New youth detention center is too small?

As reported by KMTV — The Douglas County Youth Center is set to open downtown next year but some county commissioners are already worried it will immediately fill up. A report presented at the Douglas County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday showed that 88 children were in the current facility in midtown Omaha in November. That is an issue as the new facility only has the capacity for 64 juveniles. “We have a practical problem right now,” said Commissioner Mike Friend.

Bummer. How could such . . . negligence . . . happen? After all, Douglas County Commissioner Chris Rodgers has consistently been a "key" proponent for building a new $27 million dollar facility that will primarily house Negro and Latino youth, and Commissioner Rodgers acquired a Master’s in Business Administration from Creighton in 1999, and acquired a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2002, so surely he acquired to proper "education" on how to conduct the "due diligence" required to effectively plan, guide, and lead a Herculean construction effort to house even more and more Negroes, right? So, how do "we" fix this problem?

Eureka! If "we" all work together, everything will fit. Here's an idea.

That's right, "we" can "squeeeeze" 88 kids into slots for 64. After all, they're just a bunch of miscreants. And let the church say, "Amen!"

Let's recap:

In his July 7, 2014 OP-ED: Counties Can Improve juvenile Justice Systems Outcome," Commissioner Chris Rodgers stated:

Another flaw is that youth of color are overrepresented at nearly every point of contact with the juvenile justice system. Even though they represent only one-third of the U.S. youth population, youth of color make up two-thirds of youth in detention and placement. These disparities have been occurring for decades, and it is time that counties work toward a justice system that treats all youth fairly regardless of their race or ethnicity.

So where do county leaders begin to fix their juvenile justice system?

QUESTION: What is Commissioner Rodgers' solution?

RESPONSE: Build a better jail to house more Negroes and Latinos.

Okay, "we" get it. There's really no serious desire for Commissioner Rodgers to do anything to actually reduce the number of juveniles, especially the 80% that are Black, from being his "customers" for the expanding revenue base of Douglas County, and most importantly, the third-party for-profit private sector companies that perpetually benefit from the increased incarceration of juveniles. Here's exactly what Commissioner Rodgers said before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Commission Briefing on Friday, September 8, 2006 regarding Nebraska Legislative Bill 1024: Let me say for the record, officially, that the Douglas County Board doesn't have any direct involvement in education, other than when a young person is put into the Douglas County Detention Center; we have authority over the guidance of education while they are there.
Clearly, Commissioner Rodgers' focus is to lock them up; not keep them out. Ultimately, Douglas County Commissioners are responsible; so why didn't someone simply read their own data and conduct some basic due diligence to properly plan, guide, and lead construction of a sterile urban mausoleum for juveniles? It's basic math, common to urban planning and development, which easily falls within the character and scope of analysis and budgeting that doesn't even require a certified public accountant (CPA). Homeowners in metro Omaha routinely and accurately project how to expand their existing homes, and how to deduce the required footage for purchasing a new home; but Douglas County is unable to do so. Keep in mind, these are YOUR elected officials, so remember them come the next election.tc

What next? Here's a rather sobering conclusion based solely on the perpetual existence of high poverty, high unemployment, and high crime particular to "urban" environments, and especially Nebraska, where people of color are perpetually arrested and incarcerated at numbers significantly greater than their per capita demographics: The new juvenile facility should be re-designed as a multi-purpose facility which will not only accommodate 88 individuals in the short run, but to be pragmatic, looking at the "big picture" of being financially responsible to tax-payers, the facility should be designed to accommodate no less than two-hundred-(200). Why? Because Douglas County is going to increasingly incarcerate MORE minorities not less, duh! What? You disagree? NEWS FLASH: Omaha is as racially segregated as St. Louis, Missouri - and it's not going to change; although arguably, Omaha "treats" its minorities a tad better, which is perhaps "the real reason" why Commissioner Chris Rodgers left St. Louis and elected not to return.

"I grew up for 13 years in District 189 in East St. Louis. I came here in '87
on a basketball scholarship to Creighton and stayed because I love the city."
Douglas County Commissioner Chris Rodgers
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights,
Commission Briefing on Friday, September 8, 2006
regarding Nebraska Legislative Bill 1024

Yes, arguably, Omaha "treats" its minorities a tad better than Missouri . . . just a tad . . .

From 2007, Nebraska held the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th highest Black homicide rate in the U.S. Locally, as published in the Omaha World Herald newspaper on February 21, 2010 (see graph below/click to enlarge), St. Louis was ranked 2nd, and Omaha held the 3rd highest Black homicide rate in the U.S., and Omaha's constant "high Black male unemployment" and "poor educational achievement for Black males" continues to foster an environment of Black-on-Black crime that leads to incarceration.

CLICK ABOVE GRAPH TO ENLARGE

Year	Number of Homicides in Omaha	Number of Black Homicides
2007	43	22 (50%)
2008	44	28 (64%)
2009	30	15 (50%)

In 2011, the national black homicide victimization rate was 17.51 per 100,000. For that year, Nebraska ranked first as the state with the highest black homicide victimization rate. Its rate of 34.43 per 100,000 was nearly double the national average for black homicide victims.

