How Prison Overcrowding Affects State Budgets
How Prison Overcrowding Affects State Budgets
By: Clarissa Taylor
JUST 6510/ JPS Planning & Budgeting
April 18, 2015
This paper will discuss how state and federal budgets are affected by the overcrowding of prisons. I chose this topic mainly because I use to work for the Alabama Department of Corrections from 2002 to 2005 as a Correctional Officer I. During the time I was employed for the department, I witness a lot of overcrowding in Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Things had gotten so bad due to the number of women whom were now committing crimes and Julia Tutwiler being the only female prison for women in the state of Alabama, overcrowding was bound to happen. As effect of the overcrowding at Julia Tutwiler Prison for …show more content…
Women some of the inmates were sent to Louisiana to a private prison to be housed. During this transition the inmate population did not take this change very well. On the first night that the buses came to transport some of the inmates who custody level was minimum to Louisiana, I thought that we were going to have a riot in dorm nine. Some inmates’ busted windows in dorm nine stood on their bunks and chanted songs in a rebellious nature. The warden had to call in the riot team to regain calm over dorm nine and the facility as a whole. This was the hardest time for me as a Correctional Officer I, security was at all time high. Inmates’ tempers were flaring because they felt as if the system were breaking up their prison families. However, after the initial transporting of inmates to the Louisiana facility the inmates were more open to the idea of change. The state of Alabama paid the private prison in Louisiana for their services of housing female inmates from the state of Alabama. After numerous transportation trips of inmates to Louisiana from Julia Tutwiler Prison the inmate to officer ratio was brought down to a more reasonable number. It still wasn’t at the level that the prison was designed for but it did help for the time being. Privatized prisons are on the rise now due to the overcrowding of state and some federal prisons. My husband is employed as a detention officer for the city of Hoover, Alabama and they house some federal inmates they adhere to a different set of rules than that of the state inmates that are held there. Lieutenant D. C. Wilson is a retired lieutenant for the Alabama Department of Corrections. He was employed with many facilities throughout his career with the department. I interviewed Lt. Wilson on how the facility that he was employed with felt the effects of overcrowding when it came to funding. Below are some of the questions that were asked:
1.
What made you become a correctional officer? “I have always wanted to do something in the law enforcement field. I’ve always had a passion for the law and enforcing the law. I knew at a very young age that I would be working is this field. Therefore when I was coming up as a young black man in Troy, Alabama I always had in my head that I wouldn’t do anything to tarnish me not having a record.”
2. How long was your training? “When I went through the academy in Selma, Alabama training was eleven weeks of physical and academic learning. You had to be in shape and you had to study. It is a lot more to it than what most people think. It is the same training that a lot of law enforcement personnel get. The only difference is we cannot arrest the public.”
3. What was the first facility that you were employed with? “The first facility that I was employed with after I graduated from the academy was West Jefferson which is now Donaldson. It is level six camp for male inmates; the highest level in terms of degree of violent offenders being housed there. I learned a lot at West Jefferson, it made me an alert young …show more content…
officer.”
4. How many facilities were you employed with during your employment with the department? “I was employed at six different camps during my employment with the Alabama Department of Corrections. As my rank went up that usually meant me having to commute to another facility that had an opening in my rank. It was hard at times but well worth it in the end.”
5. When you first started working with the department was overcrowding an issue? “When I first started working with the department in 1987 prison overcrowding wasn’t as big as a problem as it is now. The officer to inmate ratio was reasonable at that time, nothing like it is today.”
6. As your career progressed and your status moved up in rank, what are some of the effects your facility encountered due to the overcrowding? “Some of the effects that I witnessed firsthand were the high turnover rate of the correctional officers. Back in the early 2000’s mandatory overtime was instated due to the low retention rate of correctional officer. This in return caused more correctional officers to resign. We had some officers whom enjoyed working overtime especially if they were getting ready to retire and wanted to use those last three years as a determine factor on how much they would get on their retirement. The state was claiming that they were broke but we had correctional officer’s making more than some captains. Like I stated earlier some officers welcomed the overtime and some officers felt as if it took too much time away from their families. I personally know a correctional officer who made eighty thousand dollars in 2003. The starting salary for a correctional officer at that time was probably $27,000 if I’m not mistaken. There is a lot of money to be made in corrections more so than in any other law enforcement agency in the state of Alabama.”
