Save Money and Let the Prisoners Brawl
Re: “Jail Officials Powerless to Prevent Riots, Board Told,” Jan. 24.
Jail rioting at the Pitchess jail in Castaic has gone on for years. Each time it recurs, patrol cars loaded with officers in riot gear head up I-5 to their rescue. Their presence does little to end the fighting.
It costs taxpayers about $20,000 a year per inmate. Cash-strapped L.A. County can find much better uses for its funds. The recent rioting bill has cost taxpayers an additional $600,000 and it’s rising.
Suggestion: Strip-search inmates who want to brawl and turn them loose. Let them fight. For a couple of days if necessary. After awhile there will be no more fight left in them, and they’ll become more civil. It seems to work in nature.
EARL THOMAS
Newhall
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
