Letters To The Editor - Arapahoe Jail

Arapahoe eyes new jail," Aug. 7 news story.

A "recent study" found that Arapahoe County will need to build a new jail and courthouse to meet future demand. The criminal justice officials of Arapahoe County owe it to the citizens to justify why future demand on its jail is projected to outpace population growth by four-fold in the next five years, and three-fold in the next nine years. The Colorado Demographer's Office projects the population of Arapahoe County will grow by 9 percent between now and 2012, or 17 percent between now and 2016. Meanwhile, the jail population is projected to increase by 35 percent and 46 percent, respectively. I suggest Arapahoe County citizens start asking some hard questions. To start with, who's making the projections? That "recent study" was conducted by the DLR Group. Guess what they do? They design courthouses and jails!

Sue Ferrere, Evergreen

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.......Spending $288 million to build a new jail for Arapahoe County is merely treating the symptoms. The money would be better spent treating the root cause. The current philosophy of warehousing inmates neither reforms them nor prepares them for life on the outside. Conditions in our prisons merely harden inmates, train them in more sophisticated methods of committing crime and significantly increase the likelihood of recidivism after release...............

James Haw, Littleton

The Denver Post