Upset about minimum security inmates being moved to their neighborhood, citizens have vowed that they "aren't going to roll over dead yet" but have just begun their political battle.
During a public hearing Wednesday evening, more than 75 citizens complained that they were denied an opportunity to voice their complaints until two days before inmates will be moved into the Camp Williams Lone Peak facility, adjacent to Bluffdale."If I conducted my business like that in Bluffdale, they'd put me in prison," quipped Mayor Lee G. Wanless.
Wanless said he had requested a public hearing early in October but wasn't granted a hearing date "until after the fact."
Officials with the Department of Corrections explained that those who will be housed at the Camp Williams facility are the most trusted inmates in the system.
Nick Morgan, deputy director of Utah Department of Corrections, said the 175 adult men who will be moved into the barracks Friday and Saturday all have parole dates, ranging from one month to six months away, and are highly motivated to avoid problems so their release dates will not be delayed. Of all the inmates, these men represent the highest level of trust and are referred to as trustees. They work in the community and have occasional home visits.
"It's a dangerous situation," insists Wanless. "We have families living within half a mile of the facility.
"You know these men must have committed several crimes to be housed in prison. At some point, with so many inmates living under one roof, someone is going to make a mistake, and it's going to hurt one of our citizens."
Citizens told corrections officials that they feared the Camp Williams Lone Peak facility would become a permanent solution to overcrowded prisons instead of temporary solution to gangs.
Morgan said the department had hopes of new facilities being built to accommodate rising numbers of inmates, but he could not give assurances that the Camp Williams facility would not be a long-term solution.
Wanless told the Deseret News he believes correction department officials are "sweet talkers" that "don't admit to any wrongdoing."
He said his constituents will lobby politicians to limit the Camp Williams solution to short term. He believes many politicians feel uneasy about their "quick-fix" solution to the gang problem.
Jack Ford, corrections spokesman, said special precautions have been made to secure the Lone Peak facility. An 8-foot fence has been built with razor wire around the facility, and security cameras monitor the grounds. "Security will be twice as intense as at the facility these trustees are being moved from," said Ford.