The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The prison population is already beyond the state's preferred capacity. A preliminary state budget, released last week, suggests spending an additional $40 million for contracted space in county jails and cutting funding for adult probation departments, whose rolls are falling.

But the report by the Legislative Budget Board – made up of the leaders who craft the state's budget – notes that many criminal justice officials believe the prison population is rising precisely because the probation system is not working.

The rate of felons having their probation revoked rose 18 percent between 2001 and 2004, according to the report, which will be released this week. A copy was shown to The Dallas Morning News.

"More attention needs to be given to the front end of the sentencing process in order to realize a decline in the state's incarcerated population," the report states, citing the feelings of criminal justice officials interviewed throughout the state.

That recommendation dovetails with the ideas of many key lawmakers, who have said Texas cannot afford to keep building more prisons.

"We don't want to build new prisons," Rep. Ray Allen, a Grand Prairie Republican who chairs the House Corrections Committee, said in a recent interview. "If you ask four or five of the top officials, they will say the same thing. Prisons are inordinately costly."

But how many prisoners are too many? If there is a magic number, it is typically an equilibrium that accounts for financial realities and a criminal justice philosophy, experts said.

"The legislators have to get through the session and balance the books," said Charles M. Friel, a professor at Sam Houston State University's College of Criminal Justice. "In corrections, we have to look at the long term. You need a plan you can sell that prepares you for the next 20 years."

To help reduce the prison population, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has asked for an additional $28 million to hire 391 more probation officers. Lawmakers such as Mr. Allen said that investment would be far less costly than building new prisons.

Officials interviewed for the budget board's report also recommended: reducing the probation terms for some offenses, revising laws to keep small-time drug users out of state jails and prisons, and trimming the probation terms of offenders who have successfully completed drug treatment programs.

Texas Youth Commission facilities are also expected to exceed capacity in the next two years. The report says 236 more juveniles would be added to commission facilities by 2007, which would put the facilities nearly 12 percent over capacity.

E-mail dmichaels@dallasnews.com