7. As a lieutenant do you think that the state is budget is funded enough where prison overcrowding should be non-existent? “No, I think that a lot of the funding goes toward security. Hiring correctional officers and overtime to maintain security” (Wilson, 2015).According to an article entitled, States Cut Prison Budgets but not Prison Populations; budget shortfalls in California and some other states to close prison and shift inmates, pushing some facilities’ populations drastically over their capacity (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para.1). Closing prisons to close budget gaps is nothing new. California is consolidating its prison populations into fewer facilities. The state of Illinois in an extreme measure closed its infamous Tamms “supermax” prison. Inmates were held and kept there in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. The closing of this facility was a win and celebrated by human rights activists, however it had little to no effects on the overcrowding of the Illinois prison system (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para. 14). The state of Illinois in a measure to further cut cost is planning to shut down Dwight Correctional Center, one of the state’s women’s prison, two juvenile prisons and three transitional centers. If these closures take place it is predicted to save the state $62 million (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para.16). As an alternative to overcrowding in September 2010, then-Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1266 which authorized the Alternative Custody Program. Alternative Custody Program, this program allows women convicted of non-violent offenses with less than two years of their sentence left to complete their sentences at home on an ankle monitor. This program would later become effective the following year (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para.22). It is estimated that 45% of California’s women’s prison population would be eligible for alternate custody (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para. 22). Budget shortfall could lead to criminal justice reform, Oklahoma City understaffed prisons are filled beyond capacity and budget shortfalls are likely to make the problem worse. Prison in Oklahoma reached an all-time high of inmates last month, more than 28,500, while the number of officers is at 67% of authorized levels. The Director of the Department of Corrections Robert Patton informed legislators last week that further budget cuts may force him to eliminate 340 more positions and that correctional officer are already at risk due to prison overcrowding (Murphy, 2015). According to an article by Newspaper Source prisons need more funds. Jails and prisons in Monterey County California have reached a “severe” level of overcrowding and will require significant amounts of funding from the state in order to correct the problem (Reynolds, 2007). The report urges Monterey County supervisors to find funds for additional or new jail facilities; new equipment for video and audio surveillance, and fingerprint identification. The jail was originally designed to house 813 inmates however it housed 1,146 inmates in July of 2006 (Reynolds, 2007). Illegal immigrants’ serving time in Alabama prisons and jails makeup a large percentage, of the overcrowding problem in jails and prisons. A state bill that has been proposed in Alabama that could one day have illegal immigrants whom are arrested being deported back to their home countries. Alabama house majority leader Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, wants Gov. Bob Riley and the Department of Corrections to identify incarcerated illegal immigrants and work with the federal government to deport them. Rep. Guin stated that “Our jails and prisons are overcrowded and under-funded,” and “We should not be spending tax dollars to house illegal immigrants (Reynolds, 2007). New York and Arizona State have taken it a step further, they both have passed laws that allow them to voluntarily be deported once they’ve served a portion of their sentence. It is reported that both states have saved $141 million and $13 million respectively. Florida which is also a state that finds that it too is facing budget shortfalls this year is considering passing a similar measure (Reynolds, 2007). Two Kern County community correctional facilities that were supposed to reopen this month and house hundreds of low-level female inmates will remain closed due to budget issues. The contract was awarded last year to The GEO Group to operate the facilities was pulled because of state budget cuts, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Cassandra Hockenson stated that, “It costs about twice as much to keep an inmate housed in smaller facility compared to that of a larger one.” The McFarland Community Correctional Facility had been slated to reopen February 14 and it was to house 250 inmates. The Mesa Verde Community Correctional Facility which is located in Bakersfield would have opened on February7 and would house 400 inmates. The drop in the number of female prisoners was the factor in the states decision not to reopen both facilities. Both facilities had closed in 2009 due there not being enough low-level male inmates to fill them (Kotowski, 2011). As government funding starts to tighten the Department of Corrections is usually one of the first agencies to feel the effects of it. There are at least 26 states that have slashed prison funding and seven by more than 10 percent. These cuts effect the department in many ways which include the following: job losses, wage freezes, reduced meal offerings for the incarcerated, and cutbacks in in-prison and community based reentry programs. Hawaii has cut budgeting for prison drug treatment programs by one-third. The governor of Illinois made an announcement that the state would be laying off 1,000 state prison workers. The state of Connecticut eliminated STRIDE, an in prison and community based reentry program focused on job placement that had a 7% recidivism rate. By cutting correctional staff and meal offering has created the potential to create dangerous prison conditions for correctional workers. