Tag Archives: Washington

MAP: When they get out of prison, where do offenders go to live?

Screen shot 2013-05-18 at 11.28.19 PM
To see the map, go here: http://data.kitsapsun.com/app/prisondata

In 2007, the Department of Corrections embarked on a transformation in the way it releases offenders to the community. Ordered by the State Legislature to stop “dumping” felons into Tacoma, Spokane, and other pockets of urbanity in the state, DOC was mandated to send prisoners back to their “county of origin” — the place of their first felony conviction.

There are some exceptions, mainly if victims are uneasy about an offenders’ return to the community. But they can also go to another county if they have family or “other sponsoring persons or organizations that will support the offender.”

In 2012, about three out of every four inmates whose first felony was in Kitsap come back here after prison, according to DOC statistics.

While they’re coming back to Kitsap, it appears they’re increasingly concentrated in Bremerton. But corrections officials say that clustering actually serves public safety best.

To search and find out where every offender went home to in 2012 — and if they deviated from their county of origin — follow this link.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

UPDATE: The $1 Florida felony — could it happen here?

The case of a Florida man charged with a felony for the theft of $1 worth of liquid has reverberated around the country. In case you hadn’t heard, here’s the gist: man goes into an East Naples fast food joint, gets a cup for (free) water, and uses said cup to help himself to a fountain drink.

The manager asked him to pay. He refused, the cops came and took him away, according to fellow Scripps’ website Naplesnews.com.

Not every theft in Florida is a felony. But it turns out the Sunshine state has a pesky law that raises a petty theft charge to a felony when the person has multiple petty theft convictions. That takes the penalty the man faces from a maximum one year stay in his local jail to the possibility of five years in a Florida prison.

So, do petty thieves in our home state of Washington face that same fate? The short answer is no not exactly.

Clarke Tibbits, head of the Kitsap County Office of Public Defense, says defendants here can purloin goods worth less than $750 repeatedly and only face a gross misdemeanor each time. “Multiple (third-degree thefts) don’t result in felonies,” he says, noting he once worked a case in which the defendant had a whopping 27 shoplifting convictions on his record.

There are some exceptions: if the theft exceeds $750, that bumps a charge up to a felony (and possible prison time). Also, the defendant can be charged with burglary if he had previously shoplifted and been trespassed from the place he’d returned to steal from.

UPDATE, 4.30.12: A reader informed me Monday that there is indeed another possibility for a felony to come from shoplifting: a state law passed in 2006 known as “retail theft with extenuating circumstances.” A person can be convicted of that crime if:

(a) To facilitate the theft, the person leaves the mercantile establishment through a designated emergency exit;

(b) The person was, at the time of the theft, in possession of an item, article, implement, or device designed to overcome security systems including, but not limited to, lined bags or tag removers; or

(c) The person committed theft at three or more separate and distinct mercantile establishments within a one hundred eighty-day period.

Obviously, (c) applies here. So indeed Washington does have a felony for a frequent shoplifter — but the thefts must have occurred within 180 days.

I must apologize for this omission, but it’s important to set the record straight.

It’s worth noting that these distinctions govern only the amount of time one would face for filling up that free cup with a fountain drink. In our state, there is no theft so de minimus that it could not lead to a pair of handcuffs in the eyes of the law.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

GOOD TIME: ‘I Just Want It Fixed’

Mail from inmates at county jails and state and federal prisons is common in newsrooms, as those on the inside look to reporters to help with legal battles or civil rights violations.

The same is true here at the Kitsap Sun. We review such mail — honestly, word for word — to see if there’s an injustice being done, however big or small. In many cases, the complaints don’t quite add up. In some, a quick phone call or email to the right person is all that’s needed. But sometimes, an inmate raises a concern that calls on us to tell a story.

In May, I got such a letter. His name was Robert “Doug” Pierce, who you can read about in Sunday’s paper or online here. The Kitsap County jail had miscalculated his time off for good behavior — and he was right.

“I just want it fixed so I can come home to my family after my debt is paid to society in full,” Pierce wrote in his letter.

