Fifteen states of the 44 surveyed reported plans to close facilities or reduce their number of beds in fiscal year 2011, many as a result of a decreasing prison population. Six of these states have already closed facilities or parts of them. Delaware closed part of one facility by moving prisoners to a more staff-efficient housing unit; this has cut costs by eliminating 10 full-time positions. Rhode Island—which made several policy changes in 2008 designed to keep its inmate population from growing—has been able to shut some housing units, thereby decreasing staff overtime. Entire facilities have been shuttered in Georgia, Louisiana, and Connecticut. In Georgia, the 700-bed Bostick State Prison was closed; the state expects to save $6.7 million annually. In Louisiana, the Steve Hoyle Rehabilitation Center was closed, reception centers were consolidated, and the number of beds reduced at the Forcht-Wade Correctional Center.Inexplicably, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has so far refused to countenance prison closures, instead embracing suggestions for cuts that set the agency up to fail. If these other states can muster the political will, I see no reason why Texas can't.
The New York Department of Correctional Services plans to close three facilities and part of a fourth by April 2011. These closures are possible because of significant reductions in the state’s inmate population: it declined by 8 percent from the beginning of 2007 to the end of 2009 and is projected to decline by another 1,000 individuals during the 2011 fiscal year. The state expects operational cost savings from these closures to total $3 million for the 2011 fiscal year and approximately $46 million for fiscal year 2012.
For fiscal year 2011 some states are cutting back on their use of private prisons. Privately contracted facilities may or may not result in cost savings and as such are the subject of debate. It also appears that as prison populations decline in several states, the factors that may make private facilities appealing as a solution to overcrowding are less relevant.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Other states closing prisons in wake of budget crunch
News that budget cuts have forced closure of a prison unit in Oregon for the first time in that state's history prompted me to take a second look at this recent report (pdf) from the Vera Institute of Justice titled "The Continuing Fiscal Crisis in Corrections," which reports that quite a few other states are taking similar steps:
I don't know who is going to provide the will--political or otherwise--or the leadership to affect the changes Grits recommends. Cutting personnel and closing units would be the big cost savers, but we have a lot of bad guys locked up who can't be released; however it seems that most District Courts really like to hand out long sentences so we have a steady influx of nonviolent offenders coming in.
ReplyDeletePublic sector salary and pension costs are a tempting target (don't target mine!) but most of your security line officers don't make much money anyway. Given the rhetoric of our recent elections, sounds like those costs are a nationwide problem that may have to be addressed somehow, probably painfully.
Food? Probably not much savings there, although I have not seen any inmates losing weight on the TDCJ diet, indeed most gain.
Close "old" units? Lots of the old units are well suited for medical purposes and for the elderly--they are not as "spread out" as new units.
I don't envy the legislature the upcoming budgetary tasks. Lots of opportunities for improvement, but lots of really tough choices too.
The closing of prisons will not happen in Texas. They will probably cut staff, programs but to close prisons just wont happen. Sorry Grits, I know you have hope for this as did I until last Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteTexas politicians have sold us a law and order mantra, tough on crime bullshit line that built 112 prisons. To close even one they will have to admit they have been wrong OR that the crime rate is so LOW that they can afford to do it.
It's just not going to happen with Goodhair as Governor.
It's a shame to cut programs; the programs we have are bad enough now but [maybe,just maybe] better than nothing. The school system may be acceptable but I'm not impressed with vocational training or substance abuse rehab.
ReplyDeletePrison Doc, I agree that cutting programming and staff, per se, is not good.
ReplyDeleteYou have raised such a good point when you said "however it seems that most District Courts really like to hand out long sentences so we have a steady influx of nonviolent offenders coming in." I agree with you 100%.
The problem in Texas is political. We have been lied to over and over again about how building more prisons and handing out long sentences is supposed to keep us safe.
What we have created is a mass-incarceration machine where 1 in 22 people is in prison, jail or on court supervision. We have created more felony class convictions, arguably, to keep our 112 prisons filled.
We have weighted the system so much in favor of the police and prosecutors that we lead the nation in DNA and non-DNA exonerations.
