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| Millions Wasted Building Oversized Prisons in Navajo Nation |
| By allgov.com |
| Published: 10/06/2015 |
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The Navajo Nation, the nation’s largest Indian reservation, has two brand new jails that wound up costing far more than they should have, raising questions about spending on the projects. The jails, which are largely empty, cost the federal government $70 million in economic stimulus grants to build, but should have cost less than $40 million, according to a report from the Department of Justice’s inspector general. Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz reported more than $32 million of the money wound up being spent on the jails’ “excessive” and “larger than planned” size. Apparently the Navajo Division of Public Safety, which received the grants, just kept adding on to the facilities with little or no oversight from the Justice Department. The new prison in Tuba City, Arizona, was supposed to have 48 beds, but wound up with enough room for 132. The other prison, in Kayenta, Arizona, went from 32 beds to 80. Neither facility needs anywhere near that many beds. The average monthly jail occupancy for Tuba City from 2008 through 2014 was between 14 and 22 inmates, with a high of 49, according to the report. Kayenta’s average occupancy during the same period was between seven and 11 inmates, with a high of 24. Read More. |
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