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SALT LAKE CITY — When Salt Lake County mayoral candidate Mark Crockett set out his ideas for improvements at the county's jail Thursday, he lit a fuse under the sheriff.
The candidate said the county needs to do a better job of cutting down on repeat offenders, and that innovative programs are the key. When Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder heard about it, he called Crockett's proposals dangerous.
Overcrowding is a real issue at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, and Crockett wants to cut the number of repeat offenders and save the county money.
"No two people are alike, and we keep treating almost everybody as though they're all the same," he said during a campaign press conference Thursday morning.
To do so, Crockett plans to tap the ideas of community leaders, track data on inmates' backgrounds, and hone in on programs that are most likely to work for that inmate. [Click here to read Crockett's 5-point plan for jail reform]
"The outcomes of our jails, our mental health programs, our seniors programs are not actually better than anywhere else," Crockett said. "We need to be better than we are today."
Winder said he was on his way to Las Vegas when heard about Crockett's press conference. Immediately, he turned his car around and headed back for Salt Lake City.
"The assertions he has made are both misleading and dangerous," Winder said, during his own press conference Thursday afternoon.
The sheriff said the county adopted a criminal justice plan four years ago that's working well. "We've been working on this plan forever, and this gentleman walked over here and called it garbage," Winder said.
If Mr. Crockett believes that we can suddenly release large numbers of individuals onto the streets of this community, he is sadly mistaken.
–Sheriff Jim Winder
Crockett said there are amazing people working at the jail. But he says programs such as Real Victory — which he said helps inmates analyze their behavior, change their lives, and has cut recidivism by 54 percent — should serve as examples of what the county might implement.
"The big idea is around data, innovation and empowerment," Crockett said.
But Winder said a 54 percent reduction in return criminals is unbelievable; he said 10 or 15 percent is more sustainable.
"If Mr. Crockett believes that we can suddenly release large numbers of individuals onto the streets of this community, he is sadly mistaken," Winder said.
In a phone call Thursday night, Crockett re-emphasized that he's not criticizing today's programs, and he thinks that he and the sheriff both want a safer community at a price the county can afford.
