COMMENTARY: Cleveland County residents will have to solve jail problem themselves

For several years now, Cleveland County’s Board of Commissioners has struggled with the county’s ever-increasing jail population.

The issue has bounced back and forth for quite a while, and then, in 2006, state officials began to increase the pressure on the county to reduce its inmate population.

Built to hold 177, the jail’s population has hovered near or over the 200 mark for quite a while.

Twice, jail inspectors have threatened to fine the county huge amounts or close the jail if something wasn’t done to reduce the number of inmates there.

Some measures have helped.

The county has agreements with other counties for the housing of prisoners, and a new county drug court has helped to reduce the inmate population — slightly.

But the county’s biggest problem is the offspring of two attitudes which have reduced the necessary funds available to run the facility and, at the same time, increased the number of crimes the public can be put in jail for.

Call it I-don’t-want-to-pay meets Tough-on-crime.

To make matters worse, state lawmakers — who would rather spend their time trying to micromanage county government instead of trying to solve statewide issues — tried to strong arm commissioners with a couple of silly laws which did nothing more than generate political fodder for re-election campaigns.

So Cleveland County’s Commissioners have, for several years now, been stuck squarely in the middle.

And you can rest assured they don’t like being there.

Various solutions have been proposed — expanding the current jail, which is located in downtown Norman; constructing a second facility on a 30-acre plot of land along Franklin Road, near the York International plant; or building another facility in Lexington next to the state prisons there.

Each idea has its good and bad components.

But the problem is very few people want to do any listening. Most, instead, just want to whine and moan about how they don’t want to pay for a jail or how it shouldn’t be build “in my backyard.”

This while they also want to lock people up for everything ranging from first time drug offenses to $50 bogus checks.

Well, gang, we’ve now reached that point where our collectives backs are against the wall.

Something has gotta’ give.

Unless county officials can find a location, and come up with a mechanism to fund the construction of a new jail, they’ll be forced to expand the old one.

Norman’s downtown merchants are not too hip on having a jail dominate their skyline and the folks who live in the country near Franklin Road don’t want the jail on their side of town.

Then, there’s the problem with building a facility in Lexington. Law enforcement officials don’t like that idea because of the logistics of moving prisoners back and forth.

But, again, the fact remains that something has to be done.

And it has to happen soon.

So here’s my suggestion: Call a huge, well-publicized countywide meeting at say, the fairgrounds.

Get all the interested parties in the same room. If they don’t come they are forever banned from complaining.

Then, lock the doors and don’t let anyone out until they reach a decision.

Since Oklahoma isn’t Dickensonian London there are no workhouses or treadmills. We’re out of dungeons — thankfully, we haven’t got to the point where we’re executing people for DUI.

But we’re close.

So reason and common sense are going to have to play a major role in where and when and how the county builds and pays for a new jail facility.

We’re also going to have to expand the use of alternative and community-based sentencing.

Political games, rhetoric and a one-sided attitudes are not going to solve the problem. It’s going to take brainwork and some well though out ideas by citizens of Cleveland County.

Because if we don’t do something soon, the state will.

And I promise you that solution will cost far more than any of us can imagine.