Not in My Back Yard?

One of the challenges I've faced in recruiting volunteers for ministry at Goose Creek Correctional Center is the fact that it sits almost an hour out of town in the middle of no where. When they were beginning to plan what would become Goose Creek, they had several sites they were considering. Half of the sites were remote, the other half were located in more populated areas. When the list of sites near populated areas came out, there was a loud squawking of people who did NOT want a prison anywhere near them. So it wound up at the end of the road.
But I've always thought living near a prison would be the safest place to be. The bad guys are stuck behind big walls surrounded by security staff. In the 18 years I've lived in the valley, I can only think of one prison escape I've heard of from the pre-trial facility in downtown Palmer. And if someone did manage to escape, they aren't going to hang around...

So the other day I came across this article: http://www.correctionsone.com/cook-county-jail/articles/7403138-Neighborhood-residents-feel-safer-living-near-jail/

From the article: "Residents who live near the Cook County Jail on South Sacramento Avenue are used to the sights and sounds of inmates – and they also feel safer. “We feel more protected here,” resident Francisco Salgado said of the marked and unmarked sheriff patrol cars that are a continuous presence on the street"
 “We always see police outside,” said Leticia Bahena. “We used to live in another neighborhood with gang bangers hanging around. It’s quiet here, not like other streets.”

My truck had some issues this winter and died on me one Friday night as  I was leaving the prison. The brother-in-law came and picked me up and I left the truck overnight until the father-in-law could come and help me get it going. Christy was concern about leaving the truck unattended there. But as I pointed out, there's cameras everywhere, security staff, and a pickup-truck on constant patrol. There's no place that could be safer!