Jails instead of courts
Judiciary panel deciding where to spend money

By John Christian Hopkins
Dine Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Judiciary Committee is considering scaling back its plans for public safety/court facilities at each of the five agencies.

The long-term goal is still to build one at each agency, but instead of trying to find money to build all five at once, it might make better sense to concentrate on just one or two facilities, Chairman Kee Allen Begay said.

Even then, things may have to be modified, Begay said.
The facilities would have three components; jails, courts and space for support staff and services. It may behoove the committee to just look to build the jails first, Begay said.

“Building courts? I’m not too crazy about it,” committee member Leonard Tsosie said. “They’re just shiny buildings.”

He would rather see the money go into jails and beefing up the police presence on the reservation, Tsosie said.

“I think the Navajo people will be happy if we begin to bring down the (crime} rate,” Tsosie said.

In addition to more police on the beat, more jails are needed to house inmates. Right now the way crime is handled is unproductive, Tsosie said.

“Guilty or not guilty? Guilty? OK, we don’t have room, go on home,” Tsosie said. “That’s how our judges are.”

Tsosie said he thought it had already been decided on by Judiciary and the Public Safety Committee to focus on the first two facilities, to be located in Tuba City and Crownpoint.

The other three facilities, in order of building plans, are Chinle, Shiprock and Fort Defiance .

“I don’t think we should go with all five,” committee member Harold Wauneka said. “If we try to do everything at once, I believe we are going to run up against a wall.”

Naming a new chairman for the PSC could complicate matters, committee member Nelson Gorman said. The new chairman, Rex Lee Jim, seems to favor building a grander facility, Gorman added.

“We’re leading off in a different direction,” Judiciary’s Ray Berchman said. Before worrying about what and where to build, the committee needs to figure out how to finance the projects, Berchman added.

The consulting firm of Sacks Tierney could help guide the committee along, Berchman said.

The company already has a contract with the Office of the Speaker, but it is for specific things. Either the contract would have to be revised, or the committee would have to come up with extra money, Begay said.

“Sacks Tierney can help us, but we’re going to have to cough up some money first,” Berchman said.

Hiring a project manager would help the process, Vice Chairman Edward Jim suggested.

“We need better planning, we don’t even have financing yet,” Wauneka said.

Judiciary is going to try and arrange a meeting with PSC and Sacks Tierney to get a better idea of what the next step is, Begay said.

“We’re not trying to make a Holiday Inn for the prisoners,” he added.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com