Politics & Government

Washington state counties, cities compete for cheaper jail beds

Sean Robinson - Tacoma News Tribune

November 12, 2013 06:03 AM

A Yakima County corrections officer stands guard last month as offenders from Pierce and South King counties return from the Yakima County Jail, where they were housed, to the Fife City Jail. The eight inmates, all charged with misdemeanors, made the pre-dawn trip across the mountains for their day in court. Tacoma defendants have their cases adjudicated via a video link from the Fife jail.
A Yakima County corrections officer stands guard last month as offenders from Pierce and South King counties return from the Yakima County Jail, where they were housed, to the Fife City Jail. The eight inmates, all charged with misdemeanors, made the pre-dawn trip across the mountains for their day in court. Tacoma defendants have their cases adjudicated via a video link from the Fife jail. Tacoma News Tribune
A Yakima County corrections officer stands guard last month as offenders from Pierce and South King counties return from the Yakima County Jail, where they were housed, to the Fife City Jail. The eight inmates, all charged with misdemeanors, made the pre-dawn trip across the mountains for their day in court. Tacoma defendants have their cases adjudicated via a video link from the Fife jail. Tacoma News Tribune

These days, an arrest in Tacoma sometimes looks like a game of pinball. Under the terms of a new government contract, Tacoma police officers are sending people arrested for low-level crimes to the city jail in Fife. From there, the prisoners are ferried to locations around the state.

Read more from The Tacoma News Tribune at http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/11/11/2884070/washington-state-counties-cities.html

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