Prisons are overflowing. Is building more the best plan?; Some say North Carolina needs more alternative programs that would free up prison beds
By Titan Barksdale
The News & Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — In the mid-1980s, as North Carolina’s prison population neared 11,000, some state prisons were so full that inmates slept stacked in bunks three tiers high.
Inmates sued over the crowded conditions and won a settlement. The state agreed to improve conditions, from sleeping to exercise to medical care, and committed to giving each inmate at least 50 square feet of space.
Over the next two decades, the state conducted a large-scale prison construction program, spending almost $1 billion to build a system capable of housing 38,500 prisoners.
New projections by a commission set up to ensure that the prison system stays in balance show that in the next 10 years, prisons will have 6,000 more inmates than beds. Is it time for another big construction program? Or is there a better way?
Rep. Alice Bordsen, an Alamance County Democrat, said that building more prisons is an approach that, by itself, won’t solve the problem of the influx of offenders into the state’s prison system.
“We incarcerate at a higher rate than any other country, and we incarcerate longer,” Bordsen said. “So have we already reached our goal?”
Some other states are pursuing alternative programs as cost-effective ways to punish and rehabilitate offenders.
In a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, some states are trying to control prison populations and their increasing costs by expanding community programs, managing probation and parole violators more efficiently, boosting incentives for good behavior, and preparing inmates for life outside of prison. Nevada expanded eligibility for home confinement programs. Two states, New Hampshire and Hawaii, created facilities where offenders who are released early report daily.
A second report, the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts, said that Texas stands to save as much as $210 million over the next two years by expanding alternative programs, including larger drug treatment and diversion programs for prisoners.
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, a Carrboro Democrat, has proposed alternatives to prison, such as prevention programs and sentencing alternatives. But she says those ideas haven’t received much support from lawmakers. Backing any idea contrary to building new prisons, she said, is often perceived as being soft on crime.
Recidivism and change
Since 1992, recidivism rates have gradually increased, and the prison population continues to rise. Half of about 17,000 prisoners released in fiscal 2003-04 were rearrested within three years, an increase of nearly 9 percentage points since fiscal 1992-93, according to a report by the N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission.
The data, Kinnaird said, point to the need for serious discussions about alternatives to building new prisons.
The commission, created by lawmakers to make recommendations about sentencing laws and policies, has suggested several alternatives that could reduce the demand for prison beds. But few lawmakers are acting on the suggestions.
“I assume that it wasn’t something that they wanted to do,” said Susan Katzenelson, executive director of the commission.
Suggestions included reducing sentences for non-violent offenders as well as violent offenders, who would get more time added to supervision after their release.
Bolstered by the commission’s suggestions, Kinnaird, a member of the commission with Bordsen, has sponsored alternative sentencing bills she said can save at least 1,000 prison beds over time. The bills seek to restructure an offender’s prior record levels, make sentence lengths more proportionate and increase post-release supervision for some offenders.
The bills sit in committee partly because lawmakers are too leery of being attacked as soft on crime, Kinnaird said.
“I get frustrated,” Kinnaird said. “It’s very disturbing that the vision and goals of how we can have a society that works is boiled down to an attack ad.”
Other bills introduced this session also seek to fund alternative ways of dealing with the prison population.
One bill that would allow for the early release of some elderly, terminally ill or seriously disabled inmates has passed both chambers and awaits Gov. Mike Easley’s signature. It could free up more than 160 beds and save millions of dollars, state prison officials say. Another bill would release some illegal immigrants in prison for nonviolent felonies so they could be deported, freeing up another 100 to 150 beds.
Sending a message
Many lawmakers and law enforcement officials are adamant about continuing prison expansions.
Rep. Paul Stam, a Republican from Apex, said there are already “plenty of programs.” “That’s what probation and parole is for,” Stam said when asked about prevention programs.
According to Stam, legislators back big prison projects for one reason: “They’re hoping that someday the criminals will get the message and stop committing the crimes.”
New Bern Police Chief Frank Palombo, a member of the sentencing commission, acknowledges that prevention and intervention programs have value. But he said money shouldn’t be taken away from prison projects to fund the alternative programs, and sentences shouldn’t be reduced to let career criminals back on the streets.