In our name, Texas legislators have created the biggest prison system in the world, have shown little inclination to correct judicial misconduct and keep coming up with new felonies.
Closing prisons just does not fit in with this mentality.
In a budget crunch, Hook 'em, reality has a way of trumping BS. There's only so much fuzzy math they can engage in when they have to get to $25 billion-plus.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it was a bit of a gift when the LBB issued prison population projections that said numbers would stay flat UNLESS they cut programs, in which case they'd need to build more prisons. There's a possibility those fiscal assessments will limit cuts to programs, which leaves prison closures (and maybe pensions) as the main things they can target.
Prison Doc, fwiw, several of the older units aren't used for medical purposes and are among the highest cost-per-inmate units in the system.
Good summary.............The support and the dependent gap widens by the day, and as two segments of our society continue to forego education, thus relegating themselves to the ranks of dependents (since without an education they are incapable of self support), this country will collapse under the weight of the wards of society.
ReplyDeleteCan't miss. And what's worse, we've been busy with our careers and our materialism, ignoring what the career political hacks have done to the country, that we passed the point of any reversal of the crisis.
I agree with Horns that prison closure won't happen under the present climate. TDCJ will fight it tooth and nail and they will shutter every program they have before they will do it voluntarily. It would have to an absolute mandate by the lege and the guv. Won't happen. Then, I agree with "Doc" about the programs. They are terrible, but apparently better than nothing, since population seems to rise and fall in part on the presence or absence of them. As a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, I have worked in state prison, state jail, private prison, CRTC's, and probation. What passes for "Substance Abuse Treatment" is nothing any of we old school counselors ever considered treatment before this idiotic so-called "therapeutic community" bill of goods was sold to TDCJ in the '90's. It's actually a throwback to '50's "insane asylums" designed to teach the mentally ill to function in a token society. The "success" rate you see reported is totally bogus, because of the definition of "success". In probation, I worked with over 100 returnees from SAFPF programs, and a grand total of 3 might be what I would call "successful". The rest went on with what they had been doing, and were careful to not get rearrested. Thus: Success!!!. Many people choose straight prison time over these programs. I would. CRTC's are a little better than SAFPF's and IPTC's, however.
ReplyDeleteThe coming budget cuts will hurt a lot of people. No talk will go into WHY there is this need. Perry, in his acceptance speech, talked about how great Texas is doing - oil and gas industry; more jobs created in Texas than anywhere (the LOWEST wage jobs). It will be put into the cut-big-government context. Anyone in a state job has to go along with the program (with those in leadership facilitating it). Furthermore, cutting taxes and "tough on crime" are two Texas GOP mantras. Grits, you may be looking for inadvertent gain from the budget crisis, but with the current self-serving bunch, I'm pretty pessimistic.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, as a small example, Perry could have found a cheaper place to live (< $10,000/mo.). The rumor is he will be shortly off on his nation-wide book tour. P-P in 2012?
It's amazing how fast the make-up of the inmate population in TYC has changed over the years. The
ReplyDeletepercentage of inmates who are Hispanic has greatly increased. I'm sure it's the same in the prisons.
I guess we can just turn them loose because with these numbers we can't just keep building prisons.
Here is the way we keep from closing prisons. Truly amazing!
ReplyDeleteTexas May Opt Out of Medicaid
Bold move, Texas. Very bold. With the state facing an estimated $25 billion budget shortfall, the Texas GOP is considering a plan for the state to opt out of the federal Medicaid program. Even moderate Republicans are reportedly mulling the idea, and party advisers say it’s a serious proposal. The move could save $60 billion from 2013 to 2019, according to the conservative Heritage Foundation, though some lawmakers caution the cuts could have ripple effects through the economy. “We need to get out of it. And with the budget shortfall we’re anticipating, we may have to act this year,” said one conservative state representative. The Texas program, which covers millions of poor people, the disabled and children, presently costs $40 billion every two years, with the federal government picking up 60 percent of the bill.
