As the Superintendent of the Northern Neck Regional Jail, I am confident in saying no one in or out of the profession is opposed to the important and meaningful application of this type of  restriction. But the application however sincere and well meaning is only have of the equation. It is important to stop and remember the age old adage that "......short cuts make long delays". Virginia is blessed with a local criminal justice system that is the envy of the Nation and part of that trust is the manner in which the Commonwealth deals with these type issues. These issues are difficult and they defy simple solution with implications that effect a great many people. To "short cut" the very system designed to address these types of questions would be a great disservice to the Commonwealth and could quite possibly make the problem worse.

If we allow Virginia's sheriffs and jail administors through the Jail operations minimum standards committee to be part of the equation and more importantly allow the system to work as designed...then we can rise to this challange, meet our obligation and develop a response to this issue that meets ALL of our priorities.

If we can resist the temptation to "take a short cut" we can avoid the subsequent and potentially painful "delay".