Conservatives: Ignore it or present solutions?
Posted on September 18th, 2009
Prison Overcrowding in Arkansas
What?
Prison overcrowding has become a serious problem in America. There is currently not enough space in prisons for all convicted criminals to fully serve their sentences. This leads to the early release of offenders who are not ready to successfully reenter the community. The emergency release of offenders out the back door, in an effort to free up space for those at the front door, threatens the public safety of communities. This is neither effective nor efficient policy.
Why?
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, state and local governments passed tough crime legislation. For example, California passed the “three strikes and you’re out” law which called for mandatory sentencing of repeat offenders, and New York adopted the “Broken Windows” strategy that called for the arrest and prosecution of all crimes large and small. Policy such as this led to reduced crime rates, but increased populations in jails and prisons.
What Next?
The precedent was set in August of 2009 when California was federally-mandated to release over 40,000 prisoners in two years. The next step is for state legislators to pre-empt such unconstitutional action by implementing effective policy that will alleviate the situation and keep local communities safe.
ARKANSAS OVERCROWDING QUICK FACTS
In comparison to other states, Arkansas ranked 15th in prison population growth and 10th in percentage of total general fund expenditure.
Below is a summary of information including: statistics from Arkansas’ Department of Corrections, an overview of the state’s prison overcrowding dilemma, as well as helpful references for those interested in resolving the problem…
Facts and Figures 2008-2009
DOC COSTS
- Annual budget: $295,349,429
- Federal grant amount received: $981,068
- Care and custody operating expenditures: $272,844,471
- Average annual cost per inmate: $20,852
DOC STAFF and POPULATION
- Total department active personnel: 3,766
- Total number of facilities: 20
- Total incarcerated under DOC jurisdiction: 14,950
- Average sentence for population: 18 years, 4 months, 19 days
- Average sentence for admissions: 9 years, 0 months, 25 days
- Average sentence served: 2 years, 9 months, 8 days
CUSTODY LEVEL
- Maximum – 13%
- Medium – 25%
- Minimum – 57%
- Unclassified – 5%
CLASSIFICATION OF INMATES
- Class IA – 4.9%
- Class IB – 7.9%
- Class I – 48.8%
- Class II – 14.1%
- Class III – 3.8%
- Class IV – 18.5%
- Class I-P – 2.0%
PAROLE
- Budget: $1,719,570
- Population: 20,080
NEWS AND MEDIA
- Panel to discuss prison overcrowding, escape – June 19, 2009 LINK.
- Out 4 Life Movement Comes To Arkansas – September 16, 2009 LINK.
- Prison officials ordered to skip privatization meeting – January 6, 2009 LINK.
HELPFUL LINKS
- Arkansas Department of Corrections Website
- Organization of state divisions, view here.
- Organization of DOC Executive Staff, view here.
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