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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 1:43 am
Time: 1:43 am
Results for adult corrections (west virginia)
1 results foundAuthor: Paulhus, Elizabeth Title: Stemming the Tide: The Racial and Economic Impacts of West Virginia's Prison System Summary: Despite a relatively stable crime rate, West Virginia is facing a growing prison population, which currently is larger than the capacity of the existing state prisons. As a result, many state prisoners are being housed in regional jails where they cannot access educational and supportive services offered by the Division of Corrections. With more individuals serving sentences in prison, there is a growing financial burden on the state. This population increase is associated with an increase in prison spending, with a growing percentage of the General Revenue fund going toward the Division of Corrections. Prison population growth and its associated overcrowding are not only criminal justice issues, but also fiscal concerns for West Virginia. This growth in the prison population in a state with little total population growth and a stable crime rate is in part the effect of sentencing patterns that place offenders into prison rather than into alternatives like community corrections and give them long sentences, as well as a reduction in the rate of granting parole. It also is a result of the shift from understanding prison as a place of rehabilitation to one of punishment that accompanied the “war on drugs” and the movement in the 1970s toward harsher sentences and being tough on crime. The growing prison population appears to be mainly the result of structures and policies, rather than an increase in crime. Although overcrowding and housing inmates in regional jails may seem like new issues, they have actually plagued West Virginia for decades, even culminating in several lawsuits. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the overcrowding in California was unconstitutional, calling it “cruel and unusual,” states like West Virginia are anxious to find solutions to their own overcrowding problems. Although one option recommended during the 2011 legislative interim sessions is the building of a new 1,200- bed medium security prison at a cost of $120 to $200 million (not including annual operating costs), opponents argue that “state governments cannot build their way out of the overcrowding problems.” A better option is to find ways to reduce the prison population by decreasing the number of offenders entering the system and increasing the number exiting from it. West Virginia could consider several options for reducing prison admissions, such as: Expanding drug courts to every county and creating mental health courts. This would ensure that inmates in need of substance use or mental health care treatment would receive it; and Increasing the use of alternative sanctions for technical parole and probation violators. This could take the form of more traditional methods like electronic monitoring and day report centers, or could mean the creation of “halfway back centers” that would provide support services and programs. The state could also reduce the length of time that inmates spend in prison and increase the number exiting from the prison system by: Conducting a comprehensive review of its criminal code and comparing sentencing patterns to those in other states; Seeking ways to increase the number of inmates released to parole, which not only would reduce the prison population but also would give the inmates access to supportive services in their transition back into society; and Expanding its current “good time” credits to include the completion of educational and other programs rather than just simply good behavior. Key findings include: Many state prisoners are being housed in regional jails, where they lack access to various educational and rehabilitative services. In 2009, approximately 20 percent of the Division of Corrections population was housed in regional jails, while an additional seven percent was housed at the Stevens Correctional Center/McDowell County Corrections; Most state prisoners in West Virginia are not high risk. Only 10 percent are classified as maximum security. One in three inmates can work outside the confines of the prison or is eligible for community-based placements; Many state prisoners struggle with mental illness, substance abuse, or the co-occurence of the two. Many of these individuals would benefit more from treatment and rehabilitation than from regular incarceration; African Americans are disproportionately represented in the West Virginia prison system, and are four times more likely than whites to be in prison; The majority of recidivists in West Virginia are picked up for technical parole violations, not new crimes; Only five percent of state prisoners have more than a high school degree, compared with 43 percent of the state as a whole. As such, educational programs for inmates in prison are crucial to help them develop the skills and knowledge to be more competitive workers in the future; The cost of housing an inmate in prison is nearly 20 times greater than putting someone on parole or probation. Yet West Virginia had 6,200 inmates in prison in 2010 and only 1,264 in-state parolees; and West Virginia had the nation’s second highest growth in general revenue spending on corrections between 1990 and 2010. Details: Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, 2012. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2012 at http://www.wvpolicy.org/downloads/PrisonReport022212.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.wvpolicy.org/downloads/PrisonReport022212.pdf Shelf Number: 124610 Keywords: Adult Corrections (West Virginia)Correctional Administration (West Virginia)Correctional ProgramsCorrections ReformDemographic TrendsRacial Disparities |