The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Despite the state's looming prison bed shortage, the Department of Corrections had planned to rent out 1,000 beds over the next two years to offset $38 million in budget cuts. But Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) on Tuesday ordered the department to stop importing prisoners after local sheriffs complained.

The state spent $32 million last year to add an 800-bed wing to the St. Brides Correctional Center in Chesapeake, but the opening has been indefinitely postponed because the state does not have enough money to operate it, officials said.

Gene M. Johnson, state corrections director, said that without additional out-of-state inmates, he might be forced to lay off some of his 13,000 employees or close some of the agency's 43 facilities.

States across the country are grappling with budget shortfalls because of the sluggish economy. In response to rising construction costs, some have halted prison-building programs and chosen instead to release inmates early or house them in other states.

But Virginia remains on track to build prisons.

Since 1990, the General Assembly has approved spending more than $1 billion for 21,000 additional beds, according to a Senate Finance Committee report. Often the state has built or expanded prisons in rural areas, where land and construction costs are lower and communities view the facilities as an economic plus.

The state spent $74 million to build the 1,024-bed Green Rock Correctional Center in Pittsylvania County, $69 million to build the 1,024-bed Pocahontas State Correctional Center in Tazewell County and $22 million to add 600 beds to the Deerfield Correctional Center in Southampton County. It is spending $101 million to build a 1,024-bed medium-security facility, expected to open in 2010 in Grayson County.

In April, the General Assembly approved spending $8.7 million to begin planning a new prison in Charlotte County and $300,000 to begin planning an $8.6 million, 200-bed expansion in Bland County. The Charlotte prison is expected to become the second in the state run by a private contractor.

Although the state's inmate population is increasing, the rate of incarceration in Virginia remains in line with other states.

The rising number of prisoners can be attributed to several factors, including an increase in new offenders, longer prison sentences, more probation violators and a drop in the number of inmates granted parole. The state abolished parole for crimes committed after Jan. 1, 1995, but thousands of inmates are still eligible for parole under the old law.

This year, legislators considered allowing technical offenders -- a description often used for those who break the terms of probation or parole by using drugs or alcohol -- to be eligible for reduced sentences, diversion programs or cheaper, dorm-style prisons. The Department of Corrections estimates that more than half of technical offenders could be eligible for alternative programs.

Robert Vaughn, staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, said legislators considered a proposal related to technical offenders that would have eliminated the need for 900 prison beds. But legislators abandoned that idea when they could not agree on which offenders would qualify.

Local officials have long sought more state prison beds to relieve crowded jails.

Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul J. Lanteigne sued to force the Department of Corrections to enforce a law that requires the removal from local jails any state inmate sentenced to more than a year in prison. Fairfax County Sheriff Stan G. Barry had considered joining the lawsuit but said all 80 state inmates were removed from his jail days after his complaint was made public.

Virginia began housing out-of-state inmates a decade ago but largely abandoned the practice in 2004, as officials said the space was needed for a growing inmate population. They had resumed renting beds a few weeks ago after the budget shortfall became clear, but Kaine abruptly halted the program last week.

The state will keep about 300 inmates from Wyoming who are at the Pocahontas State Correctional Center and the Wallens Ridge State Prison, both in the southwestern part of the state, bringing in about $14 million over two years. The number of inmates from Wyoming might increase, but no inmates from other states will be accepted.

Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach), vice chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission, said the projected increase in prisoners is not a surprise to those who monitor the criminal justice system.

Stolle said the Department of Corrections does not have many options for housing inmates, which is why it is sometimes forced to keep inmates in local jails. "It doesn't have any elasticity in the system,'' Stolle said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101503.html