By Johanna Kaiser
The Lowell Sun
BOSTON — State officials are worried about overcrowding, safety and job losses within the state prison system if Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan to close two prisons to balance the state budget moves forward.
Patrick proposed closing two state prisons Wednesday as part of his $30.5 billion spending bill for fiscal 2012. He has not said which facilities will close.
“I absolutely do not support the closings nor do I support this plan,” state Rep. Jennifer Benson, D-Lunenberg, said in a phone interview yesterday. “We have burgeoning prisons as it is.”
Benson doubts that either of the two prisons in her district will close. Benson represents Shirley, where the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, one of two maximum-security prisons in the state, and MCI-Shirley, which shares facilities with it, reside.
Still, Benson said she is “very concerned” about closing any facility in the state because of possible “large scale layoffs,” as well as the strain that could be placed on MCI-Shirley if it is forced to accept prisoners from the closed facilities.
“They are very full, and it has created many problems,” she said.
As of this week, Souza-Baranowski houses 1,259 inmates and MCI-Shirley has 1,465. Just down Route 2, MCI-Concord houses 1,292 inmates, and the Northeastern Correctional Center, also in Concord, is home to 264.
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, said he wants to learn more details about the governor’s proposal before deciding to support or oppose the plan. He said he would be concerned if the plan led to more overcrowding in the prisons that remain open.
“There’s already some pretty significant overcrowding in those prisons now, and I’d be concerned about the safety of correctional officers,” he said.
To help prevent overcrowding in the prisons that remain open, Patrick has proposed giving about 650 non-violent drug offenders early parole, something Eldridge and others said they support.
“Our prisons are overcrowded already,” said State Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord. “We have people in there who, by other states’ standards, would be out already.”
Atkins said she is “puzzled” by the governor’s plan to close two prisons, however.
“It would have to be part of a larger plan. It might mean that he needs to expand my prisons to accommodate populations from other facilities,” said Atkins, referring to MCI-Concord and the correctional center.
Atkins does not expect either of these prisons to close.
“Both facilities have been good neighbors. We would consider it a loss, but then again I’m not sure what they would do with the property (if one of the facilities were closed),” she said.
Atkins also expressed concern about employees losing their jobs.
“People might want their facilities to remain open because they provide so much employment to their community,” she said. “Even if those people aren’t in my area, that doesn’t mean they don’t need their jobs.”
Don Siriani, chief of staff for State Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, said the senator believes it is unlikely the Concord facilities will close because the town has “a very stable and very solid relationship with the state prisons.”
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