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, of the 2.3 million incarcerated, approximately 51.8% of those are people who have recidivated. When there is a lack of community resources and support it has a large impact on whether or not an inmate is able to succeed once released from incarceration. Multiple studies have proven that even a modest reentry program in correctional facilities yields considerable benefits. It is imperative that there be a reentry blueprint in place to curb the “revolving door” of our criminal justice system (Williams, 2009). It is at no surprise that prison overcrowding threatens public safety and state budgets. For the number of people that are currently incarcerated in the United States is hard to give a specific number. Inconsistent data has made piecing together the whole pie of the U.S. federal, state, local, and other types of confinement data difficult. However the Prison Policy Initiative has released complicated and expansive U.S. correctional system. The initiative found the incarceration system in this country “holds more than 2.4 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S. territories. This proves that the United States has the highest incarceration population in the world. In ALEC’s recently updated initiative on Prison Overcrowding, has led states to pour hundreds of millions, even billions of taxpayers’ dollars into their corrections budgets. To help state policymakers protect public safety while responding to budget demands, ALEC members have created model policies that draw on proven practices to help control crime and budgets in states (Williams A. , 2014). Due to budget cuts the governor of Arkansas had to delay prison plans. Gunner DeLay, the Republican candidate for Arkansas attorney general announced that he wants the state to use part of its projected $368 million budget surplus to expand prison capacity. Delay’s opponent in the November election is Democratic state Rep. Dustin McDaniel, D-Jonesboro. McDaniel believes that any prison financed by the state would not open for years, and therefore would not give Arizona any relief from current crime problems. He said that there are enough police with proper training and equipment would be a better response to the issue (Albanese, 2006). How do you slash cost and size of overcrowded prisons in the United States? According to, “ The Urban Institute released a report outlining the most effective ways to slash size and cost of overcrowded prisons in the U.S. is to introduce a variety of reforms to sentencing, prosecution, and early release policies. Strategies to reduce the growth and cut the cost of the Federal Prison System assessed two major options for reform with the Stemming the Tide: Strategies to Reduce the Growth and Cut the Cost of the Federal Prison. The front-end option is to curb future growth by reducing the number of new prisoners and issuing shorter sentences. The back-end approach would be to ease overcrowding by releasing prisoners early or transferring them to community correction centers. However the report finds that neither option by itself will make a dent in alleviating the crisis in our criminal justice system. But together, both approaches could make a significant difference. Long and unreasonable drug sentences are one of the main populations of the inmates in federal prisons. Decreasing both the number of people headed to prison as well as the length of their sentences would be the most direct way to slow the federal prison growth and stay within the budget. Stemming the Tide: Strategies to Reduce the Growth and Cut the Cost of Federal Prison System reports that estimates that reducing the number of people entering prison for drug offenses by 20% would save nearly $1.3 billion over the next 10 years. The reduction of drug sentences by 20% would also save $1.1 billion during the same timeframe. The report also finds that reducing the mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses by half would save about $2.5 billion over the next 10 years. A reform like this would reduce prison overcrowdings in half. On average, prisons would operate at 20% above capacity. Currently federal prisons operate between 35 to 40 percent above capacity. Most secure prisons in the United States have 51% more prisoners than they were designed to handle. Even medium security prisons have 47% more prisoners than they can handle. According to this report these are striking numbers that would yield savings, but they could be even greater if combined with other reforms that reduce the population and cut costs. These policy changes would include letting judges have a greater say in sentencing; decreasing the minimum amount of time prisoners are required to serve; extending more earned and good time credits; and releasing elderly and terminally ill prisoners earlier than scheduled. The report also states that there is one more idea they have to inject more fairness and lessen the financial burden on the criminal justice system. Congress could eliminate disparate cocaine sentencing terms for those prisoners sentenced before Congress approved the Fair Sentencing Act. Their sentences are longer and harsher than those who received shorter sentences after the law was passed. These are not liberal or conservative issues; however there is bipartisan interest and support for all of these measures. There is also proof at the state level that these reforms work. Pilot programs run by state governments have achieved the twin goals of reducing the prison population and saving money without adversely impacting public safety” (Taifa, 2013).
