Do We Need It?

Although the focus of this blog is not the overall question of whether a new jail should be built, but it is a question that needs to be asked. Provided below are excerpts that question the need for an expensive, privately run jail that will undoubted have an impact on the area it occupies.

County Population, Crime and Jail Trends
“Grayson County is in the midst of change. The county’s population is increasing, crime patterns are changing, and the jail population is rising dramatically. As Figure ES.4 on the following page shows, the jail population has grown at a rate that far exceeds the overall county population growth, and in a manner that does not correlate to crime rates.”

“While the county general population grew steadily from 1993 to 2004, the number of index crimes has fluctuated, and has actually dropped markedly since 1997. At the same time, the jail population (inmates for which the county was responsible under state law) soared from an average daily population of 95 in 1993, to an average of nearly 400 in the year 2004. It is clear that there is no strong correlation between county population growth or crime trends, and the jail inmate population. The following points can be made about current crime trends in Grayson County:

• County population has increased steadily – but not as fast as the jail population (proportionally).
• Felony case filings have increased, but not at the same rate as the jail population and misdemeanor case filings have declined in recent years.
• Crime rates have generally fallen in the past five years, unlike the rapid rise in the jail population.
• Admissions to the jail have increased, but not nearly as much as the average daily population.
• The average length of stay has increased by 26.7 percent over the past two years, while the number of inmates admitted to the jail has increased by only 0.7 percent.

One of the most likely causes of the increase in length of stay is the time that jail detainees spend in jail during their court processing. Every extra day that the legal, adjudication and sentencing processes are extended results in more jail usage. This is supported by data that show that the growing proportion of jail beds are used by pretrial detainees, instead of sentenced offenders.”

From Grayson County Comprehensive Correctional Needs Assessment Final Track A/B Report, p. 13-14.

Excerpts from Grayson Comprehensive Correctional Needs Assessment, Implications of Privatization

Prepared by Glenn Melancon, Ph.D.

Problem Areas Related to Overcrowding
1. Delay in Filing of Charges with District Attorney
2. Defense Attorney Representation
3. Delay in Receiving Lab Reports
4. Management of Cases
5. Preparing Paperwork for Offenders Sentenced to Prison
6. Sufficient Staff and Resources
7. Planning for Current and Future Needs

Recommendations to Address Overcrowding
1. Information Technology
2. recommended time frames for the filing of charges
3. monitor performance of appointed attorneys
4. collect and analyze data and information about lab test delays
5. improve case flow management
6. Comprehensive, participatory, long-term planning should be implemented for the Grayson County for the criminal justice system.
7. Comprehensive planning should address management information issues and needs, ensuring that sufficient hardware and software are provided to all facets of the system. Training and cross-training activities should be developed and implemented to improve the efficiency and accuracy of data entry.

Changing the Future Demand for Jail Beds (Overcrowding)
1. Increased use of citation release.
2. Pretrial Release Program
3. Electronic Monitoring
4. Day Reporting Center
5. Inmate Case Management, Case Expeditor
6. Improved Court Operations
7. Drug Court
8. Mental Health Court
9. Community Service Work Program
10. In-Jail Work Programs
11. Weekend DWI Program
12. Reentry Programming

Potential Savings of Jail Alternatives

“Conservatively assuming that the $3,266,000 would be a target goal for annual operating savings at the end of 20 years, the financial benefit to the county would be in the tens of millions of dollars.”
“. . . the one time capital savings would calculate out at approximately $13.7 million.”

Implications of Privatization of Jail Operations

1. Governments cannot contract out their liability. It’s difficult for contracting jurisdictions to adequately monitor contracts. As a result there are higher rates of assaults on prison guards and higher rates of inmate unrest. For example, Dallas Morning News reported on Sunday that “Jail operator GEO’s troubles not limited to Coke County youth lockup.” (Holly Becka, Oct 7, 2007) The State of Texas has decided to cancel its contract.
2. There will no guarantee that Grayson taxpayers will not be financial liable if a private contractor fails to deliver on its promises.

a. Corrections Corporation of America ’s fees for operating the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma) increased 42 percent from 2001 to 2004. This increase eventually led to a projected $3.7 million budget deficit for Tulsa County. In 2005, the county decided it could do a better job of operating the jail and controlling costs by operating the jail itself.

b. A 2005 internal review by the Florida Department of Management Services found that CCA and the GEO Group were allowed to over bill the state nearly $13 million. In addition, the report found that the state paid CCA and the GEO Group for guards who didn’t exist and let the companies avoid minimal requirements for nurses, vocational trainers and teachers.

3. Privatizing the corrections system creates perverse incentives. Since companies are paid on a per diem basis, there are incentives for private operators to increase inmates’ sentences and offer fewer services to reduce recidivism.

4. Decrease in level of accountability. Sheriff must face reelection but private contractors don’t. According to the Miami News Herald, “A South Florida company hired to build a prison in Graceville and recently scolded for overbilling the state now faces allegations that it violated the Sunshine Law by withholding public records. The Geo Group Inc. — a sprawling corporation that claims 28 percent of America’s private prison market — was accused Friday of ignoring a request for scores of documents related to its contracts with three Florida facilities, including audit records, lawsuit payments and court injunctions.”

5. According to The Corrections Yearbook, 2000, the average annual starting salary for public corrections officers was $23,002, compared to $17,628 for private prison guards. The poor pay undoubtedly contributes to the high turnover that exists in private prisons, a whopping 52.2 percent, compared to 16 percent in publicly run prisons.