Pierce’s discovery was not only overlooked at the jail and lawyers in the system but at the Department of Corrections — and it set the stage for a change in policy at the Kitsap County jail.

In doing the story, I wanted to examine all aspects of how good time is awarded. Thus, what you’ll find is an explanation of how it works at all levels — federal, state and each of the 39 county jails — and why it is administered in the first place. That included working with and submitting records requests to each of the state’s 37 jails.

We also stumbled upon another interesting facet: that the state’s sunseting of a 50 percent off provision for good time went virtually unnoticed by anyone outside the system.

For the results of our work, click here.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Inslee: Safe Disposal Needed in Wake of Bremerton Pill Taking Students

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, weighed in today following an incident Tuesday at Mountain View Middle School in which nine students were taken to the hospital for taking prescription pills.

“This week, nine middle school students in Bremerton were hospitalized after popping prescription pills some of the students brought from home,” Inslee said in a release. “Our communities need all the options available to them to combat this problem.”

The timing of the incident coincides with the passage of the Safe Drug Disposal Act by the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill aimed at allowing for prescription pill disposal sites without police involvement — which is currently illegal under federal law.

Inslee is a sponsor of the bill.

Unused prescription pills can get into the water supply and also fall into nefarious hands to be sold or abused. The state legislature has even taken aim with some proposed laws that failed to pass this past session.
Such drug overdoses recently surpassed car crashes as the no. 1 cause of death in Washington.
Also coincidentally, Saturday is National “Take-Back” day. Drop sites around the country will be available for anyone who wishes to turn in unused prescription drugs.

This is an alarm our newspaper first sounded in 2008 in a project called “A Bitter Pill.”

Here’s the full press release from Inslee’s office:

“This afternoon, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Jay Inslee’s (WA-01) Safe Drug Disposal Act, H.R. 5809, by unanimous consent.  This important bipartisan legislation will break down barriers preventing communities from starting comprehensive and all inclusive drug take-back programs in accordance with Drug Enforcement Agency guidelines.  Drug take-back programs provide communities with a safe, legal option for disposing unwanted or unneeded prescription medication.

“Passing the Safe Drug Disposal Act is a big win for Washington families,” said Rep. Inslee.  “Prescription drug abuse is a growing plague in our communities.  This week, nine middle school students in Bremerton were hospitalized after popping prescription pills some of the students brought from home.  Our communities need all the options available to them to combat this problem.  The Safe Drug Disposal Act will give them a common sense option to easily and safely get rid of leftover prescription medication.”

Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in Washington state and around the country.  Between 1999 and 2006, the number of fatal poisonings involving prescription drugs more than tripled across the United States.  Prescription drug overdoses have now surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of accidental deaths in Washington state.  Three in five teens say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from parents’ medicine cabinets and over half of prescription drug abusers get the medicines from a friend or relative.

“Drug overdoses are now the #1 cause of accidental death in Washington State.
In many areas, including Snohomish County, prescription drugs are involved in a majority of overdoses,” said John Gahagan, Vice-Chair of the Science and Management of Addictions (SAMA) Foundation. Mr. Gahagan’s son, Sean, died of a prescription drug overdose. “Whether left unused in medicine cabinets, tossed in the garbage or flushed down the toilet, these drugs represent a danger to the health of our youth and the health of our environment.   Rep. Inslee’s bill is a critical step in support of efforts to ensure that unneeded controlled substances are securely collected from homes and disposed of safely.”

The Safe Drug Disposal Act would allow local agencies and organizations to set-up and run safe drug disposal efforts, like drop-off boxes and mail-in programs, in accordance with future DEA regulations.  Groups, authorized by the Attorney General would be able to accept controlled substances for the purpose of disposal.  The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would be able to issue rules regarding drug take back programs. The bill also calls for a new public awareness campaign to educate citizens about the dangers of prescription drugs.

Until now, there has been no safe way for consumers to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs.  Under current law, consumers are prohibited from giving unneeded, unused or expired drugs to anyone besides law enforcement.