In conclusion we know that if the prisons are overcrowded that there are going to be cuts in budgets, whether it be state or federal the cuts are definite.
Prison overcrowding poses as a threat to security and personnel. When prison are overcrowded budgets have to be cut, therefore some people whom work for the department lose their jobs, take pay cuts, and the closing of some facilities are inevitable. There are some precautions that lawmakers and the Department of Corrections have taken in order to help with prison overcrowding and budgets. A lot of departments are investing in private prison to house inmates. This has become quite popular lately within the Department of Corrections. This does help with the overcrowding of the prisons but it hasn’t been proven that it helps out with the budget overall. That would depend on which private prison you’re using and their cost for housing inmates. Some states are ordering that prison reduces is prison population to no more than 137.5% of its designed capacity. By reducing it to no more than 137.5% of its designed capacity it saves the state money and in return helps with the state budget. A lot of community corrections facilities are being closed or the number of inmates being serviced by the community corrections is an all time low. When the community corrections have a low amount of inmates in the program they are more likely to be eliminated. Earlier we discussed how two community correction centers were scheduled to reopen
but weren’t due to budget cuts and low number of minimum security inmates to fill the two centers. Ways to prevent prison overcrowding and save taxpayers millions of dollars are:
Send fewer people to prison for drug crimes.
Allow drug offenders to serve shorter sentences.
Give judges greater discretion over sentencing.
Give judges even greater discretion.
Lower the” truth-in-sentencing” requirement.
Make sure people aren’t disproportionately punished for using crack instead of powder cocaine.
Allow more prisoners to reduce their sentences through credit for good behavior.
Give prisoners a full year off their sentences for participation in a drug rehabilitation program.
Release more elderly prisoners from Bureau of Prisons custody.
Send more foreign inmates back to their home countries.
References:
Bibliography
Albanese, E. (2006). Southwest.
Kotowski, J. (2011). Two correctional facilities to remain closed because of budget issues. Bakersfield: Bakersfield Californian, The.
Murphy, S. (2015). Budget shortfall could lead to criminal justice reform. Oklahoma City: AP Regional State Report-Oklahoma.
Reynolds, J. (2007). Prisons Need More Funds, Report Says. Monterey County Herald.
Taifa, N. (2013). How to Slash th Cost and Size of Overcrowded U.S. Prisons. Open Society Foundations-Washington, D.C. , 6.
Williams, A. (2014, April 8). Prison Overcrowding Threatens Public Safety and State Budgets. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.americanlegislator.org/prison-overcrowding-threatens-public-safety-state-budgets
Williams, D. B. (2009). Budget Cuts Must Lead To Innovation In Corrections. Corrections Today 6.