“Mr. Goodhair as governor,” LMAO. That is a GREAT name for him, Hookem, as he has done nothing but STEAL from the good Texans here! I cannot believe that Texans were stupid enough to vote that egotistical, thieving bastard into office for a THIRD term? Is it enough that he stole from the IKE fund to fund the redoing of the Texas Governor’s Mansion? Is it enough that he and his cronies COLLECT (Like ‘cha-ching’ every time you pass through one of the toll road booths? Get real! Close a prison, not on your life! Instead let me tell you what the good governor and his fellow politicians have done—they have made TDCJ higher than gods, they have made the parole department to where they have TOTAL AND COMPLETE control and say over what happens in an offender’s life; whether he/she be in prison for doing/buying/selling drugs, molesting kids, murder, rape, being an affiliated gang member, parole violator and writing a bad check 20 years ago! This governor Perry is NOT out for the good of Texas!
ReplyDeleteContinued... We have people out of work here, we have people starving in the State of Texas, still living in homes destroyed by Hurricane Ike! We have an average of an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent!
ReplyDeleteOkay on to why I wrote into this blog yet again!
Prisondoc, you do not know what you are talking about as to how the inmates are fed! My husband is in the Wayne Scott Unit in Angleton, TX; he has been there for 1.5 years. He writes to me and tells me about the meals they serve there, both to the guards (who refuse to eat there by the way!) and the inmates (who have no choice in the matter!) My husband said for dinner last night, that they had casserole made of old stale biscuits crumbled up, some kind of mealy “mystery meat” mixed with oatmeal, covered with flies. Now doesn’t that just make your stomach rumble in anticipation? Most of the time they are being fed “breakfast for dinner” and no meat at all! Now that farm down there raises fresh vegetables, beef, chicken and pork and yet the inmates see NONE of it! They get fed WORSE than the animals that live on that farm! You may say like the REST of Texans “Oh they are in prison—they deserve to be fed like animals” but I say “they are HUMAN BEINGS and deserve to be fed healthy, nutritious meals, just like you and me!” AND the medical care; well, they get ‘seen’ via video, because the budget cut so bad, that they laid off the UTMB medical staff that was caring for the inmates!
Prisondoc, you say “we have a lot of bad guys locked up who can't be released; however it seems that most District Courts really like to hand out long sentences so we have a steady influx of nonviolent offenders coming in.” My husband wrote a bad check for $1,100 20 years ago, served 4.6 years, was released on parole, got into a scuffle with his then-girlfriend, was not charged with anything, but a warrant was issued he was never notified about, and NINE YEARS later he was found and locked up! After he had worked and took care of a family, didn’t get into any trouble… he is in prison! Couldn’t we save money on inmates like him, by getting them back out of prison to work and put money into the economy (he is a highly paid engineer by trade!)?
Prisondoc “Food? Probably not much savings there, although I have not seen any inmates losing weight on the TDCJ diet, indeed most gain.” Let me tell you something, my husband when he was arrested weighed 305 lbs; not a healthy weight by any means, but now he weighs a healthy 220; he has NOT gained weight, nor have any of the inmates I know from talking to them, their wives and family members. The food is so unbelievably bad and when it is served, it is served from a filthy kitchen, on unclean trays, and the food is so covered with flies that it appears to be black! Now doesn’t that just make you so hungry, that you would GAIN WEIGHT? Come-on, do the research before you make assumptions!
Hookem, Bush Junior started all of this prison mess, building prisons and mass incarceration! He saw that there was ‘money to be made’ and convinced his cronies to ‘git er done!’
With the state being about ¾ or more Republican, I just do not see them closing prisons or creating programs instead of the mass incarceration.
I have one focus only, to get my husband out and leave this state!
Continued... We have people out of work here, we have people starving in the State of Texas, still living in homes destroyed by Hurricane Ike! We have an average of an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent!
ReplyDeleteOkay on to why I wrote into this blog yet again!
