Your new jail is already having serious problems

So look—we just opened this brand-new, three hundred-million-dollar jail down in Jackson County, right by the river. It’s meant to be this state-of-the-art facility, something we can be proud of for our city. But here’s the real one: less than two months in, and folks inside are saying it’s a mess. Inmates are reporting some pretty serious issues, claiming they're being "treated like animals." Come on now, for three hundred million dollars, you’d think we’d get something a little better than *that*.

Here's What Folks Are Saying

This isn't just a few minor complaints, either. The reports coming out are pretty disheartening, especially considering the investment we made as a city.

* Inmates are talking about issues with basic needs, things like plumbing and sanitation that you just expect to work.

* There are complaints about staffing levels and how that impacts daily life inside the facility.

* The general sentiment is that the conditions are far from what was promised when the jail was unveiled.

It just makes you wonder what went wrong from the planning stages right up to now. We've got so many important things happening in Kansas City, from the East Side's ongoing revitalization efforts to making sure our jazz heritage at 18th and Vine stays vibrant. We need our city services to be top-notch, and that includes our correctional facilities.

KC on the wire—where the jazz plays and the sauce means something.

Robyn breaks down all the KC happenings every morning — catch it live at mornings.live.