Wilson, L. D. (2015, April 2). (C. Taylor, Interviewer)
Law, Victoria (2013, February 14). States Cut Prison Budgets but Not Prison Populations. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://truth-out.org/news/item/14278-states-cut-prison-budgets-but-not-prison-populations
By: Clarissa Taylor
JUST 6510/ JPS Planning & Budgeting
April 18, 2015
This paper will discuss how state and federal budgets are affected by the overcrowding of prisons. I chose this topic mainly because I use to work for the Alabama Department of Corrections from 2002 to 2005 as a Correctional Officer I. During the time I was employed for the department, I witness a lot of overcrowding in Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Things had gotten so bad due to the number of women whom were now committing crimes and Julia Tutwiler being the only female prison for women in the state of Alabama, overcrowding was bound to happen. As effect of the overcrowding at Julia Tutwiler Prison for …show more content…
Women some of the inmates were sent to Louisiana to a private prison to be housed. During this transition the inmate population did not take this change very well. On the first night that the buses came to transport some of the inmates who custody level was minimum to Louisiana, I thought that we were going to have a riot in dorm nine. Some inmates’ busted windows in dorm nine stood on their bunks and chanted songs in a rebellious nature. The warden had to call in the riot team to regain calm over dorm nine and the facility as a whole. This was the hardest time for me as a Correctional Officer I, security was at all time high. Inmates’ tempers were flaring because they felt as if the system were breaking up their prison families. However, after the initial transporting of inmates to the Louisiana facility the inmates were more open to the idea of change. The state of Alabama paid the private prison in Louisiana for their services of housing female inmates from the state of Alabama. After numerous transportation trips of inmates to Louisiana from Julia Tutwiler Prison the inmate to officer ratio was brought down to a more reasonable number. It still wasn’t at the level that the prison was designed for but it did help for the time being. Privatized prisons are on the rise now due to the overcrowding of state and some federal prisons. My husband is employed as a detention officer for the city of Hoover, Alabama and they house some federal inmates they adhere to a different set of rules than that of the state inmates that are held there. Lieutenant D. C. Wilson is a retired lieutenant for the Alabama Department of Corrections. He was employed with many facilities throughout his career with the department. I interviewed Lt. Wilson on how the facility that he was employed with felt the effects of overcrowding when it came to funding. Below are some of the questions that were asked:
1.
What made you become a correctional officer? “I have always wanted to do something in the law enforcement field. I’ve always had a passion for the law and enforcing the law. I knew at a very young age that I would be working is this field. Therefore when I was coming up as a young black man in Troy, Alabama I always had in my head that I wouldn’t do anything to tarnish me not having a record.”
2. How long was your training? “When I went through the academy in Selma, Alabama training was eleven weeks of physical and academic learning. You had to be in shape and you had to study. It is a lot more to it than what most people think. It is the same training that a lot of law enforcement personnel get. The only difference is we cannot arrest the public.”
3. What was the first facility that you were employed with? “The first facility that I was employed with after I graduated from the academy was West Jefferson which is now Donaldson. It is level six camp for male inmates; the highest level in terms of degree of violent offenders being housed there. I learned a lot at West Jefferson, it made me an alert young …show more content…
officer.”
4. How many facilities were you employed with during your employment with the department? “I was employed at six different camps during my employment with the Alabama Department of Corrections. As my rank went up that usually meant me having to commute to another facility that had an opening in my rank. It was hard at times but well worth it in the end.”
5. When you first started working with the department was overcrowding an issue? “When I first started working with the department in 1987 prison overcrowding wasn’t as big as a problem as it is now. The officer to inmate ratio was reasonable at that time, nothing like it is today.”
6. As your career progressed and your status moved up in rank, what are some of the effects your facility encountered due to the overcrowding? “Some of the effects that I witnessed firsthand were the high turnover rate of the correctional officers. Back in the early 2000’s mandatory overtime was instated due to the low retention rate of correctional officer. This in return caused more correctional officers to resign. We had some officers whom enjoyed working overtime especially if they were getting ready to retire and wanted to use those last three years as a determine factor on how much they would get on their retirement. The state was claiming that they were broke but we had correctional officer’s making more than some captains. Like I stated earlier some officers welcomed the overtime and some officers felt as if it took too much time away from their families. I personally know a correctional officer who made eighty thousand dollars in 2003. The starting salary for a correctional officer at that time was probably $27,000 if I’m not mistaken. There is a lot of money to be made in corrections more so than in any other law enforcement agency in the state of Alabama.”
