King County Regional Jail Plan Advances
Several cities in South King County WA announced Thursday an agreement to build a new jail to hold people accused of or serving sentences for misdemeanor crimes, and they have already selected a vacant 14-acre lot in Des Moines as the new jail’s home.
The project has moved much more swiftly than a similar one being planned to serve Seattle and cities in north and east King County … Penny Bartley, interim director of the South King County cities group, said her organization has been able to make progress because it has been working together longer than the other cities. The group is the South Correctional Entity, or SCORE. “The thing to keep in mind is that the SCORE cities have been working together for about two years,” Bartley said. “We have put a lot of time and a lot of resources into this.”
The cities involved include Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila. Together, they plan to build a single-story 668-bed jail in Des Moines. Development and construction is estimated to cost $80.5 million. Construction is expected to start in September …
All cities in King County are looking for a place to house their misdemeanor inmates, people accused or convicted of crimes such as DUI, assault, domestic violence, property crimes or traffic offenses. Historically, the King County Jail would hold these inmates. But the county alerted cities in 2000 that it would run out room for misdemeanor inmates by 2012. That has become the target date for cities to build a new jail. Bartley said that even now, King County cannot handle the inmate load.
County-City Issues, Overcrowding, Regional Jails, WA King County, Washington