The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

"So is it a dangerous situation? Yeah," said Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison, echoing the 2004 report on overcrowding.

Much to the frustration of corrections officers, lawyers, judges and lawmakers, prison overcrowding is the problem that won't go away. Even though Maine has some of the nation's lowest rates of crime and incarceration, the number of inmates keeps rising at a rate that outpaces the population increase.

"It's like a creeping paralysis," said Don Allen, who was head of the Maine Department of Corrections for 18 years until he retired in 1995.

During the late 1990s, the state embarked on a $140 million plan to expand, renovate and replace its prisons. But within five years, the new space for adult prisoners was already full, and projections indicated that the trend would continue.

This set off alarm bells. So in the summer of 2003, the Legislature created an 18-member commission to find a solution without building new prisons. The commission was successful -- at least to a degree -- as its recommendations led to a number of reforms.

A 2004 law signed by Gov. John Baldacci eased probation for some offenders, since corrections officials said the state's probation system was overstressed. From October 2004 to December 2006, the number of adult probationers in Maine dropped by 17 percent.

For many prisoners, the law also increased time off for good behavior from five days per month to nine days. And there was a measurable effect. Between 2004 and 2006 the state's prison population barely rose.

But the relief was short-lived. Now the number of inmates is again rising, leading to a scramble to find places to put beds.

NO SIMPLE EXPLANATION

It's hard to say exactly why Maine's prison population continues to rise. People who work in and around the corrections system say it's unlikely there is a simple explanation.

Neale Duffett, a Portland defense attorney who served on the 2004 sentencing commission, believes that state lawmakers who take a tough-on-crime posture are a significant part of the problem.

The sentencing commission recommended a halt on enhancements to Maine's sentencing laws, but that moratorium didn't last long. At least seven new crimes were created in 2005 alone. The following year, new laws toughened the punishment for a wide range of crimes -- from the sexual assault of young children to driving with a suspended license to criminal mischief meant to harm property owners.

"I don't think the Legislature is doing its part," Duffett said.

Mary Cathcart, a former Democratic senator from Penobscot County, said that some lawmakers may support sentencing increases for political reasons. "I think there is a fear that you'll appear to be soft on crime, not giving strict enough punishments," Cathcart said.

Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, said the Legislature can be blamed for failing to fund the full cost of tougher punishments. "We're notoriously poor at putting fiscal notes on criminal legislation," she said.

However, the longer sentences imposed in 2006 have not yet been in place long enough to have much effect.

Denise Lord, deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, said the impact of tougher sentences will not be felt by the state's prison system for several years.

It's also important to note that the rise in prison populations is by no means limited to Maine. Nationally, the number of prison inmates is projected to increase by 13 percent between 2006 and 2011, according to a study released this month by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

OPINIONS DIFFER ON SOLUTION

In Maine, there's a wide range of opinions about what should now be done about prison overcrowding.

Some note the high cost of incarceration and say they would like to see a greater emphasis on alternatives, such as home confinement and the use of GPS devices to track offenders' whereabouts.

"You can get tough, but you've got to get smart now because tough has proven pretty expensive," said Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion.

Others emphasize the need for more jail beds, saying that dangerous offenders need to be removed from society.

"Jails are important. You have to have incarceration," said Sen. William Diamond, D-Windham.

But despite the differences over how to fix the overcrowding problem, there is broad agreement that Maine is now in a similar predicament to the one it faced just four years ago.

"I think they've now got a crisis," said Allen, who chaired the sentencing commission. "And they're going to have to deal with it." __________________

MAINE PRISON NUMBERS

POPULATIONS as of Feb. 14 -- capacity is based on national accrediting standards

MAINE CORRECTIONAL CENTER, WINDHAM: Capacity 522, population 689

MAINE STATE PRISON, WARREN: Capacity 922, population 875

BOLDUC CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, WARREN: Capacity 150, population 214

CHARLESTON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, CHARLESTON: Capacity 75, population 96

DOWNEAST CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, MACHIASPORT: Capacity 96, population 151

CENTRAL MAINE PRE-RELEASE, HALLOWELL: Capacity 50, population 55

Source: Maine Department of Corrections
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070225prison.html