The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

" 'Daunting' does not begin to convey the enormity of the situation," they wrote.

Criminal Sheriff Marlin Gusman released a version of the report Friday, with some redactions of information he said dealt "specifically with security issues."

He said he invited the federal consultants in June to visit the prison for a week and offer recommendations for improvement. He said he was releasing their report in the interests of transparency, while acknowledging that he received it in October.

Once a vast complex of permanent and temporary buildings holding about 5,500 persons, the prison complex was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Several major buildings have been demolished or sit vacant and ruined.

The prison population now is about 2,840, Gusman said.

Consultants Rod Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., and Jeffrey Schwartz of Campbell, Calif., said they found a prison that performed well by some measures: only one recent suicide; no homicides; few escapes; few assaults on prisoners or staff; no gang control.

They also described a deeply troubled system full of systemic flaws.

Gusman released the report without an accompanying response from his office. He said he agreed with some of its findings and disagreed with others. He addressed some of the report briefly in an interview later.

Despite its record, patterns of inefficient staffing produce critical security lapses, the consultants said.

Financially, they noted that the prison has no tax income to cover operations, nor is it part of the city's general fund. Most of its income comes from "grossly inadequate" prisoner per diem payments from city, state and federal governments.

The consultants noted that the city and state pay $22.39 and $23.39 per day per prisoner, respectively. By comparison, the federal government pays $43 per head for its prisoners awaiting trial.

Gusman said all those payments should be in the range of $50; the consultants quoted figures of $65 to $85 per day.

Gusman described a successful economic model under former Sheriff Charles Foti in which the prison historically sustained itself on per diems collected on nearly twice as many prisoners. The system worked because they were sheltered more efficiently, in less labor-intensive buildings, he said.

But with some of those buildings gone, and much older buildings in use, prisoner numbers are down and the efficiency is gone, Gusman said.

The consultants painted a picture of the prison going broke, perhaps at the end of the year. But Gusman said the situation is not that dire.

"We've been doing everything in our power to cut costs," he said.

While the prison likely can remain in operation, it is at the limit, financially.

"We can't manage any major financial change in our position," he said.

Among other systemic problems, the consulted noted, were:

-- Police, prosecutors, public defenders and jailers' lack of regular communication in ways that might make their jobs easier. Gusman's relationship with much of the rest of Orleans Parish government "may be charitably described as 'strained,' " they said.

-- High staff turnover -- sometimes 50 percent per year -- and pay so low among Gusman's deputies that some leave for better-paying security jobs with the Recovery School District.

Gusman's scheduling also requires a regular work week of nearly 60 hours. The consultants also noted a "personality-driven," "good old boy" culture among the ranks. Gusman said he recently introduced promotional exams for the department, as well as two salary raises, although wages remain very low.

Arriving by invitation, the consultants are advisers and have no oversight authority over the prison. They cannot compel improvements nor require responses from Gusman.

Separately, however, the civil rights division of the Department of Justice has been conducting an investigation of the jail since at least last summer.

Gusman said Friday that he had no results from that inquiry.
http://www.nola.com/news/?/base/news-1/1240032894264560.xml&coll=1

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