“You can’t take money from the prisons and put it in the front end, because you’ve got so many people that are in line to go to prison,” Palombo said.
Palombo, a 31-year veteran of law enforcement, said programs for young, new offenders should be funded. Hardened career criminals, however, often revert back to crime, costing law enforcement and victims.
“If we can be successful at the front end, then 10 to 15 years from now we can look at not having to build any more prisons and maybe even closing some,” Palombo said. “But you can’t do that now. We need to understand that the government’s first responsibility is to protect its citizens, so you have enough prison bed space.”
This year, the state budget appears likely to continue emphasizing building prisons over expanding the less costly alternative programs.
Under the budget proposal that cleared the state House on Thursday, lawmakers authorized adding a total of 1,000 beds to three prisons at a cost of $45 million, and $7 million in planning funds for another 500-bed prison expansion.
The House budget, which now goes to the state Senate, increased funding for a key juvenile crime prevention program by $1 million. Another $10 million would be available for gang prevention, but only if legislation to create tougher penalties for gang crime passes.
NORTH CAROLINA PRISONS, 1980 TO THE PRESENT
DECEMBER 1980: Hubert v. Ward challenges crowded conditions in 13 South Piedmont prisons.
JULY 1985: Small v. Martin challenges crowded conditions in 49 prisons.
SEPTEMBER 1985: South Piedmont lawsuit settled. State promises to provide indoor recreation, end triple bunking, and expand programs so 80 percent of inmates can work and go to school. General Assembly appropriates $12.5 million to pay for it.
APRIL 1987: To help control crowding, General Assembly passes law capping the size of the state’s prison population. The law permits emergency releases of nonviolent offenders to keep prison population in check. Legislators also authorize $79 million in emergency spending.
APRIL 1989: Small v. Martin settlement reached. State agrees to cut crowding and improve food, ventilation and medical care. It also agrees to provide 50 square feet per inmate in dormitories by July 1994.
NOVEMBER 1990: Voters narrowly approve -- by 582 votes -- $200 million in prison construction bonds.
JULY 1993: General Assembly rewrites state sentencing laws. Under the new laws, known as structured sentencing, prison space will be reserved for violent and repeat offenders.
JANUARY 1994: Gov. Jim Hunt, declaring a crime crisis in North Carolina, calls a special legislative session. Legislators meet for seven weeks and approve Hunt’s plan to build 1,040 prison beds and send inmates out of state. Legislators also expand prison substance-abuse treatment programs and create a community-service work program.
FEBRUARY 1997: U.S. District Court Judge Earl Britt issues court order ending federal court jurisdiction over state prisons.
1997: Six new prisons open, adding 2,984 beds to the prison system.
1999: Two new prisons open.
AUGUST 2001: General Assembly authorizes the construction of three new 1,000 cell close-custody prisons.
2003: Two new prisons open.
2004: One new prison opens.
2006: Two new prisons open.
SEPTEMBER 2008: A new 1,500-bed prison at a cost of $104 million is scheduled to open in Tabor City in Columbus County in September. Plans call for 1,000 inmates to move in this year and another 500 in 2009.
PRISON VS. ALTERNATIVES
Here’s a look at how the yearly costs of keeping a person in prison compare with alternative programs.
$26,904: Average costs of incarceration
$6,033: Intensive supervision
$2,745: Electronic house arrest
$762.85: Community/intermediate supervision
BY THE NUMBERS
(As of Friday)
36,495: Number of male inmates
2,851: Number of female inmates
166: Number of people on death row
115,122: Number of people on probation
2,996: Number of people on parole
Nearly 1,000 inmates are housed at Harnett Correctional Institution in Lillington. North Carolina’s inmate population is expected to rise steadily, but the number of prison beds is not on track to increase accordingly. Some say more prisons won’t solve the state’s crime problem. Staff Photos by Takaaki Iwabu
A corrections officer, left, keeps watch over a dorm at Harnett Correctional Institution.
Copyright 2008 The News and Observer