Early release of inmates fails to curb prison costs

By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times Olympia bureau

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

The agency was supposed to be a bright spot in an otherwise dismal budget year, saving millions not only by letting certain low-risk convicts out early but also eliminating supervision of several thousand former inmates.

The department's $1.2 billion budget was expected to increase some, but not that much.

"It's a big number," said Dick Van Wagenen, Gov. Gary Locke's criminal-justice policy adviser, adding that the increase comes at a time that the Legislature has skimpy reserves to deal with unexpected costs.

The proposed budget increase is largely tied to two things: The prison population, earlier expected to stay almost flat through 2005, is surging. And the department ended up supervising thousands more former inmates than the Legislature had expected.

Prison-population growth played a big role in punching a hole in the Department of Corrections' budget.

Earlier this year, the state projected the average prison population would remain at about 16,460 inmates through 2005, based on changes made by the Legislature. Now the state projects the population will increase by about 940 inmates or more during that period.

Analysts are a bit puzzled as to why.

State officials worry one factor could be a law passed earlier this year intended to slow prison-population growth.

The Legislature passed Senate Bill 5990 just before adjournment in April. The law was expected to save money, in part, by increasing time off for good behavior for certain low-risk inmates, mostly drug and property offenders, and letting them out of prison early.

Such convicts can cut their prison time in half. State law previously let prisoners reduce their sentences by about a third.

However, the increase in time off for good behavior did not apply to county jails. State officials now suspect that certain drug offenders, during plea bargaining, are seeking sentences in prison because they'd have a shorter stay than if they served time at the county jail.

"If you're looking at nine to 12 months in jail ... you can send them to prison and they'll do less time," said David Fallen, executive director of the state Caseload Forecast Council. "Prosecutors may be going with it because it will save the counties a lot of money."

It's not clear how frequently that is occurring, or to what extent it could increase prison populations.

A much bigger factor behind the population surge is cash-strapped county jails refusing to accept inmates they used to handle and instead sending them to state prisons, Fallen and other officials said.

Traditionally, jails have taken in people who violate their Department of Corrections community-supervision requirements and are sent back to serve more time. Increasingly, jails are saying the inmates are the state's responsibility.

That has been a continuing issue for years, but the number of jails closing their doors to those inmates increased far more rapidly than state budget writers expected this year.

"Counties are in tremendous distress," said Van Wagenen, Locke's adviser. "It's a revenue issue for them. It's also jail capacity."

State law is "fairly clear" that the inmates are the counties' responsibility, he said. "But fundamentally it's unenforceable. I don't know how you force a sheriff or jail administrator to let your people in."

King County is negotiating to have the state pay the county to house offenders who are sent back to jail after violating their supervision (which used to be called parole).

"This is a population we believe we are not financially responsible for," said Jim Harms, a spokesman for the county. "We can no longer afford to house these individuals without a revenue stream."

Corrections Secretary Joe Lehman said he sympathizes with the counties' plight.

"We have to decide if we're going to open up a jail system parallel to the counties, or if the counties are going to continue to assume that role," he said.

In addition to taking in more prisoners, the Department of Corrections also is supervising more people than expected once they are released from jail or prison.

Senate Bill 5990 projected the agency would save money by ending supervision of several thousand low-risk offenders who had completed their time.

The estimates were off, in part, because of the prison-population growth: More people in prison means more people to supervise when they get out. The agency also found the law didn't get rid of supervision for as many people as expected.

Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, declined comment, saying he wanted to find out more about the situation.

Sen. Darlene Fairley of Lake Forest Park, ranking Democrat on Ways and Means, said she's frustrated by the new budget request.

"This takes away from the monies we can put out for vulnerable folks to meet their needs," she said. "This is not where I want to spend the money, period."

Andrew Garber: 360-943-9883 or agarber@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company