address community needs while reducing the jail population

Dayna Long