In 1993, we thought that as voters we had done our part to keep hardened criminals off the street when we passed the “The Three Strikes You’re Out” law.

Confident we had done our job, it was now up to the judicial and correctional system to enforce those laws. We assumed the criminals, once convicted, were getting what they deserved – they were sent off to Neverneverland to not live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, the senseless murder of Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl by a vicious two-strikes inmate at Monroe finally put a face on those laws we pass.

Suddenly, locking up all the bad guys isn’t quite so simple anymore as a vote or a new law. Inadequate working conditions and processes, along with insufficient facilities and personnel, also contributed to her demise.

Making laws that we can’t or are unwilling to sustain are as senseless as crime itself.

Our job is not done until we support those who enforce our laws with the tools to carry out their mission.

You can begin by contacting the governor and your legislators. Let them know you support whatever it takes to get these criminals off the streets by hiring adequate staff, improving training and processes and building more prisons, if necessary. If you don’t know what to say, just cut this article out and send it to them with a note – “Yeh, what she said.”

In these hard economic times, we become even more vulnerable as the criminals become more desperate.

Let’s not allow this economic downturn to work to the advantage of the criminal element. They’re counting on us to strike out, allowing them shorter sentences, early release and causing unrest in the prison system due to inadequate staffing. We need to remind them they are still in our crosshairs.

If you want to know what the criminal element is like in your Renton community and put a face on those whose job it is to apprehend them, then sign up for the Renton Citizen’s Police Academy. It is a very eye-opening experience put on by the Renton Police Department – every Tuesday, for 12 weeks, beginning March 1. Contact Terri Vickers for further info at tvickers@rentonwa.gov or call 425-430-7520. Seating is limited and fills up fast.

In memory of Jayme Biendl.

Tish Gregory, a longtime Renton resident, is a freelance writer and can be contacted at tishgregory@aol.com