PORTLAND, Ore.—Faced with projections of rising crime, residents here voted in 1996 to build a new jail to contain hundreds of future inmates. By the time the cavernous structure was completed in 2004, crime had fallen, leaving the city and neighboring towns that make up Multnomah County with an empty jail that cost more than $300,000 annually to maintain. [read the full story here]
Tags: General, Federal