What is NNJ?
The No New Jail Campaign began in the winter of 2009 in response to the decision of the city to build a new, 300-bed municipal jail in Seattle. The city currently has a non-renewable contract with the county jail that will expire in 2012 regardless of the actual needs or space requirements that exist.

Over the past several years the number of people being incarcerated in the Seattle area has actually declined; however, the decision to build the jail was based on data collected years ago that speculated what our current space requirements would be. Despite this, the city has refused to conduct a new survey, claiming it would be too costly, even as they sink millions of dollars into jail sightings and environmental impact reports.

Why is it important? / Why we oppose it
We believe that the decision to build a new municipal jail in Seattle is fundamentally flawed in that it is based on a system of incarceration that is rooted in racism and classism. The population that would be affected by a new jail would undoubtedly be those from low-income neighborhoods or backgrounds and people of color. This is not what we need in Seattle; if they build a jail, they will fill it regardless of the actual need.

We take issue with the choice of locations as well. Out of the proposed locations, several were in lower income neighborhoods in South Seattle and several were in more affluent neighborhoods to the North. The undeniable end result will be with the poorer southern neighborhoods, as has been the case with almost all jails built in the United Sates over the last 20 years. The construction of a jail in one of these neighborhoods amounts to nothing more than a form of environmental racism.

Additionally, the cost of an unnecessary jail is the last thing that we need to be burdened with, especially at a time when many individuals and even entire states are on the verge of going bankrupt, where cutting social services and other necessities is becoming the norm. Given the proposed cost of $226 million, think of all the more productive uses those funds could go towards.

For example, around the same time the jail was being discussed, the city announced its plans to close five public schools, some in low-income neighborhoods, to save a measly total of $3 to $4 million. In doing this, the city is essentially funneling kids away from schools and directly into the prison system. Shouldn’t providing children with a good education so they stay out of situations that lead to incarceration be the priority?

However, our opposition goes beyond just the Seattle jail; it is overall against anything that will perpetuate what is known as the Prison Industrial Complex. The United States has the highest rates of incarceration in the world, more than any other nation at any point in recorded history. That is to say that there has never been a country that has put more of its citizens behind bars than the United States; leading it to be described by some as the “prison house of nations”. Currently there are more than 2.3 million people in jail in the United States, and that number shoots to roughly 7.2 million people if you include those on parole or probation. Many of these are for minor, non-violent offenses such as position of small amounts drugs; thanks largely to Ronald Regan’s “War on Drugs” and the inability of social services to cope with the massive amounts of people on the street after the closing of mental hospitals in the 1980s.

What have we done?
In order to fight the jail RCOP has taken a verity of actions, implementing several methods of organizing and activism.

Initially, RCOP along with other coalition members hosted a forum at Seattle University, which brought out over 300 people to hear about the jail. We continued to have other events to promote general knowledge of the jail, including benefits, house parties and concerts.

RCOP also took on an ambitious initiative campaign (I-100), which would make the jail a last-resort and require that it be put to a public vote before it could be built. While this campaign was ultimately unsuccessful due to a lack of signatures to get it on the ballot, it was by no means a failure. We collected over 13,000 signatures of people who oppose the jail, building a strong base of support from which to continue organizing against it.

In the time we spent organizing around the jail, we managed to make what was once a largely unknown issue become one of the most highly debated in the primary and general elections. Following this, King County made an unexpected move by offering a three-year extension on the current jail contract; the same contract which they have repeatedly called non-renewable. This effectively gives us an extra three years of time to build a base of opposition against the jail and sharpen our organizing methods.

Where do we go from here?
Following a post-primary slump, we are currently working to reengage our work around the NNJ campaign and to let people know that it is not over yet. We are still in the planning stages, and more information will be available as we meet with constituents and figure out the best strategy for our organizing at this time.

You can find more information on the Prison Industrial Complex, Environmental Racism, The War on Drugs, and more by checking out these useful websites:

Critical Resistance – a national grassroots organization dedicated to fighting the Prison Industrial Complex and educating people on issues of and alternatives to incarceration.

Prison Radio – radio essays from Mumia Abu-Jamal, an award-winning journalist who has been on death row for 25 years, covering a wide range of topics, including many related to the PIC and prisoners rights.

Municipal Jail Planning – official website for the municipal jail offering news and information from the city, last updated in April.