2011 Ranking	State	Number of Homicides	Homicide Rate per 100,000		2012 Ranking	State	Number of Homicides	Homicide Rate per 100,000		2013 Ranking	State	Number of Homicides	Homicide Rate per 100,000
1	Nebraska	30	34.43		1	Missouri	247	34.98		1	Indiana	213	34.15
2	Missouri	235	33.38		2	Nebraska	31	34.93		2	Missouri	216	30.42
3	Michigan	447	31.54		3	Michigan	492	34.77		3	Michigan	428	30.34
4	Pennsylvania	419	219.02		4	Pennsylvania	452	31.02		4	Nebraska	25	27.65
5	Oklahoma	74	25.51		5	Louisiana	384	25.75		5	Oklahoma	81	27.36
6	Louisiana	375	25.30		6	Indiana	157	25.48		6	Pennsylvania	384	26.11
7	Kansas	44	24.97		7	Oklahoma	73	25.04		7	Wisconsin	93	24.74
8	Wisconsin	86	23.22		8	Wisconsin	91	24.38		8	Louisiana	350	23.33
9	West Virginia	15	22.79		9	California	585	23.25		9	California	549	21.79
10	North Dakota	2	21.99		10	Tennessee	246	22.40		10	New Jersey	268	20.49
To download 2011 report, click here.					To download 2012 report, click here.					To download 2013 report, click here.
To download 2014 report, click here.					To download 2015 report, click here.					To download 2016 report, click here.

Plus, just like St. Louis, in addition to incarcerating more and more Black adults and juveniles, the City of Omaha, like many "urban" areas, is actively engaged in the gentrification of North Omaha to eventually remove (displace) Black homeowners (via high unemployment, high incarcerations, etc.).

Let me say for the record, officially, that the Douglas County Board
doesn't have any direct involvement in education, other than when
a young person is put into the Douglas County Detention Center.
Douglas County Commissioner Chris Rodgers

 

Here are the demographics:

 

Here are the . . . optics:

September 8, 2006		July 7, 2014
Let me say for the record, officially, that the Douglas County Board doesn't have any direct involvement in education, other than when a young person is put into the Douglas County Detention Center. Chris Rodgers Douglas County Commissioner		Another flaw is that youth of color are overrepresented at nearly every point of contact with the juvenile justice system. Even though they represent only one-third of the U.S. youth population, youth of color make up two-thirds of youth in detention and placement. These disparities have been occurring for decades, and it is time that counties work toward a justice system that treats all youth fairly regardless of their race or ethnicity. Chris Rodgers Douglas County Commissioner

Youth of color are overrepresented, so how does building a new incarceration center change that dynamic?

Like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin'
just talkin' loud, just say'n nothin'
just say'n nothin', just say'n nothin'
James Brown

 

Let's see, if eighty-eight-(88) juveniles received an equal share of $27,000,000 they'd all receive $306,818.18. Now, think about it, if you had $307,000 to change the "life trajectory" of your errant child, what would you do?

Send them to Boys Town, or Omaha Home for Boys, etc.?

Send them to Ukraine, or Sudan, or Puerto Rico for a "Scared Straight" reality check on what it truly means to survive?

Teach them how to turn $307,000 into millions through investments and entrepreneurship?

Pass legislation to unilaterally declare an errant juvenile a ward-of-the-state, then put them all on a bus with a cell phone and a bit coin account worth $307 grand, and dump them in New York City; or even better, dump them in St. Louis, Missouri. Why? Because Wallethub.com ranked Commissioner Chris Rodgers' hometown, again, as the least safest city in the United States for 2022.

 

1. Chattanooga, Tennessee
2. Jackson, Mississippi
3. Oakland, California
4. Oklahoma City
5. Memphis, Tennessee
6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7. Detroit
8. San Bernardino, California
9. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
10. St. Louis (ranked 182 of 182)

Lincoln, Nebraska (ranked 50 of 182)

Omaha, Nebraska (ranked 62 of 182)

Obviously, all of the aforementioned can be accomplished for much less than $307 grand, but the Douglas County Board was not focused on "thinking outside of the (penal) box," it was never on their agenda.

Some people say I'm too hard on "those people" at the Empowerment Network. Well, here yet again, "citizens are reacting" to drama connected to one of their . . . leaders, who clearly was not a proponent of change, but emblematic of the status quo.

Lock them up in a concrete box as pre-registration for their upcoming long-term incarceration, unemployment, homelessness, etc.

And this is leadership?

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

If you truly believe Douglas County Commissioner Chris Rodgers has a "keen" understanding of the relationship between: (a) incarceration of minority juveniles versus (b) [in Rodgers' own words] work(ing) toward a justice system that treats all youth fairly regardless of their race or ethnicity, send Commissioner Rodgers an email or letter and ask him to answer the following question:

Why do "elite," politically powerful and affluent White people perpetually and significantly make more money from incarcerating Black men, and Black juveniles, than from educating Black men and juveniles?

		Again, why is it "okay" for "elite," policially powerful and affluent White people to make significantly more money from incarcerating Black men and juveniles than from educating them?

I welcome your feedback.

Trip Reynolds
trip.reynolds@yahoo.com

Reynolds' Rap November 26, 2022 © 2017-2022 Tripoetry. All Rights Reserved. First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.