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August 11, 2009
Iowa Spends Second Least Per Capita On Prisons
Iowa Spends Second Least Per Capita On Prisons
Posted: 10 Aug 2009 02:47 PM PDT
Iowa taxpayers are getting a bargain on spending for state prisons and community corrections programs, a state official said Friday, as reported by the Des Moines Register.
A federal study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows Iowa ranked second-lowest nationally in per-capita spending on corrections, at $121. The only state lower was North Dakota, at $116 per person. The national average was $210. The statistics were for 2006, the most recent year available.
Iowa Corrections Director John Baldwin noted the federal report in remarks to the Iowa Board of Corrections, which was discussing statewide budget issues in a meeting Friday at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. Baldwin attributed the state’s low costs to a concerted effort by the Department of Corrections to operate in a fiscally responsible manner. He said officials from Iowa’s prison system, community corrections districts and the agency’s central office in Des Moines are operating closely together. “We are all working toward a common goal,” Baldwin said.
Prison wardens and community corrections directors said Friday they are squeezing their budgets amid a national recession, which has reduced state tax revenue. They said they are leaving many posts open, slashing spending on state contracts, and taking steps to avoid duplication of effort.
Iowa had 8,395 inmates in its prison system Friday, a decline of about 400 inmates compared with two years ago. One factor behind the decrease: reduced prison admissions for drug offenders. However, researchers have cautioned that the prison populations could rise again as more inmates receive mandatory sentences and are convicted of sex offenses. The state also has about 28,900 offenders under community corrections supervision in programs such as parole, work release and probation. About 4,300 workers are employed by the Iowa Department of Corrections.
Deputy Iowa Corrections Director Brad Hier said the department plans to submit a status-quo budget to Gov. Chet Culver and Iowa lawmakers, keeping state corrections spending at $356 million annually for the budget year starting July 1, 2010. But the state agency will proceed with plans for a $131 million maximum-security prison at Fort Madison, plus a $68 million renovation and expansion of the Mitchellville women’s prison, Hier said. Both projects are being financed with bonds that will be repaid over a period of years. Construction on the Mitchellville prison project is scheduled to start in April or May and be completed around March 2013, officials said. Ground is expected to be broken next July or August on the 800-bed Fort Madison prison, which is expected to be ready by December 2013.
Fort Madison Deputy Warden Bill Sperfslage told the corrections board that some citizens have asked him why a new maximum-security prison is being built when Iowa is experiencing a declining inmate population. He said he wanted to clarify the matter. “This is not an expansion. We have a 170-year-old facility that needs to be replaced,” Sperfslage said. Parts of the existing Fort Madison prison were built in the mid-1800s, while Iowa was still a territory.
Posted by lois at August 11, 2009 05:10 PM