7. As a lieutenant do you think that the state is budget is funded enough where prison overcrowding should be non-existent? “No, I think that a lot of the funding goes toward security. Hiring correctional officers and overtime to maintain security” (Wilson, 2015).According to an article entitled, States Cut Prison Budgets but not Prison Populations; budget shortfalls in California and some other states to close prison and shift inmates, pushing some facilities’ populations drastically over their capacity (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para.1). Closing prisons to close budget gaps is nothing new. California is consolidating its prison populations into fewer facilities. The state of Illinois in an extreme measure closed its infamous Tamms “supermax” prison. Inmates were held and kept there in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. The closing of this facility was a win and celebrated by human rights activists, however it had little to no effects on the overcrowding of the Illinois prison system (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para. 14). The state of Illinois in a measure to further cut cost is planning to shut down Dwight Correctional Center, one of the state’s women’s prison, two juvenile prisons and three transitional centers. If these closures take place it is predicted to save the state $62 million (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para.16). As an alternative to overcrowding in September 2010, then-Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1266 which authorized the Alternative Custody Program. Alternative Custody Program, this program allows women convicted of non-violent offenses with less than two years of their sentence left to complete their sentences at home on an ankle monitor. This program would later become effective the following year (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para.22). It is estimated that 45% of California’s women’s prison population would be eligible for alternate custody (Truth-Out.Org, 2015, para. 22). Budget shortfall could lead to criminal justice reform, Oklahoma City understaffed prisons are filled beyond capacity and budget shortfalls are likely to make the problem worse. Prison in Oklahoma reached an all-time high of inmates last month, more than 28,500, while the number of officers is at 67% of authorized levels. The Director of the Department of Corrections Robert Patton informed legislators last week that further budget cuts may force him to eliminate 340 more positions and that correctional officer are already at risk due to prison overcrowding (Murphy, 2015). According to an article by Newspaper Source prisons need more funds. Jails and prisons in Monterey County California have reached a “severe” level of overcrowding and will require significant amounts of funding from the state in order to correct the problem (Reynolds, 2007). The report urges Monterey County supervisors to find funds for additional or new jail facilities; new equipment for video and audio surveillance, and fingerprint identification. The jail was originally designed to house 813 inmates however it housed 1,146 inmates in July of 2006 (Reynolds, 2007). Illegal immigrants’ serving time in Alabama prisons and jails makeup a large percentage, of the overcrowding problem in jails and prisons. A state bill that has been proposed in Alabama that could one day have illegal immigrants whom are arrested being deported back to their home countries. Alabama house majority leader Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, wants Gov. Bob Riley and the Department of Corrections to identify incarcerated illegal immigrants and work with the federal government to deport them. Rep. Guin stated that “Our jails and prisons are overcrowded and under-funded,” and “We should not be spending tax dollars to house illegal immigrants (Reynolds, 2007). New York and Arizona State have taken it a step further, they both have passed laws that allow them to voluntarily be deported once they’ve served a portion of their sentence. It is reported that both states have saved $141 million and $13 million respectively. Florida which is also a state that finds that it too is facing budget shortfalls this year is considering passing a similar measure (Reynolds, 2007). Two Kern County community correctional facilities that were supposed to reopen this month and house hundreds of low-level female inmates will remain closed due to budget issues. The contract was awarded last year to The GEO Group to operate the facilities was pulled because of state budget cuts, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Cassandra Hockenson stated that, “It costs about twice as much to keep an inmate housed in smaller facility compared to that of a larger one.” The McFarland Community Correctional Facility had been slated to reopen February 14 and it was to house 250 inmates. The Mesa Verde Community Correctional Facility which is located in Bakersfield would have opened on February7 and would house 400 inmates. The drop in the number of female prisoners was the factor in the states decision not to reopen both facilities. Both facilities had closed in 2009 due there not being enough low-level male inmates to fill them (Kotowski, 2011). As government funding starts to tighten the Department of Corrections is usually one of the first agencies to feel the effects of it. There are at least 26 states that have slashed prison funding and seven by more than 10 percent. These cuts effect the department in many ways which include the following: job losses, wage freezes, reduced meal offerings for the incarcerated, and cutbacks in in-prison and community based reentry programs. Hawaii has cut budgeting for prison drug treatment programs by one-third. The governor of Illinois made an announcement that the state would be laying off 1,000 state prison workers. The state of Connecticut eliminated STRIDE, an in prison and community based reentry program focused on job placement that had a 7% recidivism rate. By cutting correctional staff and meal offering has created the potential to create dangerous prison conditions for correctional workers. