Click this graphic to go to the search results page on NorthwestCitizen where you can access any of these reports.

Keep reading this series of reports on NorthwestCitizen to get an in-depth look at the history of the plan for a horizontal mega-jail. The next installment after those shown in this screenshot of search results for “Illusion of Inclusion” on NorthwestCitizen is also available on their website (it has a slightly different title). You can click the graphic below to access it.

The amount of research that went into the series is formidable. People won’t get a chance to have such a body of information related to a critical public issue presented to them very often.  Here is an excerpt from Juliette Daniel’s first installment, “Introduction to the ‘Illusion of Inclusion'”:

“Whatcom County is a microcosm of local city and county, state and federal criminal justice systems nationwide. Hyper local citizen involvement to change government and criminal justice systems matters because it can create better government and outcomes (both fiscally and within our community) and it is scalable. The purpose of the following report on the “Illusion of Inclusion,” is to show how Whatcom County has arrived at a point where citizen inclusion in key decisions is an illusion, and instead the will of a few elected officials is driving an agenda of higher taxes, debt, incarceration and criminal justice policies that increase recidivism and poverty at the expense of public safety.”

Coming up on July 13, 2017 is an important Public Hearing on the proposed mega-jail (click the graphic to view the event with accompanying details on Facebook):

Excerpt from the information page for the above event:

How to help turn this around before we have to fight a ballot initiative:

Step 1: Put this on your calendar.

Step 2: Write to your city council members and tell them to oppose the mega-jail proposal that the county just sent to them. Tell them that we need to WAIT for a real public hearing AND the input of the Vera Institue and the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Taskforce BEFORE deciding on a size for the new jail.

This is especially true if you live in Bellingham; without Bellingham’s approval, it is unlikely that this can move forward.

Step 3: Ask them to FIX the current Jail Now…for regardless of whether we need a new jail or not, that needs to be done anyway.

Step 4: Get educated on what’s really happening in Whatcom County by reading the investigative news series written by Juliette Daniels, a local criminal justice attorney. These articles unveil the past 20 years of the jail planning process and associated tactics. This research shows how the illusion of inclusion, is really different versions of what a layman would consider to be manipulation, corruption, and self-delusion. These articles will also help you understand the Executive Branch’s false “Need for Speed” pressure that is putting the Council under pressure again, so that they rush through this ballot measure without waiting for the input of the Vera Institute.

Addresses to write to Whatcom County Council prior to the Public Hearing:

council@co.whatcom.wa.us
bbrenner@co.whatcom.wa.us
rbrowne@co.whatcom.wa.us
bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us
cweimer@co.whatcom.wa.us
kmann@co.whatcom.wa.us
ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us
tdonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us