January 3, 2006

Dear Editor:

In "Carter wants prison system changes in 2006", M.J. Ellington writes about the increasing overcrowding in Alabama prisons and county jails. Private prisons can be a reasonable and cost-effective part of the solution. Let's look at the facts:

• Overcrowded prisons breed inmate-on-inmate violence and afford very little opportunity for effective treatment education and rehabilitation of the inmates.
• Failure to provide treatment services means that prisons become on-the-job training for criminals, which leads to the problem of high recidivism rates.
• Criminal behavior is costly to our courts, our government and, most importantly, to the victims of crime.
• Using county jail space for state prisoners unfairly burdens the individual localities.

The members of the Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations (APCTO suggests that public-private correctional partnerships can help solve the problem. Such partnerships:

• Construct prison beds faster and about 10-25% cheaper;
• Have operating costs that range from 6% to 12% lower than public correctional services;
• Provide a new source of capital funds so that state resources can be dedicated to schools and other public needs;
• Provide services to inmates that are every bit as good or better than those provided by government operation; and
• Serve to reduce the operating costs of the remaining public prisons in the same state, according to a Vanderbilt University study.

Alabama already makes use of private prisons. APCTO urges Governor Riley and the state legislature to look to public-private corrections partnerships to avoid the consequences of prison overcrowding.

Sincerely,
 

 
Executive Director
Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations
www.apcto.org

Carter wants prison system changes in 2006

By M.J. Ellington
DAILY Staff Writer
mjellington@decaturdaily.com
(334) 262-1104

MONTGOMERY
Alabama must change its prison system or the federal government will probably take it over, says a veteran Limestone County legislator.

After 36 years in the Legislature, Rep. Tommy Carter, DElkmont, said the state has many of the same problems now as when the federal government took control of the prisons for a time in the 1980s.

As he begins his last year in the Legislature before retirement, Carter said prison problems are among his greatest concerns.

Prisons are close to double capacity, they need more guards and some sentencing policies need revamping, Carter believes.

He wants Corrections Commissioner Donal Campbell and Gov. Bob Riley to bring a workable plan for the system to the upcoming legislative session. Carter criticized both men, but said he is ready to help the governor push reform.

Riley already said prison reform is a top 2006 priority and he expects to present a reform package when he addresses the Legislature's opening meeting Jan. 10.

Carter serves on the State Prison Oversight Committee, but he said he looks to experts for solutions. He believes an organized reform plan is what the state has lacked.

Prisons would be less crowded, Carter said, if the state changed the offenses for which it locks people up and had more uniform sentencing. Less crowding would address the vulnerability of guards at places like Limestone Correctional Facility at Capshaw.

Limestone, designed to hold 874 inmates, had an average of 2,039 during the past year, or 233 percent. The prison has 252 employees.

In a recent visit to Limestone, Carter said, he was concerned about the number of inmates each corrections officer oversees "a guard could be overpowered at any time."

He wants more guards and better pay. Guards often go through extensive training and leave for higher-paying jobs.

He also wants up-to-date equipment, including communications devices that staff can use to call for help.

"I think we've gone overboard on some types of crimes," Carter said. "The young marijuana folks running around at Limestone don't need to be there. They need to be in some type of rehabilitation program back home."

Maximum-security prisons should be for people who commit murder and other violent crimes, he said.

He hopes the state will modify the law that sends people to prison for life after the third offense. "You could literally be in prison for the rest of your life for stealing a bicycle," he said.

The lawmaker believes community corrections programs and other services could help nonviolent criminals, while prison may make their situations worse.

Corrections Commissioner Campbell sought equipment upgrades, staffing increases and other changes during the 2005 regular session, but tight finances limited improvements. Carter noted that more money is available in 2006.