Yakima Jail Overflowing with 'Drunk and Disorderlies'
A frustrated prisoner asks a pointed question as the city lock-up fills up with residents.
The city has been on its bad behavior this week. Nine “drunk and disorderlies” occupy the municipal jail. Five men were arrested today for fighting. As the last batch hove up, under the wing of the marshal, before the city jail, one of the incarcerated, a poor, meek-faced drunk, poked his nose through the bars and plaintively asked: “What is getting into this town of Yakima?” Others have asked the same question. The marshal says the prisoners shall work on the streets under ball and chain.
“What is getting into this town of Yakima?”
City hall's struggle to manage public disorder and the debate over the effectiveness of incarceration versus social service approaches remains a constant in urban governance.
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