Tuesday, August 11, 2009

States slashing prison costs, closing units

At least 23 states cut prison spending in their most recent legislative session, reports Stateline.org:
The national recession is taking its toll on what had been one of the fastest-growing areas of state government spending: prisons. Even though state corrections budgets have ballooned in the past two decades amid a surging U.S. prison population, at least 23 states slashed funding for prisons this year, according to a new survey by the nonpartisan Vera Institute of Justice, a research organization based in New York. Thirty-three states responded to the survey, paid for by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which also funds Stateline.org.

Six states — Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and Washington — cut funding for corrections by more than 10 percent from last year’s levels, according to the study. Kansas saw the biggest recorded decrease, spending 22 percent less than it did last year. ...

According to Stateline.org’s annual review of states’ legislative sessions, at least seven states — Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Washington — this year decided to close prisons. In some states, those plans touched off resistance among prison unions and in hard-hit communities anxious about losing even more jobs.
So much for the idea that being a prison guard is a "recession proof" job.

5 comments:

Hook Em Horns said...

Hello?? We don't need all these damn prisons. Duh!!!

Anonymous said...

If Rick Perry Had his way,He would convert the damn Astrodome into a prison.Stop putting non violent offender's in Prison, Governor Police State Hairspray.

Charlie O said...

My wife is up for parole in November. I'm more than willing take her off the state of Texas hands. I'll feed her, clothe her and hey, even get her health insurance. Now if the BPP will just to their job.

R. Shackleford said...

Good. We have too many prisons already. "Land of the Free" my ass.

Anonymous said...

So when they close them, we move intot he area of "over crowding", just how do they plan of fixing that?

Oh I know...Rick the Slick will build another prison and again staff it with underpaid, undertrained personnel...Opps...I forgot, it's already happened and it's working so well...we should be proud!