When it comes to the Pierce County Council, finding a bipartisan issue can be hard to do. It often seems like even trivial matters — like proclamations or who’s going to cater lunch — get turned into vicious, party line battles. It’s such a frequent theme within Pierce County Council chambers that, if one didn’t know better, they might think all Pierce County’s elected Councilmembers know how to do is bicker. 

 

However, there’s at least one issue both sides of the political isle seem to agree upon: The Pierce County jail system needs a tune-up. 

The Pierce County Jail isn’t full — as is popularly believed — but it is understaffed, and at times has suffered from a lack of funds. Basically, there are enough beds in Pierce County’s jail system, but there aren’t enough guards or money to make use of them. As Pierce County continues to grow, the problem only becomes more apparent. And that’s just the start. The process of moving criminals through Pierce County’s court system is amazingly inefficient, and people awaiting court dates often sit in the Pierce County Jail for ridiculously long periods of time thanks to the court backlog. Add that to the fact that an alarming number of mentally ill and drug addicted offenders end up in jail because Pierce County doesn’t seem to know what else to do with them — and you’ve got yourself one hell of a problem. 

In search of answers to this quandary, Pierce County Councilmembers Tim Farrell (D) and Dick Muri (R) helped to form the Criminal Justice Task Force — an 18-member board made up of a wide array of folks with a stake in fixing things — like judges, cops, politicians and even average citizens. Last Wednesday, Sept. 10, the task force issued an initial set of recommendations to the Pierce County Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee.    

While the recommendations were somewhat vague and preliminary, and will now be forwarded to different committees and subcommittees to form plans of action, Councilmember Muri says, in essence, fixing the problems with Pierce County’s jail system comes down to three things: increasing efficiency, decreasing “frequent flyers” (people who seem to continually end up in jail) and making sure only the “right” people are locked up. “There are way too many people in jail with mental health problems and drug problems,” says Muri. “We need to make sure the only people in jail are the ones that need to be there.” 

“There’s no partisanship here. That’s why we brought so many people to the table,” explains Muri of the Criminal Justice Task Force. “A lot of learning took place.”

Muri says, with a county that’s grown by 35 percent over the last 10 years, issues facing Pierce County’s jail system are to be expected, but that’s not to say they can’t be addressed. 

“We’re planning on a million-person county soon,” says Muri. “The conclusion I’m reaching is if we do all these things, in 20 years we won’t need another facility. Sometimes what’s most efficient is also what’s best for society.”