The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2005

Jailing probation violators too costly, some say

By JIM SAUNDERS
Tallahassee Bureau Chief

Last update: April 05, 2005

TALLAHASSEE -- After a convicted felon was charged with murdering six people last year in a Deltona home, state lawmakers and Attorney General Charlie Crist vowed to crack down on probation violators. They pushed get-tough bills -- dubbed "anti-murder" legislation by Crist -- aimed at locking up probation violators before they can commit more crimes.

But now, as the bills move through the Legislature, they face a major
obstacle: the price tag.

Legislative analysts said Monday that such a crackdown could cost as much as $828 million over five years and require the state to add about 8,000 prison beds -- roughly the equivalent of six to eight new prisons.

The cost is causing even some supporters to question whether the state can afford it. Sen. Victor Crist, a Tampa Republican who chairs a committee that oversees criminal-justice spending, said lawmakers will have to weigh the cost against other needs.

"I wish we could just write a check, but we can't," said Victor Crist, who is no relation to Charlie Crist.

But a spokesman for the attorney general said other projections show the cost at less than half of the $828 million estimate. Jon Peck, the spokesman, said lawmakers also have to look at the value of protecting residents.

"The important thing is not the dollars," Peck said. "It's the people."

Lawmakers began considering a crackdown last year after a man on probation was charged with the highly publicized murder of an 11-year-old Sarasota girl, Carlie Brucia. But the issue got renewed attention after police accused Deltona resident Troy Victorino of being the ringleader in the grisly deaths of six people Aug. 6 in a Telford Lane house.

Just days before the killings, Victorino had been arrested on a felony battery charge -- a potential violation of his probation -- but was released from jail. The case led the Department of Corrections to fire four probation officials, in part, because probation officials failed to alert a judge that Victorino posed a risk.

The Crist-backed proposal would deny bail for violent felons who are accused of violating their probation, which would prevent people such as Victorino from being released while their cases are pending. Also, the proposal would require judges to hold hearings to determine whether felons are dangerous to their communities and would lead to more being sent to state prisons.

But putting more probation violators in county jails and the prison system would drive up costs for local governments and the state.

The Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research, which analyzes bills, said Monday that a Senate version of the bill would cost the state nearly $232 million next year and $828 million over five years. The Senate version is slated to go before its first committee Wednesday. The House version, which is somewhat different, would cost about $630 million over five years and require the addition of 7,166 prison beds, according to the analysts. That bill has passed one committee and is pending.

Peck, however, said the Attorney General's Office thinks those estimates are too high. He pointed to Florida State University projections that said the measure would cost about $355 million over five years.

At the same time, local governments also are trying to sort out the costs. Jeff Porter, who lobbies for the Florida Association of Counties, said three large counties, Orange, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough, estimated that their combined costs would be about $5 million a year -- without factoring in the possibility they would have to build more jail space.

As lawmakers grapple with the costs, Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, is moving forward with a separate bill that stems from the Deltona case but would not be as far-reaching. That bill, which passed a committee last week, is designed to help lead to more quick arrests of people suspected of violating their probation.

Lynn said it could be difficult to get funding for the bill sought by Crist. She said lawmakers also are considering another costly proposal that would require sex offenders on probation to be tracked through global positioning devices -- a proposal that stems from the abduction and death last month of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in Homosassa Springs.

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