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washington State may reduce prison population
Budget limits may crush tough-on-crime laws from past years
nicholas k geranios
The Associated Press
sPokane, Wash. (AP) Like many states, cash-strapped
Washington is looking to save money by reducing the size
of its prison population.
But the state has actually been releasing non-violent
offenders for years, leaving relatively few inmates who
would be good candidates for early release. Washington has
only about 17,000 prison inmates, well below the average
for a state of 6.6 million.
“Over the last 10 years we have moved away from
incarcerating in any great numbers people who don’t
deserve to be in prison,’’ said Tom McBride, a
spokesman for the state Association of Prosecuting
Attorneys.
That is not the case in all states. Huge budget
deficits are causing politicians in many states to take
a hard look at prisons, and the tough-on-crime laws
that locked up more people for longer periods. At least
two dozen states are considering early release of
inmates to save money. Tougher sentencing laws have
contributed to a fourfold increase in prison costs
across the nation over two decades. The total cost of
incarcerating state inmates swelled from $12 billion in
1988 to more than $50 billion by 2008.
Washington faces a $5 billion budget deficit, and that has
politicians looking for savings in the cell blocks.
State Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, has proposed early
release of some inmates who have not committed sex
offenses, murder, or certain drug offenses. An inmate with
low risk to reoffend could see 120 days shaved off a sen-
tence under the proposal, while a high risk, but nonviolent,
inmate would get 60 days off.
Some of the saved money would be used for treatment
and education programs that lower recidivism rates, Kline
Page 8 The Seattle Skanner april 6, 2011
said.
“A person with a high likelihood of committing a violent
offense isn’t going to be allowed to be released under this
program,’’ Kline said.
Proponents say the state could save $6.6 million in the
next two years, a tiny percentage of the deficit. Prosecutors
oppose the measure.
Kline said his bill would reduce the daily prison popula-
tion by about 3.5 percent. It costs about $37,000 to keep a
prison inmate in Washington. A study conducted by the
Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that the
“A person with a high likelihood of
committing a violent offense isn’t
going to be allowed to be released
under this program’’ --
It costs about $37,000 to keep a
prison inmate in Washington.
bill would result in 3,700 fewer crimes over the next 20
years, saving taxpayers $35 million, assuming rehabilita-
tion works.
In Washington, discussions about reducing the prison
budget come amid the horrific backdrop of the murder of a
female corrections officer on Jan. 29. Jayme Biendl was
strangled by an inmate while working alone in the chapel at
the Monroe Correctional Complex.
While prison officials have said Biendl’s murder was not
related to state budget cuts, which had yet to impact
Monroe much, the case has become something of a politi-
cal football.
The union representing corrections officers is demanding
a series of reforms, some of them expensive, to make the
job safer.
A report by the National Institute of Corrections provided
15 recommendations, and a bill to implement some of those
has been introduced in the state House.
The bill would reform offender classification at each
facility; authorize a study of the use of personal body
alarms and proximity cards for guards; hire a consultant to
study the use of more video monitoring cameras in prisons;
and authorize a pilot program on the expanded use of pep-
per spray. The cost of the various studies is about $2.7
million. But full implementation of items like monitor-
ing cameras and body alarms would cost millions of
dollars, the House Public Safety committee was told
Wednesday.
“We have been urging the state for years to make
these changes, but our input has fallen on deaf ears,’’
said Lynn Kunkle, a nurse at Monroe and member of
Teamsters Local 117, which represents prison workers.
“It’s disturbing that it takes the murder of one of our
co-workers before the state promises to take action.’’
Union officials contend state budget woes are mak-
ing their jobs more dangerous, said Tracey Thompson,
chief executive officer of the union. For instance, the union
contends that too many prisoners are being reclassified by
administrators from violent to nonviolent, allowing them to
be placed in the general population.
This year, the union is pushing hard for legislation that
would give prison employees the ability to engage a neutral
third party if they cannot come to agreement with the state
over safety concerns.
“Our members walk the tiers, supervise, counsel and feed
the inmates,’’ Thompson said. “Our members are the ones
who are most acutely aware of what is needed to improve
prison safety and security.’’