Rantz: King County ‘catch and release’ awful, dangerous idea

Taken from The Jason Rantz Show on KIRO Radio.

A new plan being implemented in King County is good news if you are suspected of a non-violent felony, but it is bad news if you want to see suspected felons actually go to jail.

According to KING 5:

Under a new policy that will take effect next month, King County jailers will turn away many felons accused of non-violent crimes.

The jail has already made a practice of releasing suspects accused in misdemeanor cases, but the new policy marks the first time felons would get the same treatment.

The reason? Cutting jail costs, according to a December memo obtained by the KING 5 Investigators (read it below).

Titled “King County Jail Capacity Management Plan,” county officials write in the memo that they will create a “release list” of specific non-violent felony crimes that will no longer automatically land a suspect in jail.

Instead of waiting in jail until they see a judge, the memo says the suspect “…will be fingerprinted, checked for outstanding warrants and interviewed by a PR screener, after which they will be released.”

The memo was authored by King County Budget Director Dwight Dively who apparently believes the move will amount to $2.5 million in savings a year and, from some of his statements, it sounds like he doesn’t think the change will be that big of a deal.

“The only real difference here is we’re talking about being in jail a few hours rather than a day or two,” Dively said.

The article indicates that suspects in auto theft, identity theft, fraud, and paper crimes, would be among the types of non-violent suspects that would be included on the release list.

But aren’t these the exact same crimes that criminals tend to do a lot of, consistently, over and over?

How many criminals steal just one identity? They don’t just steal one. They steal several and they don’t stop. That’s the same with auto theft. You mean to tell me if we’ve got a suspected car prowler, we think they’re not going to do it again? We’ll be fine without them in jail? That is insane.

To respond to Mr. Dively’s comment that we’re talking about being in jail a few hours as compared to a day or two – with respect, I think that is a big deal. Even if they’re only in jail a day or two. That’s a day or two they’re not out on the streets breaking the law. That is another day or two they’re not out there with the opportunity to break into one of our cars. That’s a day or two they won’t have the opportunity to steal our identity.

Now they’re just going to be booked into King County Jail in downtown Seattle and released. Which, by the way, seems like it could be really bad news for downtown Seattle.

If you’re living in downtown Seattle, you’re about to see some more criminals out there who are getting special treatment, aren’t actually getting punished, and may have committed crimes that indicate a high likelihood to re-offend. I think this is an awful idea and they should be able to find more efficient ways to save money.

What do you think?

Taken from The Jason Rantz Show on KIRO Radio.

JS