The Llano Ledger
Newsletter Text V24
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*************January 17, 2000*************
As reported earlier, the jail booking records did not contain
sufficient information to generate the ten statistics requested of the
Sheriff. The objective of the request was to determine whether or not
the Sheriff's Department and the Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) are
deliberately overloading the jail to force construction of a new
facility. The question itself may be moot and beside the point,
however, since the system is already set up to overload the jail with
people held on relatively minor offenses. The statistics to be
presented are demonstrative of several serious flaws.
Readers should understand many prisoners are incarcerated on several
charges. To simplify matters and make the data more understandable, the
most serious charge was selected for each inmate and incorporated into
the statistics presented in this edition. The same was also done
earlier with the DWI and PI inmates. What that means is that NO
prisoner is counted more than once in this study.
For example, there were DWI prisoners who had also been charged
with Driving While License Suspended (DWLS). Those additional charges
are NOT contained or reflected in the DWLS figures in the following
table. Again, the figures in this table are for inmates who were
arrested with the given charge being the most serious one. Understand?
In other words, the table contains data for offenders ONLY incarcerated
on relatively minor charges.
The Avg.Stay statistics are a bit skewed in several categories since a
few prisoners had inordinately long incarceration times compared to
others. A median statistic is usually a better indicator under such
circumstances. Since there were relatively few prisoners in each
category, however, I decided against it. Further comments will follow.
*******************************************
Figure 1. Table For Listed Offenses (Jan.1 to Nov.10, 1999).
No Driver's License
7 Pris. 3.7 Days Avg.Stay
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Driving While License Suspended
19 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
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Speeding
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
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No Liability Insurance
6 Pris. 1.7 Days Avg.Stay
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Traffic Warrants
2 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
Reckless Driving
1 Pris. 4 Days Avg.Stay
**************************
Failure to Control Speed
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
Obstruction of Highway
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
Tampering With Gov't Record
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
Forgery
4 Pris. 11 Days Avg.Stay
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False Report
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
MHMR Evaluation
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
Illegal Dumping
1 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
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Contempt of Court
2 Pris. 3 Days Stay For 1 Pris., Other Unknown
**************************
Credit Card Abuse
2 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
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Theft of Rental Services
5 Pris. 2.8 Days Avg.Stay
**************************
Theft C
2 Pris. 1 Day Avg. Stay
**************************
Theft By Check
49 Pris. 7.4 Days Avg.Stay
**************************
Child Support Arrears
6 Pris. 14.7 Days Avg.Stay
**************************
Criminal Trespassing
5 Pris. 1.4 Days Avg.Stay
**************************
Failure To Appear
5 Pris. 4.6 Days Avg.Stay
**************************
Minor In Possession
2 Pris. 10 Days For 1 Pris., Other Unknown
**************************
Harassment
6 Pris. 1 Day Avg.Stay
**************************
Why are so many people jailed on traffic citations? Why isn't a
wage garnishee system in place to shift the financial burden from the
taxpayer to the offender? Why aren't the vehicles of drivers without
licenses or with licenses suspended towed, -- instead of incarcerating
the offender? I asked the Sheriff earlier last year. He had no answer.
An expensive tow and impoundment would serve as far better punishment
and deterrent than incarceration at taxpayer expense.
Reportedly, one in three drivers in Texas is uninsured. Why? They can't
afford it. Why won't we consider creative methods such as incorporating
liability insurance directly into the cost of gasoline at the pump?
User pays, -- DIRECTLY and ASSUREDLY. ... Or he doesn't drive. Reckless
drivers responsible for numerous collisions could have their licenses
and tags suspended or revoked. If caught driving, tow their vehicles
and garnishee their wages. There ARE ways to handle these problems, --
if we'll only consider alternative solutions. Nothing is perfect, but
we CAN do better.
More pointedly, it's time to take a close look at how our gasoline
taxes are being spent. Ever watch a Texas Department of Transportation
crew at "work"? Two are actually laboring. The other six or eight are
standing around doing nothing, talking to one another. This nonsense
would NEVER be tolerated by private contractors.
The State of Texas already has a wage garnishee system in place for
those owing child support. Why are we jailing these offenders? Debtor's
prisons are illegal in the United States. Yet, isn't that exactly
what's happening here? When someone in arrears is imprisoned, he or she
isn't able to draw a salary or earn a wage at their place of
employment. They're living off the taxpayers while incarcerated. Worse
yet, they fall further into arrears during imprisonment. Yet, we jail
them. ... Aggressively stupid and shortsighted. The support-owing
parent is NOT entitled to welfare. They HAVE to work, -- or not eat.
