How Prison Overcrowding Affects State Budgets

How Prison Overcrowding Affects State Budgets

By: Clarissa Taylor
JUST 6510/ JPS Planning & Budgeting
April 18, 2015

This paper will discuss how state and federal budgets are affected by the overcrowding of prisons. I chose this topic mainly because I use to work for the Alabama Department of Corrections from 2002 to 2005 as a Correctional Officer I. During the time I was employed for the department, I witness a lot of overcrowding in Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Things had gotten so bad due to the number of women whom were now committing crimes and Julia Tutwiler being the only female prison for women in the state of Alabama, overcrowding was bound to happen. As effect of the overcrowding at Julia Tutwiler Prison for
What made you become a correctional officer? “I have always wanted to do something in the law enforcement field. I’ve always had a passion for the law and enforcing the law. I knew at a very young age that I would be working is this field. Therefore when I was coming up as a young black man in Troy, Alabama I always had in my head that I wouldn’t do anything to tarnish me not having a record.”
2. How long was your training? “When I went through the academy in Selma, Alabama training was eleven weeks of physical and academic learning. You had to be in shape and you had to study. It is a lot more to it than what most people think. It is the same training that a lot of law enforcement personnel get. The only difference is we cannot arrest the public.”
3. What was the first facility that you were employed with? “The first facility that I was employed with after I graduated from the academy was West Jefferson which is now Donaldson. It is level six camp for male inmates; the highest level in terms of degree of violent offenders being housed there. I learned a lot at West Jefferson, it made me an alert young
Prison overcrowding poses as a threat to security and personnel. When prison are overcrowded budgets have to be cut, therefore some people whom work for the department lose their jobs, take pay cuts, and the closing of some facilities are inevitable. There are some precautions that lawmakers and the Department of Corrections have taken in order to help with prison overcrowding and budgets. A lot of departments are investing in private prison to house inmates. This has become quite popular lately within the Department of Corrections. This does help with the overcrowding of the prisons but it hasn’t been proven that it helps out with the budget overall. That would depend on which private prison you’re using and their cost for housing inmates. Some states are ordering that prison reduces is prison population to no more than 137.5% of its designed capacity. By reducing it to no more than 137.5% of its designed capacity it saves the state money and in return helps with the state budget. A lot of community corrections facilities are being closed or the number of inmates being serviced by the community corrections is an all time low. When the community corrections have a low amount of inmates in the program they are more likely to be eliminated. Earlier we discussed how two community correction centers were scheduled to reopen