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, of the 2.3 million incarcerated, approximately 51.8% of those are people who have recidivated. When there is a lack of community resources and support it has a large impact on whether or not an inmate is able to succeed once released from incarceration. Multiple studies have proven that even a modest reentry program in correctional facilities yields considerable benefits. It is imperative that there be a reentry blueprint in place to curb the “revolving door” of our criminal justice system (Williams, 2009). It is at no surprise that prison overcrowding threatens public safety and state budgets. For the number of people that are currently incarcerated in the United States is hard to give a specific number. Inconsistent data has made piecing together the whole pie of the U.S. federal, state, local, and other types of confinement data difficult. However the Prison Policy Initiative has released complicated and expansive U.S. correctional system. The initiative found the incarceration system in this country “holds more than 2.4 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S. territories. This proves that the United States has the highest incarceration population in the world. In ALEC’s recently updated initiative on Prison Overcrowding, has led states to pour hundreds of millions, even billions of taxpayers’ dollars into their corrections budgets. To help state policymakers protect public safety while responding to budget demands, ALEC members have created model policies that draw on proven practices to help control crime and budgets in states (Williams A. , 2014). Due to budget cuts the governor of Arkansas had to delay prison plans. Gunner DeLay, the Republican candidate for Arkansas attorney general announced that he wants the state to use part of its projected $368 million budget surplus to expand prison capacity. Delay’s opponent in the November election is Democratic state Rep. Dustin McDaniel, D-Jonesboro. McDaniel believes that any prison financed by the state would not open for years, and therefore would not give Arizona any relief from current crime problems. He said that there are enough police with proper training and equipment would be a better response to the issue (Albanese, 2006). How do you slash cost and size of overcrowded prisons in the United States? According to, “ The Urban Institute released a report outlining the most effective ways to slash size and cost of overcrowded prisons in the U.S. is to introduce a variety of reforms to sentencing, prosecution, and early release policies. Strategies to reduce the growth and cut the cost of the Federal Prison System assessed two major options for reform with the Stemming the Tide: Strategies to Reduce the Growth and Cut the Cost of the Federal Prison. The front-end option is to curb future growth by reducing the number of new prisoners and issuing shorter sentences. The back-end approach would be to ease overcrowding by releasing prisoners early or transferring them to community correction centers. However the report finds that neither option by itself will make a dent in alleviating the crisis in our criminal justice system. But together, both approaches could make a significant difference. Long and unreasonable drug sentences are one of the main populations of the inmates in federal prisons. Decreasing both the number of people headed to prison as well as the length of their sentences would be the most direct way to slow the federal prison growth and stay within the budget. Stemming the Tide: Strategies to Reduce the Growth and Cut the Cost of Federal Prison System reports that estimates that reducing the number of people entering prison for drug offenses by 20% would save nearly $1.3 billion over the next 10 years. The reduction of drug sentences by 20% would also save $1.1 billion during the same timeframe. The report also finds that reducing the mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses by half would save about $2.5 billion over the next 10 years. A reform like this would reduce prison overcrowdings in half. On average, prisons would operate at 20% above capacity. Currently federal prisons operate between 35 to 40 percent above capacity. Most secure prisons in the United States have 51% more prisoners than they were designed to handle. Even medium security prisons have 47% more prisoners than they can handle. According to this report these are striking numbers that would yield savings, but they could be even greater if combined with other reforms that reduce the population and cut costs. These policy changes would include letting judges have a greater say in sentencing; decreasing the minimum amount of time prisoners are required to serve; extending more earned and good time credits; and releasing elderly and terminally ill prisoners earlier than scheduled. The report also states that there is one more idea they have to inject more fairness and lessen the financial burden on the criminal justice system. Congress could eliminate disparate cocaine sentencing terms for those prisoners sentenced before Congress approved the Fair Sentencing Act. Their sentences are longer and harsher than those who received shorter sentences after the law was passed. These are not liberal or conservative issues; however there is bipartisan interest and support for all of these measures. There is also proof at the state level that these reforms work. Pilot programs run by state governments have achieved the twin goals of reducing the prison population and saving money without adversely impacting public safety” (Taifa, 2013).