Prisondoc, you do not know what you are talking about as to how the inmates are fed! My husband is in the Wayne Scott Unit in Angleton, TX; he has been there for 1.5 years. He writes to me and tells me about the meals they serve there, both to the guards (who refuse to eat there by the way!) and the inmates (who have no choice in the matter!) My husband said for dinner last night, that they had casserole made of old stale biscuits crumbled up, some kind of mealy “mystery meat” mixed with oatmeal, covered with flies. Now doesn’t that just make your stomach rumble in anticipation? Most of the time they are being fed “breakfast for dinner” and no meat at all! Now that farm down there raises fresh vegetables, beef, chicken and pork and yet the inmates see NONE of it! They get fed WORSE than the animals that live on that farm! You may say like the REST of Texans “Oh they are in prison—they deserve to be fed like animals” but I say “they are HUMAN BEINGS and deserve to be fed healthy, nutritious meals, just like you and me!” AND the medical care; well, they get ‘seen’ via video, because the budget cut so bad, that they laid off the UTMB medical staff that was caring for the inmates!
Prisondoc, you say “we have a lot of bad guys locked up who can't be released; however it seems that most District Courts really like to hand out long sentences so we have a steady influx of nonviolent offenders coming in.” My husband wrote a bad check for $1,100 20 years ago, served 4.6 years, was released on parole, got into a scuffle with his then-girlfriend, was not charged with anything, but a warrant was issued he was never notified about, and NINE YEARS later he was found and locked up! After he had worked and took care of a family, didn’t get into any trouble… he is in prison! Couldn’t we save money on inmates like him, by getting them back out of prison to work and put money into the economy (he is a highly paid engineer by trade!)?
Prisondoc “Food? Probably not much savings there, although I have not seen any inmates losing weight on the TDCJ diet, indeed most gain.” Let me tell you something, my husband when he was arrested weighed 305 lbs; not a healthy weight by any means, but now he weighs a healthy 220; he has NOT gained weight, nor have any of the inmates I know from talking to them, their wives and family members. The food is so unbelievably bad and when it is served, it is served from a filthy kitchen, on unclean trays, and the food is so covered with flies that it appears to be black! Now doesn’t that just make you so hungry, that you would GAIN WEIGHT? Come-on, do the research before you make assumptions!
Hookem, Bush Junior started all of this prison mess, building prisons and mass incarceration! He saw that there was ‘money to be made’ and convinced his cronies to ‘git er done!’
With the state being about ¾ or more Republican, I just do not see them closing prisons or creating programs instead of the mass incarceration.
I have one focus only, to get my husband out and leave this state!
ANONYMOUS who said a lot...
ReplyDeleteThe prison building craze in Texas actually started under Anne Richards.
As for the food, I have heard from some offenders that the food is actually good. An offender I know who did 3 years on a dope charge actually gained weight. Perhaps some units are better than others.
You and I agree that Texas is more about mass incarceration regardless of the cost. I hope your husband is released soon.
The food is a non-issue. All inmates like to complain to their families about how bad the food is. Well, is not gonna be what you'd find in even a one-star restaurant, but it is definitely edible, and not covered with flies or made with damaged ingredients.
ReplyDeleteWe on the staff eat the same food. Unfortunately we are not losing weight either!!
Hook em-- you are correct that the prison building boom started under Anne, but it ended up much differently than she envisioned. Half the beds were supposed to treatment beds. Bush ended up making most of them straight punishment beds. The treatment programs they bought into were bad, admittedly, (see my earlier post), but that wasn't Richards' fault. Bush took the money from what was then TCADA (Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse) that was designated to operate the treatment programs, and gave it to TDCJ. That was on a trumped up and later proved false charge that TCADA and other treatment programs it funded were corrupt and stealing money. Bush more or less destroyed the counseling profession, and the ungodly number of prison beds we have now is a result of his ilk's penchant for throwing away the key.
ReplyDeleteAnon: I understand where you are coming from, and I haven't been in all the prisons, but the ones I have been in are not quite what you describe re the food and kitchens, at least.
It's been a while since I've been there (over 21 years), but the food was hardly edibile, the guards had a separate dining room with better food, TDCJID had a FEW rehabilative programs that worked plus college programs, and only 24 units !!! Change for the worse.
