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| Prison overcrowding concerns committee |
| By montgomeryadvertiser.com - Kala Kachmar |
| Published: 06/21/2012 |
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Members of a joint legislative prison committee expressed concern Wednesday that inmate overcrowding in state prisons may lead to increased violence both against inmates and correctional facilities. “Correction officers are in an extremely dangerous situation,” said State Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. “Inmate-on-inmate violence is ready to spill over onto corrections officers.” Ward, vice chairman of the committee, said inmate on inmate violence and the humane treatment of prisoners is a concern, but overcrowding is the overarching problem. He said problems in the state’s prisons are second only to the state’s Medicaid funding issue. Some say prison overcrowding is a problem that has been building in Alabama for more than 20 years. “Overcrowding has gone from a long-term problem to an immediate problem,” said Mark Williams, a lobbyist for the Alabama Correctional Organization, which represents correction officers. Prison Commissioner Kim Thomas said there are about 26,500 inmates in a system designed for about 13,000. The inmate-to-staff ratio is about 11-to-1, which is more than twice the national average of 5-to-1. In the 2012-13 budget, the Department of Corrections will get about $365 million, which is $16 million less than in the current year. Thomas said the department is trying to carry over as much as possible from this year into next year, so the impact will be less severe. Read More. |
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