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| Prisons close to ‘boiling over’ |
| By register-herald.com - Mannix Porterfield |
| Published: 05/17/2011 |
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Safety factors in crowded facilities concern official CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s jails and prisons are simmering almost to the point of “boiling over,” but corrections chief Jim Rubenstein isn’t making the call for a new prison. That, however, was an idea advanced two years ago by then-Gov. Joe Manchin’s special task force on prison overcrowding. A 1,200-bed, medium security prison would cost between $120 million and $200 million, it has been estimated. As of Monday, the network of prisons had 6,849 inmates, including 1,700 to 1,800 awaiting transfer from the 10 regional jails, the corrections commissioner said. “I would say we’re at a crisis,” Rubenstein told reporters, after two department leaders updated the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary. Rubenstein wouldn’t say how much worse the population graphs need to get before he would call on the governor to propose a new prison. “The regional jails not only are full but to the point beyond the original design capacity, and it continues to grow,” he told reporters. Rubenstein emphasized he wasn’t asking for a new prison but voiced concern over the safety factors associated with a bloated population — issues affecting staffers, inmates and communities where facilities are located. “You don’t want to get a boiling pot that boils over by any means,” he said. Brad Douglas, director of research and planning for the DOC, told lawmakers that West Virginia’s recidivism rate of 26.8 percent is the fourth lowest in the country. “I think that is a very positive light,” Douglas said. On the other hand, West Virginia suffers the fastest growing prison population, just behind Alaska, he pointed out. And, the parole rate has fallen from 53.4 percent in 2008 to 46.2 percent a year ago, he told the committee. Jennifer Ballard, the DOC’s director of programs, outlined a number of programs for inmates to help them re-enter society. New arrivals are put through a battery of tests, such as I.Q., personality, sex offender, psychological and drug screens. One new idea has been “Mission Plawsible,” in which inmates help train canines to be used as service dogs, such as helping disabled veterans. An accelerated parole program, inaugurated in January, is tailored to help convicts get prepared for meetings with the parole board, she told the legislators. “It seems like it helps these offenders focus on what they need,” Ballard said. Another emphasis is directed at young female inmates to help them tend to children once released, she said. “Unlike the men, when we let the women out, they’re expected to be the mothers the same day,” Ballard said. Rubenstein told Delegate John Frazier, D-Mercer, his agency is trying to curb the rate of increase in offenders sent to prison. “Sadly, what we’re faced with is a large number of inmates who remain in those regional jails,” he said. “There’s no magic bullet that’s going to wipe that out.” Frazier pursued the idea of a new prison, but when questioned, Rubenstein would only say he has been “very cautious” in discussing this alternative. “I’m certainly not going about advocating that,” he told the delegate. Rubenstein reminded him of a reversal in Texas recently, a move from being “tough on crime to being smart on crime,” with regard to its criminal statutes. Consequently, the DOC chief said, Texas enjoyed “a major reduction” in its prison population. Within the past five months, the prison population in West Virginia has swollen by 200 inmates. Despite the crowded conditions, Rubenstein said no inmates are sleeping on floors at regional jails, but have been assigned cots and bed space. Read More. |
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