Why indeed are they in arrears with a garnishee system in place?
If the garnishee system needs fixing, fix it. There are interesting
abuses, however, running in the opposite direction. Recently, I spoke
with a worker employed at an LISD construction site who had been
slapped with a 40% garnishee. His ex had taken off to parts unknown 18
years ago with his kids never to be seen again. Several weeks ago,
surprise, surprise. The State of Texas hit him with a garnishee for
back support. The children are already grown. Interesting, isn't it?
Contrary to popular myth, most ex-husbands support their offspring.
Yet, many are denied access by vindictive ex-wives, -- with corrupt
judges denying or at the very least ignoring their rights.
As shown in the stats, Theft By Check is an enormous problem in our
area. Again, why isn't the burden shifted to the offender? Effective
garnishee laws are desperately needed. With the level of computer
technology geometrically improving, at some point in the future it
should be possible for merchants to verify and hold funds for
collection. More pointedly, why are repeat offenders allowed to have
checking accounts? Again, we have to look for creative solutions. The
burden needs to be shifted to the criminal element rather than
taxpayers.
The Failure To Appear inmates included in the table were jailed for
minor offenses such as not having liability insurance. Interesting, no?
What is a Minor in Possession doing in jail? Why aren't they released
to their parents and heavily fined? Why isn't Credit Card Abuse handled
by garnishee? When are we going to change the laws to facilitate it?
Why is someone jailed for making a false report? Why not heavily fine
them, or order stiff community service?
Instead of being jailed, why wasn't the illegal dumping offender
forced to pay an enormous fine, -- far in excess of the cost of
clean-up? Since the records are incomplete, it's quite possible the
case was adjudicated in such fashion. Why go through the expense,
however, of booking only to release him on security bonds later the
same day? There has to be a cheaper way of handling non-violent
offenders. It's time to reconsider our approach. If in fact the laws
need changing or updating, why isn't this being done by our
legislators? Are they too busy lining their pockets?
In fairness to the Sheriff, he isn't free to do as he pleases. He's
bound by law, the courts, the Jail Standards Commission, the
Commissioners' Court, and other governmental entities. It's time,
however, for an overhaul of the entire system. When the Sheriff offered
access to the booking records as a compromise to the statistics
request, he apparently didn't understand I intended to do a
comprehensive study of the data. Unfortunately, there were problems
with the completeness of the records as well as errors. For example,
there were several instances where the release date occurred BEFORE the
booking date. When questioned, the Chief Jailer shrugged.
Understandably, hand-written records are difficult to keep complete,
accurate, and properly updated.
Interestingly, the Chief Jailer casually mentioned records kept
within an existent jail computer system. Conveniently, the Sheriff
DIDN'T volunteer this information. In fairness to Mr. Garrett, those
records may indeed contain information critical to ongoing prosecutions
and may be exempt from disclosure by the Open Records Act. If so, the
Sheriff should have candidly stated that. Disingenuousness, dishonesty,
and a lack of candor are endemic in this County.
Sadly, truth is indeed a moving target. The data that was made
available, however, indicates a crying need for a complete overhaul of
the entire system. In the near future, additional statistics will be
presented for the more serious offenses. In addition, there are a
number of inmates incarcerated on writs, the nature of which is
unclear. These will also be published. NET statistics already presented
in an earlier edition will be compared to the jail stats. There is a
lot more to come.
To date, there have been over 5800 visitors on this website. As
always, I'm deeply grateful and humbled. While there is apparently
considerable reader interest, the financial support is NOT there. I
need YOUR help. The "other guy" isn't doing his part. In fact, he
"ain't doin' squat". All joking aside, I DO NEED YOUR HELP. As
previously mentioned, the pop-up and banner advertising belongs to
Maxpages. _The Ledger receives no income from either, and remains
non-profit. As always, this publication needs and appreciates donations
from readers. Sadly, no other publication is willing to challenge
corrupt and abusive officials. Readers can expect continued aggressive,
relentless, officious, tireless pursuit of our most egregious
offenders. ... Figuratively speaking, a "take no prisoners" approach,
regardless of whose toes are stepped on, feathers ruffled, tail
feathers plucked, or beak tweaked. Things CAN change in our community.
Be part of it. Help me to help you. Support this publication.
Tim Chorney, Publisher
Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 997
Buchanan Dam Tx. 78609
llanoledger@mailcity.com
Page Updated Tue Oct 9, 2001 1:28pm EDT