The city-parish could save money in the development of a new criminal justice complex by adopting a public-private partnership model, whereby a private company would develop a new parish prison and lease it back to the city-parish over a 30- or 35-year period.
That suggestion was among several discussed today at a forum by Harvard professor and consultant Stephen Goldsmith, who gave a presentation today at City Hall.
Council members invited Goldsmith, also a former Indianapolis mayor, to share ideas with stakeholders and the public about how to fund a new criminal justice complex. Earlier this year, the Metro Council scuttled Mayor Kip Holden’s proposed $335 million bond issue, which would have financed a new parish prison, public safety complex and mental health assessment facility. But council members and community leaders have continued to explore options for developing at least some of the facilities that were included in the mayor’s bond issue.
Goldsmith says one of the keys for city-parish with respect to the issue is to change the way it thinks about public safety and the facilities that make up a criminal justice complex. Constructing newer buildings isn’t necessarily the solution, but rather, creating a more efficient system of facilities that work better together.
Goldsmith also recommends developing a campus of facilities close to one another in order to reduce costs and enable various departments within the criminal justice system to share resources.
“I don’t know the geographic options,” he says. “But unequivocally, the more pieces you have on the same site, the more efficient, the less the cost, the better use for public defenders and DAs—everything gets better when the proximity is close.”
Among those attending the meeting were East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III and Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, as well as Council Members Chandler Loupe, Ronnie Edwards, Joel Boé, Buddy Amoroso and Scott Wilson. Representatives from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation were also present. BRAF has been working for several months on a plan to address the need for a mental health assessment center that would work within the criminal justice system and will present its findings and ideas later this month.
Gautreaux says engaging in public dialogue is the right way to address the problem holistically.
“We just want make sure we’re not just piecemealing solutions,” he says. “Whatever we propose to do is done for the benefit of the whole system.”
—Stephanie Riegel
