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| Cuts mean fewer prisons and programs |
| By salon.com/ |
| Published: 08/31/2009 |
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RALEIGH As a result of tough-on-crime sentencing laws approved by legislators 15 years ago, North Carolina's inmate population is booming and will soon outpace the number of prison beds. Despite this, the state budget signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue this month orders seven small prisons closed, eliminates 972 corrections jobs and cuts programs aimed at keeping juvenile offenders from becoming hardened criminals. Administrators say the state Department of Correction can safely absorb the cuts in the short-term by increasing the number of inmates at other facilities. But judges, legislators and others with a stake in the criminal justice system worry that the growth, if unchecked, will soon result in prisons so crowded as to be unsafe for inmates or staff. Last year, the state budgeted more than $1.5 billion for prisons and probation. That's 3.5 times what was spent in 1985, when adjusted for inflation. The number of inmates has more than doubled over the same period, from 17,430 to about 39,000. The system has about 20,000 workers, making it the largest employer among state agencies. “We can't just keep putting more and more people in prison,” said Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, a Democrat from Carrboro who co-chairs the legislative committee that oversees justice and public safety. “We can't afford it.” At the heart of the issue is the conflict between strained state resources in the worst economic recession in a generation and the unwillingness of legislators to budge on laws that require criminals to serve more time. Read More. |
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