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| Report: Utah Prison Bed Deal Won't Pay Off |
| By Salt Lake Tribune |
| Published: 11/18/2002 |
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Offering Utah's empty prison beds to out-of-state inmates for a price will not bring in as much money as state officials initially hoped, according to a Utah Department of Corrections report. Legislators on the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee began examining the possibility in September after one lawmaker suggested the state could rake in as much as $50 million annually by putting out-of-state inmates in Utah's 700 empty prison beds. At best, said the recently released report, the state would only hope to gain about $1 million to $1.5 million through the plan 'if the department's most optimistic plans are accepted.' Even then, it said, startup costs would have to be funded by the Legislature. Only two states -- Washington and Arizona -- said they would be interested in contracting inmates with Utah for a limited time, the report said. However, Arizona would not pay the maximum of $50 per day per inmate, reducing Utah's possible revenue by nearly $450,000. And Washington would pay Utah only its costs to house inmates, meaning the state would not make any additional money. 'The opportunity for significant revenue . . . is not supported by this report,' the department said. Jack Ford, spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said officials were relatively sure states would not pay the $50 a day. Also, the department would have had to hire additional officers and place some inmates in other facilities, which would cost the state $42 a day. 'The money just wasn't there,' Ford said. The department already has a shortage of Corrections officers, with about 20 vacancies remaining to be filled in order to fully staff Utah's existing facilities, the report said. In addition, the state's substance abuse treatment programs for inmates are already full. |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.