Feeling the heat, Seattle council quickly OKs controversial jail contract

Seattle City Council members approved a controversial pilot jail program in Des Moines on Tuesday despite lingering financial questions and operational challenges surrounding the plan.

Negotiated by Mayor Bruce Harrell’s team and publicly unveiled only a week ago, the contract authorizes Seattle to house 20 additional misdemeanor detainees at the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines at an annual cost of up to $3 million. The suburban city is about 15 miles south of Seattle, and SCORE is a government agency owned by the cities of Des Moines, Auburn, Burien, Renton, SeaTac, and Tukwila.

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales cast the lone vote against the bill, saying the city's research shows investing in public health measures, not carceral punishment, "is the way that we truly address the crisis that we're facing."

She also cited unresolved "enormous operational issues" — travel time, time management of attorneys, jurisdictional custody, a need for municipal court capacity to accommodate additional hearings, "not to mention the lack of clarity on the true cost of this measure."

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2024/08/07/pilot-jail-program-city-council-approves-score.html