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| Minnesota Seeks New Ways to House Prison Inmates |
| By Star Tribune |
| Published: 01/20/2003 |
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When Dennis Benson, now deputy commissioner of corrections, was warden of Stillwater prison, he once had so many inmates that some had to sleep in a boxing ring. That's not necessarily a solution he would advocate today, but, he said, finding space for a growing inmate population has been an issue for 15 years. With the eight state prisons expected to be full by July, Benson said it's time to focus on innovative ways to house the more than 800 inmates who violate their release requirements and must serve sentences of a year or less. The state Corrections Department also will look into expanding the prisons in St. Cloud and Faribault and finding money for staff to handle the work accompanying 60 new inmate slots at Oak Park Heights, but it will be hard-pressed to get help from a belt-tightening Legislature this year. Inmates could be sent to private facilities, but Benson said they aren't cost-effective or as safe as state prisons. Another option would be to put some short-term inmates in county jails, but Benson said almost every jail is already full. Even if space were available, the state would have to change licensing statutes to allow jails to handle inmates sentenced to prisons, he said. In a meeting last week, incoming Corrections Commissioner Joan Fabian said she was unaware of the population problem and joked that, if she had known, she might have reconsidered taking the job. On the day she made her remarks, there were 7,022 inmates in state prisons, with only 42 beds empty. The state's prison population is expected to hit 9,500 by 2010. The department uses a computer model that has effectively projected populations within 1 or 2 percent for several years, Benson said. If the increase continues at the current rate, the state will have no choice but to build more prisons, he said. Another option is housing them in county jails. Several county sheriffs dislike Benson's suggestion that probation violators who are sentenced to less than a year could be placed in county jails. They are skeptical that jails have the money or the capacity to house the number of inmates that they would be asked to. Benson said the counties would have to absorb some of the costs, but the state would try to help with the financial burden. One of the few metro-area jails that has significant available space is the 228-bed Washington County jail, which opened in 1993. On Thursday, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher had to cancel his 30-bed contract with Washington County because of budget constraints. He will have to shift staff to their county jail and have inmates sleep on the floor at times. Dakota County has 75 prisoners housed in other county jails, said Sheriff Don Gudmundson. He said he is concerned the state will dump prison inmates on counties and said he has no intention of shouldering the costs. If the state makes him take inmates, he said, 'I'm going to chain them all together and bring them back to Stillwater and chain them to the water tower at the prison.' |
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