THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015
NORTH COAST
3A
State, counties look for ways Consult a
to avert prison expansion
PROFESSIONAL
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown urged lawmakers,
counties and state agencies
Tuesday to work together
to reduce the state’s prison
population before March and
avert a $9 million emergen-
cy expansion at Deer Ridge
Correctional Institution in
Madras.
Lawmakers have indicated
the only way to pay for that
expansion is to raid a state
fund designed to keep offend-
ers out of prison.
Such a move could doom
Oregon’s justice reinvestment
— the concept of investing in
county-level programs that
Pamplin Media Group
support and supervise offend- Gov. Kate Brown speaks to more than 300 representatives
ers who otherwise might be from Oregon’s 36 counties during a meeting Tuesday on
sent to prison, Brown said.
reducing the state’s prison population.
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meeting in Salem Tuesday of
‘I’m here today because
more than 300 representatives
from the state’s 36 counties
I believe there is still
to discuss options for quickly
GHFUHDVLQJ WKH LQÀX[ RI SULV-
a chance that this
oners.
“I’m here today because I
worst-case scenario
believe there is still a chance
will not come to pass.
that this worst-case scenario
will not come to pass,” Brown
It requires all of us to
said. “It requires all of us to
take a leap of faith.”
take a leap of faith.’
simultaneously lowered sen-
tences for property and drug
crimes, all in an effort to ebb
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prison system.
‘Snowball effect’
The Legislature approved
$14 million in county grants
for 2013-2014 and $40 mil-
lion in county grants for
2015-17. The $9 million Deer
Ridge expansion would come
from the money earmarked
from the county grants.
“This would cause a snow-
ball effect,” Brown said.
“Next year’s (grant) disburs-
DOV ZRXOG EH VLJQL¿FDQWO\
reduced. It also will lead to a
reduction of services, which
means continued increases in
the prison population. As pris-
on bed use goes up, the jus-
tice reinvestment fund will go
down, or worse, go away, and
we will all be frustrated by a
program we failed to fund ad-
equately.”
Lawmakers would have to
sign off on the budget change.
House Majority Leader Jenni-
fer Williamson, D-Portland,
asked county representatives
to talk to their legislators and
urge them to keep the fund
intact.
Lane County Commis-
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is angry that state leaders are
Tug-of-war
Gov. Kate Brown
putting the onus on counties
The tug-of-war between
alone to reduce prison costs.
the demand for prison space
“What is the state doing
Another idea for reducing
and justice reinvestment be- for property and drug crimes
gan in October when the state decreased by 3,270 months the prison population is to about the cost of our prison
2I¿FH RI (FRQRPLF$QDO\VLV between 2012-13 and 2014- allow prisoners approved for system rather than looking at
projected that the male prison 15, according to the criminal short-term transitional leave the counties and taking away
to be released earlier, said money from the counties?”
population would grow fast- justice commission.
Without justice reinvest- Scott Taylor, director of Mult- %R]LHYLFKDVNHG
er than previously anticipat-
Asked whether Brown
ed. That unexpected growth ment, Oregon already would nomah County Department
would require the Department have had to expand Deer of Community Justice. Under would veto attempts to use
of Corrections to add 150 to Ridge Correctional Institution law, those prisoners can be justice reinvestment money
and move forward on plan- released up to 90 days early for the prison expansion, a
200 prison beds by March.
Longer sentences and a ning construction of another into a transitional program VSRNHVSHUVRQ VDLG WKH RI¿FH
spike in probation revocations prison, said Colette Peters, that helps with education, em- generally doesn’t “speculate
are contributing to the growth, director of the Department of ployment and housing. The on hypotheticals.”
Brown has asked the Cor-
Legislature, however, could
said Mike Schmidt, executive Corrections.
increase the early release pe- rections Department to hold
director of the Oregon Crimi-
riod to 120 or 150 days, Tay- off for as long as possible on
nal Justice Commission.
Stave off expansion
expanding Deer Ridge while
Even so, justice reinvest-
To stave off the Deer lor said.
The criminal justice com- counties and others look for
ment grants have helped the Ridge expansion, the state
state avoid prison costs of would need to slash the num- PLVVLRQLVDQDO\]LQJWKHHIIHFW ways to reduce the prison
about $19 million, Schmidt ber of male prison intakes by that change would have on the population.
The Capital Bureau is a
said.
25 each month starting in De- prison population.
The Legislature estab- collaboration between EO
As an example, the total cember, according to an anal-
QXPEHU RI PRQWKV WKDW ¿UVW ysis by the criminal justice lished the justice reinvest- Media Group and Pamplin
ment fund in 2013. The move Media Group.
time offenders spent in prison commission.
A celebration of
W A NTED
Helen Charity Acton’s life
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
will be held at the Svensen Senior Center
Sunday, November 15 • 2-4 p.m.
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Coffee and cookies will be served. Please
come and reminisce with her family.
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To all veterans that have served and
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Before this first appointment,
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do I get a
Q: How
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REBECCA SEDLAK
Coast Weekend Editor
T HE D AILY
A STORIAN
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503-325-3211, x217
A :
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