Anderson on jail beds
question:
A consultant says Fresno County needs to build hundreds of new jail beds and retire two aging facilities. Do you agree and how should the county pay for it?answer:
Long range plans should be made to replace the older facilities to create efficiency in staffing, utilities and maintenance. As these facilities are replaced, there should be a modest increase in the total number of beds. The county should seek grants and issue bonds to pay for new facilities when plans are finalized. I believe that an increased level of efficiency in the court operations drastically reduces the need to greatly expand the number of jail beds. Continued funding of new district attorney, public defender and probation positions is needed to best utilize the jail beds that we now have.
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