In conclusion we know that if the prisons are overcrowded that there are going to be cuts in budgets, whether it be state or federal the cuts are definite.
Prison overcrowding poses as a threat to security and personnel. When prison are overcrowded budgets have to be cut, therefore some people whom work for the department lose their jobs, take pay cuts, and the closing of some facilities are inevitable. There are some precautions that lawmakers and the Department of Corrections have taken in order to help with prison overcrowding and budgets. A lot of departments are investing in private prison to house inmates. This has become quite popular lately within the Department of Corrections. This does help with the overcrowding of the prisons but it hasn’t been proven that it helps out with the budget overall. That would depend on which private prison you’re using and their cost for housing inmates. Some states are ordering that prison reduces is prison population to no more than 137.5% of its designed capacity. By reducing it to no more than 137.5% of its designed capacity it saves the state money and in return helps with the state budget. A lot of community corrections facilities are being closed or the number of inmates being serviced by the community corrections is an all time low. When the community corrections have a low amount of inmates in the program they are more likely to be eliminated. Earlier we discussed how two community correction centers were scheduled to reopen
but weren’t due to budget cuts and low number of minimum security inmates to fill the two centers. Ways to prevent prison overcrowding and save taxpayers millions of dollars are:
Send fewer people to prison for drug crimes.
Allow drug offenders to serve shorter sentences.
Give judges greater discretion over sentencing.
Give judges even greater discretion.
Lower the” truth-in-sentencing” requirement.
Make sure people aren’t disproportionately punished for using crack instead of powder cocaine.
Allow more prisoners to reduce their sentences through credit for good behavior.
Give prisoners a full year off their sentences for participation in a drug rehabilitation program.
Release more elderly prisoners from Bureau of Prisons custody.
Send more foreign inmates back to their home countries.
References:
Bibliography
Albanese, E. (2006). Southwest.
Kotowski, J. (2011). Two correctional facilities to remain closed because of budget issues. Bakersfield: Bakersfield Californian, The.
Murphy, S. (2015). Budget shortfall could lead to criminal justice reform. Oklahoma City: AP Regional State Report-Oklahoma.
Reynolds, J. (2007). Prisons Need More Funds, Report Says. Monterey County Herald.
Taifa, N. (2013). How to Slash th Cost and Size of Overcrowded U.S. Prisons. Open Society Foundations-Washington, D.C. , 6.
Williams, A. (2014, April 8). Prison Overcrowding Threatens Public Safety and State Budgets. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.americanlegislator.org/prison-overcrowding-threatens-public-safety-state-budgets
Williams, D. B. (2009). Budget Cuts Must Lead To Innovation In Corrections. Corrections Today 6.
Wilson, L. D. (2015, April 2). (C. Taylor, Interviewer)
Law, Victoria (2013, February 14). States Cut Prison Budgets but Not Prison Populations. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://truth-out.org/news/item/14278-states-cut-prison-budgets-but-not-prison-populations