Titled:   Portland jail empty, despite rise in crime

The Seattle Times tells us of one part of this story:

The Wapato Facility, in the city's northern outskirts, took $59 million and two years to construct. But in the nearly two years since its completion — as Portland has struggled with a crime surge — not a single inmate has set foot in the building.

And the New York Times brings us the second part:

Especially in the country's inner cities, the studies show, finishing high school is the exception, legal work is scarcer than ever and prison is almost routine, with incarceration rates climbing for blacks even as urban crime rates have declined.

There seems to be a pattern here. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that if you lock up enough criminals, there is a decrease in crime. And if you leave them loose on the street, more crime happens.

Yet both media outlets seem to transfixed with the idea that if the crime rate is dropping, you should start releasing existing offenders and refrain from locking up new ones.

The Progressive Community may believe that "prisons are no cure for crime", but I can guarantee you that a prisoner, while locked in prison, is not committing crimes on the streets.

Hat-tip to Opinion Journal