The "not-in-my-backyard" attitude of the residents of a city neighborhood that houses a county work-release prison facility is part of a larger criminal justice issue.

America has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world - mostly caused by the jailing of non-violent offenders - and one of the main consequences of sending a lot of people to prison is what to do with them when they transition, as almost all of them inevitably will, back into society.

Some residents of the north Rapid City Adams Street neighborhood are fighting the permanent placement of a county work-release program in a building at 703 Adams St.

We're a bit perplexed by that, since the site has long been a criminal justice facility, housing a juvenile detention center for many years before it became a work-release site six years ago. If the facility has had a negative impact on the neighborhood's image or property values, it is a longstanding one that has been reflected in home prices in the marginally residential neighborhood for many years.

Given our society's penchant for incarceration, work-release prisons are an inevitable fact of life. Here in South Dakota, 2,640 parolees exited prison in 2005 as another 2,664 people went into the system, according to Washington-based civil liberties organization DKT Liberty Project.

We think the Adams Street site is a logical location for a work-release prison. It is centrally located near downtown Rapid City, close to a variety of bus routes for people who may lack other transportation. Supermarkets, city services, entertainment, churches and other services are all within easy walking distance, hopefully making the transition from inmate to productive citizen a little more successful.

For many reasons, it makes more sense than relocating to a new site many miles outside of town. The most important one, in a time of shrinking county funds and ever-escalating property taxes, is that this facility already exists. Utilizing it means the county won't have to fund the construction of yet another prison facility at taxpayer expense.

We urge county commissioners to do the right thing for all county taxpayers instead of responding to the vocal NIMBY demands of a few.