Rep. Inslee worked with many local, regional and national organizations to craft the language of the Safe Drug Disposal Act.  In Washington state, local agencies and community groups like Group Health and Bartell Drugs have tackled this problem head-on and developed successful pilot safe drug disposal programs.  Bartell Drugs provided the first take-back locations in Washington’s pioneering Unwanted Medicine Return program and continues to expand locations at its stores in King , Pierce and Snohomish counties.

“Bartell’s understands the need for the safe and environmentally sound disposal of prescription drugs,” said George D. Bartell, Chairman and CEO of family-owned, Seattle-based Bartell Drugs. “The Safe Drug Disposal Act will play an important role in safeguarding our environment, reducing abuse and saving lives.  We heartily applaud Representative Inslee’s efforts behind this bill.”

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Red Light Cameras Come Under Scrutiny in California

Love them or hate them, red light cameras generate a lot of talk. But in Orange County, California, they’ve now taken a hit from the judiciary.

An appellate panel of judges has ruled such photos and video taken by the cameras is inadmissible, according to a story in the Orange County Register. Their rationale? No officers saw the offense with their own eyes, and the company that runs the cameras didn’t testify against the offenders in court.

Here in Bremerton, where we have red light cameras on both sides of town, such an issue has not been raised. Whether the California argument and decision is replicated has yet to be seen.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

UPDATE: Do Kitsap’s DUI Offenders Wear Anklets Like Lindsay Lohan?

You may have seen the ankle bracelets that are capable of monitoring alcohol consumption. The devices, which measure vapors given off by perspiration, have become increasingly common and have even been spotted on celebrities like Lindsay Lohan.

I was curious if we had any such technology here in Kitsap, so I asked Kitsap County’s district court administrator Maury Baker, who oversees the largest court that handles DUI in the county.

“We have not used these and have been aware of them since they hit the market,” Baker wrote me in an email.

UPDATE: Monday, 9:11 a.m.: I got an email from a local attorney who told me they’re in use in Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo’s municipal courts. I’ll get more info on them today.

I showed Baker an article in the Dallas Morning News about the device’s use in Texas. You can read it here.

But Baker feels Kitsap’s method of monitoring — the ignition interlock device (IID) or “blow and go” — has an advantage over the anklet.

“As the article states, the (ankle) sensor does not stop one from driving drunk,” Baker wrote. “The IID disables the vehicle.”

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Kitsap’s Prosecutor, Coroner Will Have Election Opponents

Two elected leaders got opponents in this fall’s elections in the last two days of filing week. Bruce Danielson, a South Kitsap attorney who ran for superior court judge in 2004 and 2008, will challenge Russ Hauge for the job of Kitsap County prosecutor.

It’s the first time Hauge has faced an opponent since dethroning C. Danny Clem in 1994.  Here’s the profile I wrote about Hauge in 2006, when he last ran for the post.

And in a surprise Friday filing, Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom garnered an opponent in Pete Favazza. Favazza last ran for the Public Utility District Commission in 2008.

Sandstrom has overseen the coroner’s office’s transition into a new building during his current term. Here’s the profile I wrote about him in 2006, when he ran unopposed.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Enough Already! What to Do About Break-Ins at Silverdale Parking Lot

Julie Sayers lost her purse, credit cards and personal information to car prowlers recently. They smashed out her car’s window while she was parked at the Silverdale Rotary Gateway Park — a place all too common for such break-ins.

Yet for all the agony she went through dealing with the theft, she was more angry with what happened next.

She found that the culprits “tested” one of her credit cards by making a $1 transaction at a nearby gas station. Then, they went inside a grocer — also nearby — to spend serious money on her card.

It makes Sayers wonder why no one thinks it suspicious to buy $1 in gas. But that’s beside the point to her, which is this: the thieves are clearly not trying all that hard in victimizing car owners at the Gateway park’s lot. Broken glass on the ground there is a common sight, she points out.

“I think it is time for Silverdale citizens to take back their lot and Clear Creek Trail and not let these brazen crooks get away with this,” she wrote me in an email.

She wonders if surveillance cameras are the answer. In the mean time, a new dog park’s going in near the lot, one that will remove a berm that should make it more visible from the road.

Her own story does have a little happy ending to it: a good Samaritan found her purse and its contents while Geocaching near the Kitsap Mall.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post