'Unthinkable' prison closures now on table at Texas Lege

Mike Ward at the Austin Statesman has a feature today ("More programs, fewer beds could help prisons' bottom line," May 30) covering themes that will be familiar to Grits readers: "For Texas, a state that officials say has never closed an entire adult prison, a public discussion could be coming to do just that." The article opens:

During an initial round of budget cuts for many state agencies this month, the Texas prison system took a lesser hit.

On Friday, though, state leaders directed agencies — including the prison system — to propose an additional 10 percent in cuts that may be necessary to balance the budget when the Legislature reconvenes next year.

How to do that without cutting programs? Consider closing a prison or two.

That's the suggestion of a growing number of officials who admit such a notion would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

If that happens, it would represent a significant shift in the state's criminal justice policy. For decades, Texas focused on building more prisons in the name of public safety, tripling the size of the system in the 1990s alone. But in recent years, the state has found that greatly expanded treatment and rehabilitation programs can reduce the number of people in prison — and save money.

The units Ward identifies as possible candidates for closure have all been discussed previously on Grits in that context:

Prisons mentioned as possible targets for closure include the Central Unit in Sugar Land, surrounded by suburban sprawl and sitting on land that is now worth tens of millions of dollars; the Dawson State Jail in Dallas, located in the Trinity River bottoms on land now wanted for development; the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville that is relatively small and expensive to operate; and the privately run Mineral Wells Unit, a pre-parole lockup that has been plagued by contraband problems for years.

I agree with most of what's written here, with the exception of when Ward predicts: "New projections due out in June will forecast the number of prisoners Texas will see in coming years, and if they show an uptick in felons, then all bets are off to close any prisons." That's a political assessment, not a policy analysis. If the Legislature really decides to cut 10% from TDCJ's budget, it would require policy changes to reduce inmate numbers even more. But it's absolutely possible from a practical perspective; the barriers are all political.

Here's a chart accompanying the story demonstrating savings and reduced inmate numbers following the 2007 probation reforms:

IMO similar amounts could be saved if the Lege enacted a handful of simple policy changes that in the scheme of things aren't really that controversial. In California, which faces a budget crisis of historic proportions, lowering prison costs is one of the only significant budget cuts supported by the voters in public opinion polls.

See related Grits posts

• State won't exempt public safety agencies in next round of budget cuts
  
• Criminal justice policy: An unlikely bipartisan consensus
  
• $18 billion budget shortfall mean prison closures must be on table
  
• Will public support cuts to prisons during budget crunch?
  
• Former House Corrections Chairman: Don't make same mistake as in 2003, close older, most expensive prison units to save money
  
• TDCJ needs 'Plan B' to rescue successful community corrections investments
• Which prison units should Texas close? Private contracts, security concerns may factor in
• The shortest distance to cutting 5% at TDCJ: Reduce drug penalties
  
• An 'unrepentant, hard-right conservative' was 'forced to agree' with prison diversion 'based on the facts'
  
• Correa: Preserve diversion funding, cut prisons to reduce TDCJ's budget
  
• Texas' criminal justice challenge in 2010: Find solutions to coming budget crunch
  
• Might 2011 budget crunch bring TX prison closures?
• As 2011 budget crisis looms, should most expensive prison units be closed?
• Data on TDCJ unit age and cost
• As 2011 budget crisis looms, should most expensive prison units be closed?
  
• States slashing spending costs, closing units
• Some states actually shutting down prison units
• Emptying prisons makes Wired magazine's 'Smart List'
• California's partisan prison meltdown: Why Texas didn't go there