Raising Sales Tax to Build Jail

It is time for the elected officials and taxpayers of Orange County to wake up and smell the coffee. We must solve the crisis facing our county jail system now, before it gets any worse.

Jails present a deterrent to crimes, but not in Orange County because habitual offenders know they won’t have to do their time. The county just doesn’t have enough room to keep them behind bars. So what happens? Criminals are cited and released, or set free early to make room for the other criminals.

If we are going to reclaim our streets from gang warfare and violent attacks on innocent people, we must have a strict and effective penal system. This means we must have the space to keep criminals locked up. I’d rather have a jail in my back yard than a burglar coming through my window.

Let’s put a half-cent sales tax for construction and management of a new jail on the ballot. That is only $50 to $60 per year, per person, and well worth the cost.

VERNONA KAY FATH, Santa Ana