Local residents expressed wildly different visions for their criminal justice system during a town hall meeting Tuesday evening.
Some people supported additional resources for inmates to address substance abuse and mental health problems. Others wanted jail to be a harsher punishment to deter inmates from committing additional crimes. Several people opposed building a new jail.
Saline County officials held the town hall to receive feedback on whether the Saline County Commission should build additional jail capacity for inmates in Saline County. The commission is considering four options, one of which is building a new jail. About 30 people attended the meeting.
During the fall of 2011, Saline County officials began transporting inmates to other county jails because the Saline County Jail was already full. Every year since then, Saline County has paid other counties to house its inmates. In 2018, Saline County spent $1.1 million dollars on these expenses.
(Read more: News – Salina Journal)