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| Bids for Out-of-state Prisoners Sought in Vermont |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/15/2002 |
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The Vermont Department of Corrections is taking bids from other states on housing its out-of-state prisoners, which means the inmates now in Virginia could be sent elsewhere. Vermont sent 400 prisoners to Virginia prisons to reduce crowding in the state's jails. This spring, the Legislature ordered the department to take bids on the contract for out-of-state prisoners. The goal is to find a cheaper jail system for the inmates and cut about $500,000 from part of the corrections' budget. This opens up the contract to either private or public jails. The Corrections Department had previously looked only at public jails for its overflow prisoners. Previous contracts did not go out to bid, said John Perry, director of planning. Instead, corrections' staff contacted corrections departments in other states to see who had extra room in their jails. The possible use of private jails puts the state in a new arena. Private jails tend to be less expensive than public ones, officials said. The Corrections Department never looked to private jails in the past because the department did not have the legal ability to house its prisoners in private facilities, Perry said. The Legislature changed the rule to broaden the search when it ordered the department to put the contract out to bid. The Virginia corrections system charges Vermont $52 a day for each prisoner. The Corrections Department spent about $8 million on its Virginia prisoners in the past year. Defender General Matthew Valerio is concerned that prisoners could be moved farther away than Virginia, making it more difficult for their families to visit and for inmates to maintain ties to their home communities. He also has reservations about private prisons, which are run for profit. |
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