LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY

The Sheriff's Department finally has come to the realization that it can't
turn inmates out of the county jail and leave it to them to find their way
back to town without help. Sheriff Pat Hedges, standing a little too firmly
on pride, is reluctant to admit that changes in policy were motivated as
the result of two accidents on Highway 1 - one of them fatal - involving
newly released inmates.

Hedges says reforms were planned well before the accidents and that,
moreover, other policy changes are in the works.

OK. Let's put skepticism aside and give the sheriff the benefit of the
doubt. It also should be conceded that two such accidents within 10 days of
each other is unusual, if not unprecedented.

But Hedges still has some rethinking to do, in our judgement, when he says:
"At some point, they (inmates) need to assume the role to care for their
own safety."

That's not good enough. Tribune reporter June Rich found that the County
Jail releases about 30 inmates every day and, at least until now, they've
had to fend for themselves at the risk of life and/or limb.

The least the sheriff should be obligated to do is to make certain that
inmates get safe passage before the department turns its back on them. They
are, after all, human beings, handicapped or troubled or not.

If the sheriff carries out his promised new orders, released prisoners no
longer will face the daunting necessity of a four-mile hike from the County
Jail, our on Kansas Avenue and Highway 1, into San Luis Obispo.

A number of options will be available to them, including calling a cab,
using a bus if available and having clear information that will help them
make a decision.

All somebody in the department has to do is tell an inmate: "Look, we don't
want you walking out there on the highway. Here's what we're prepared to do
in your behalf."

Some of the regulations have been ridiculous and close to cold-blooded.
Classic is the case of Scott Bennett, the legally-blind inmate who was
struck and killed as he walked toward town on Highway 1, unable to see
clearly.

Was a ride available to him? Yes, says sheriff Hedges - "but, he would have
had to ask."

If citizens have to ask - rather than be told - what government can do for
them in a given situation, then government is not doing its job properly.

We trust the Sheriff's Department has learned that lesson.