Fenceless in Madison

This Associated Press story about a certain problem at the Madison Correctional Facility has a wonderfully understated line -- "A fenceless prison presents some security problems." Gee, do ya think?

The Madison Correctional Facility announced Wednesday it's putting up a fence because joggers, bicyclists and even parents pushing baby strollers inadvertently enter the grounds of the minimum-security women's prison.

"The facility has made several efforts to reduce this type of traffic through the facility by increasing signage, adding a landscape berm and sections of wrought-iron fencing around the perimeter," a prison statement said. "Still people often venture unknowingly into the middle of the correctional facility while leaving their vehicles unlocked."

Keeping civilians off the prison grounds is a bigger problem than one might think.

Of course, there's prison, and then there's prison. A minimum-security facility for women is not exactly what you'd use to scare little kids. When I lived in Michigan City, we all knew exactly where the prison was, and nobody jogged or biked within a mile of the place. The Madison facility even sounds kinda friendly, doesn't it, perhaps even a job-creating, economic-development tool? If Harrison Square keeps falling apart, maybe we should consider something like that.