ReplyDelete@Don, I'm not blaming Anne Richards anymore or less than George W. Bush. They both, arguably, contributed to the problem as we know it. Herein lies the problem. Decisions made now will effect Texas for generations to come. We are dealing with the worlds biggest prison system, judicial malfeasance and so on because of the "good intentions" of Texas politicians of yesteryear.
ReplyDeleteTexas politicians are good at one thing...LIES. They will lie, steal, cheat and feed us a bunch of crap to further there own ambitions and goals.
Hook 'em. I totally concur. Now, on another note, when is the last time Texas and Tech were vying for last place in the Big 12? Wild!
ReplyDelete@Don -- Don said...
ReplyDeleteHook 'em. I totally concur. Now, on another note, when is the last time Texas and Tech were vying for last place in the Big 12? Wild!
11/07/2010 05:59:00 PM
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THAT really makes me sick Don! And my Colts lost today. Not a good day!
The economics of criminal justice is going to be the determining factor and incarceration alternatives will inevitably become necessity the question is what works?
ReplyDeleteThere’s a legal sterility in criminal justice that separates itself from reality and input from those inside the criminal justice system as well as outside think tanks such as the Vera Institute and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition offer solutions to state legislators but fail to acknowledge the most basic of rehabilitative measures.
Rather than diversion programs (super probation) or regular probation or jail time a forth consideration should be made available to first and second offenders convicted of non-violent crimes in both misdemeanor and felony categories.
They continue to advocate treatment and associate all criminal matters with the negative connotation of punishment, even in their attempts at including expungement as reward for successful completion of treatment programs their focus is negative in that alternative punishment measures are seen as a positive approach and a choice given to law makers for consideration. These measures are seen by many of those convicted only as punishment and provide a negative outlook rather than positive.
continued:
ReplyDeleteThe social and economical environment surrounding each individual’s circumstance should be considered and given consideration to the extent that no form of punishment other than a straight forward probation based on recidivism should be the consideration and expungement the reward.
This holds true for all sides of the spectrum. Those representatives of higher, middle, and lower social economical scales are affected in different ways both socially and economically and all deserve the ability to try and obtain a positive outcome with positive expectations. There is an assumption that all of those that choose incarceration over probation are not willing to conform to treatment when for many the decision is purely economic. There are those that choose probation and treatment for no other reason other than that was the only logical choice over incarceration even though the social support system, ready, willing and with great desire to help them succeed is already in place.
The underlying motivation for government would suggest that the elephant in the room is in generating revenue through fines while on probation and that this in some way helps defer the cost of criminal justice, it does not.
more:
ReplyDeleteI’m not suggesting that recommendations of those inside and outside criminal justice do not work or hold substantial merit for those who are in real need of substance abuse treatment.
I am suggesting that a positive approach to social rehabilitation holds its own reward for many and that the necessity of establishing new programs and bolstering old programs that are dependent on tax dollars should be the last resort for all.
Allow diversion to include the assumption of positive results through a natural choice of social conformity giving those convicted a real opportunity to prove themselves worthy. Judges would welcome the opportunity to have positive alternatives at their discretion and the criminal defense can advocate for their client through positive family and community input giving judges real information more than adequate enough to determine choice in decision making.
the end:
ReplyDeleteThis thought pattern that government has the power and ability to provide information through pretrial intervention and offer results through treatment has been a costly breakdown of the most basic rehabilitation method available by not allowing judges to be judges and criminal defense attorneys to be advocates for their clients and in turn allowing the convicted to go free to live their lives and prove that they do have the ability to prove themselves.
Three decades of these costly initiatives, their changes and suggestions along with lawmakers adding to the pile by throwing money away and darts against the wall in hopes that something will stick based on these changes and suggestions has seen little more than incarceration levels soar and continues to provide poor results to the extent that we are now trying to reverse them but here we are looking at alternatives that are tantamount to more of the same. I truly hope that the economics of this debacle sways lawmakers to drastically cut budgets and take a closer look at the basics of criminal justice.
I wish the individual that left the last 3 messages would identify himself. If he is not already somebody in a high place maybe we could nominate him. He sure would be fun to be in a think tank with. Or maybe a hot tub. Hell, I don't know.
ReplyDelete