Reopen Oxbow Jail

Somehow, Salt Lake County must find the means to reopen Oxbow Jail. Again this past week, jail overcrowding resulted in the release of nonviolent suspects facing misdemeanor charges from the Salt Lake County Jail. Among them was a criminal suspect accused of exposing himself to a group of elementary schoolchildren in September. The following month, the man allegedly committed a lewd act near the University of Utah while nude, except for a ski mask.

In all, he faces seven misdemeanor counts of lewdness, three counts involving children. Because of public outcry, the man is back in jail, which is good. However, it shouldn't take an onslaught of phone calls and demands to ensure that he stay in jail. The county needs more jail space so it is not in a position of operating a detention turnstile.

The public should have greater confidence that people who are accused of sexual offenses, particularly those against children, don't get what one municipal prosecutor called a "free pass."

But the public also must acknowledge the cost of reopening the Oxbow Jail. In the face of what Salt Lake Mayor Peter Corroon has described as a "tight budget year," he has proposed a financial plan that would reopen Oxbow Jail yet not raise taxes. Corroon has proposed a $801 million budget that would cut $11 million from last year's levels and pare an additional $11 million through job cuts.

This is an ambitious proposal that the Salt Lake County Council should support. While many elected officials talk a good game about making their communities safer, opening more jail beds would go a long way toward that goal.

Although Corroon believes reopening and staffing the jail can be achieved without a tax increase, Salt Lake County taxpayers need to be realistic about current economic conditions and the impact on government tax revenues. The peace of mind that would be achieved by reopening Oxbow Jail — and staffing it — would come at a price they should be willing to pay.