BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Yesterday, we reported that the Whatcom County Council has chosen a site on LaBounty Drive in Ferndale for a proposed new jail.

But the jail is just part of a criminal justice plan that is also being finalized.

The Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force ok’d a draft of the Justice Project Implementation Plan at its Monday, June 12th, meeting and it is currently under consideration by the county council.

It would require a new crisis relief center along with a new jail, which would include behavioral health treatment services.

It would also establish changes to the court system to reduce the number of people who are incarcerated, and support services for those who are released from jail after serving their sentences.

The County Executive will present a draft ordinance accepting the plan and proposing a sales tax to fund it to the council on June 20th.

The council is expected to take action on the plan at its July 11th meeting.