Remote Jail Sites Not Hard to Find
There are at least five remote sites in Orange County that are more suitable for a maximum-security jail than the James A. Musick Branch Jail (Editorial, June 28).
The five sites are currently under engineering study and will be presented to county government along with an offer to purchase the 100-acre Musick facility next year. If The Times’ staff would care to do a little investigative reporting, they would discover that it is not difficult to locate “remote” jail sites in Orange County.
The use of Musick for a minimum-security jail or expanding it into a maximum-security jail is nothing less than gross mismanagement of a valuable asset. The value of the land, its potential to produce tax revenue, and the incompatibility with neighboring developments should eliminate Musick from consideration.
The delay in releasing the “Alternatives to Incarceration Report,” instigated by the Sheriff’s Department, and puffing the statistics on early releases are examples of agendas instead of truth.
The county has failed to locate a remote jail site because it always alienates the community by drawing a line in the sand and takes the “stop us if you can” attitude.
That approach has failed every time in the past and it will fail this time. When Mike Carona takes office as sheriff in January, the jail issue will be resolved in less than 18 months.
MARCEL J. FERNANDEZ
Chairman
Jail Alternatives to Musick (JAM)
Lake Forest
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