AN ASTOUNDING 1,200 jail professionals packed into the Oregon Convention Center last week for the American Jail Association’s (AJA) 29th Annual Training Conference and Jail Expo. With Oregon now spending more of its budget on corrections than on higher education, the convention was a hot ticket—a $240 ticket (with member discount), to be exact.

On the floor of the convention center, vendors pitched the latest in locks and suicide prevention. To top it all off was a metaphor come to life: Just through the main doors there was a money shower. Yes. Literally. An inflatable shower that blew around actual dollar bills for the snatching.

Amid all the money and newfangled technology, AJA President and Multnomah County Sheriff Captain Bobbi Luna overflowed with excitement. “In Multnomah County, we’ve been innovators in the field of jail management for years,” she said. “It’s very important to keep our eyes on the future to make sure things don’t become outdated.”

For your learning pleasure, here is a breakdown of Oregon’s jail money shower, AKA the cost of keeping corrections cutting edge.

$3,000-7,000: Cost of one “video visitation unit” from Strike Industries, a special telephone and video setup for inmates to visit with family and lawyers.

$12,000-15,000: Pricetag of one Vaughan Company “chopper pump.” When inmates flush things they shouldn’t, this ultimate chopping pump, on display at the jail expo, promised to keep the jail sewage system clog free.

$157: Cost of a single “CyberLock” and electronic-encoded key, a metal device that replaces any regular padlock or pin lock, preventing the need for card-swipe systems.

$425,000: Cost of safety railings at Multnomah County’s Inverness Jail and the Detention Center.

$300,000: Cost of washer and dryer replacements at Inverness Jail.

1,275,756: Pounds of clean laundry processed for inmates in the 2008-2009 year.

$10,000: Cost of trim painting at Multnomah County’s Juvenile Justice Complex.

$79,328,156: Multnomah County corrections budget for 2010.

564.56: Number of full-time positions in Multnomah County corrections.

1,367: Multnomah County current jail bed capacity.

92: Percent of Multnomah County jail beds filled each day.

9 replies on “Jail Money Shower”

  1. Isn’t there anyone who thinks that arresting and jailing non-violent criminals is a bit much? Why aren’t there politicians who will campaign on reducing the size of jails instead of schools?

  2. “Why aren’t there politicians who will campaign on reducing the size of jails instead of schools?”

    Because downtrodden people are cheaper and easier to control than educated ones with expectations of decent jobs and decent lives. Our overclass wants the former, not the latter.

  4. Yeah the hub bub about the anarchists gets like 90 comments and this gets three. Way to stay classy PDX , completely apolitical but hip as hell. Sigh.

  5. Sure, Oregon spends a lot of money on its prison system, but at least the state manages to get results. As someone who has been working in the San Bernardino juvenile justice system in California, I can tell you that maintaining the quality of the Oregon prison system is well worth the cost. Cut the funding and you’ll see the same terrible conditions and high recidivism rates that make us the pity of the nation.

  6. California, and soon Oregon have an overcrowding problem because we are putting so many people in. Certainly there are people who deserve some jail time, but are Americans so terrible as people that we jail each other at a higher rate than just about anywhere else in the world? Does every probation violator have to go to jail? How about when they piss dirty for weed? Does that mean they need to fill a $60K/year jail bed?

    I have no problem with a quality jail and prison system, I just think we put too many people in for the wrong reasons.

  7. We have low recidivism rates because we have far less violent and predatory crime. California is fine above San Fransisco, the rest of it should be nuked from orbit, just to be sure.

  8. What was the break down on higher education? I do not doubt your claim, but it would be nice to see some details or citations for the sake of lending credibility to news.

  9. Why is the Mercury specifically comparing state funds spent on higher education to corrections? This is a ridiculous budget comparison. Higher education has many funding sources including tuition, which I imagine covers a good part of the costs.

    How about compare what the state spends on K -12 education versus corrections? That would be a bit more honest I would imagine. Take a look at the proposed 2010 – 2011 biennium budget on the states web site:

    http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/BAM/docs/Publica…

    The Governor’s 2010 – 2011 budget recommendation for the K-12 education system is $6.39 billion. For the Department of Corrections (DOC) it is $1.5 billion.

    For additional comparison, The Oregon Health Plan (OHP) is 4.3 billion.

    Stick with entertainment. But I guess this editorial is a form of entertainment – laughable.

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