Pay to stay?
The government needs more ingenious ways to save money while continuing to lock up record numbers of our citizens. For example, in Springfield, Oregon, they have decided to charge accused people for their accomodations at the jail following arrest:
The city plans to charge convicted criminals up to $60 a night, depending on their ability to pay, when a new 100-bed lockup opens in October, Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith says. Thus, the city could recoup most of its cost of about $70 a day."These people are the ones who cause the cost to operate a jail, so they ought to be the ones to pay it, not private citizens," Smith says.
I don't know. The Constitution says that I am innocent until a jury says otherwise, but maybe this is good sense, and not just another way to tax the poor. After all they caused us to put them in jail, right? Apparently many counties and cities in Utah, Virginia, and Oregon have begun charging people for stays in the slammer. The Douglas County jail in Roseburg, Oregon, uses a collection agency to get their money.
