KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — The Kootenai County Sheriff is calling on Idaho officials to stop "playing into the Liberal Playbook to Defund Law Enforcement." This comes after the county jail failed its last inspection due to reported underfunding.
In an open letter to Idaho's governor and other officials, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris is asking for an open conversation about the state of county sheriff operations. He believes the state can and should do more to fund the department and the jail as both struggle to hire staff and maintain the inmate population.
Norris claims the Kootenai County Jail is approximately 30% overcrowded, with the felony population at 83%. He added the jail failed its most recent inspection because of a disproportionate inmate-to-staff ratio.
"Kootenai County Sheriff Robert B. Norris said that a process that may have served Idaho well at one time, is now broken," Norris wrote in a press release. "The jail and the Kootenai County community has seen a more serious criminal element in recent years."
Idaho is currently sitting on a $1.5 billion budget surplus. Norris claimed the Idaho Legislature has "restricted the property tax formula to counties for years" while also holding onto millions in surplus dollars.
Norris said a conversation needs to be had about supporting sheriff operations in Idaho. He said it is not fair to rely on property tax only to fund sheriff operations, and suggested a conversation about using sales tax to help fund operations be held.
"County law enforcement operations suffer while state and city operations flourish," Norris wrote. "What is the difference between underfunding law enforcement and defunding law enforcement?"
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