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Show W"rT SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2000 Opinion Guest Editorial program for housing Utahs prisoners Building a win-wi- n By Gary W. DeLand Utah. Sheriffs Association Executive Director In the important and difficult job of housing the convicted and accused criminal offenders, there are certain facts which are indisputable: 1. Under the best of circum- stances, jails and prisons are very expensive to construct and operate. 2. Small jail facilities cannot achieve the same economy-of-scal- e benefits available to large facilities. Small jails cannot con- stitutionally achieve cost effec- tive prisoner-to-staf- f ratios, and domimost is far the staffing by nating cost in operating correctional facilities. 3. Utah counties are statutorily obligated to provide county jails to house pretrial and sentenced prisoners, and are constitutionally obligated to ensure that they are staffed and operated in a manner which meets prisoners constitutional rights. 4. Utah has 29 counties. All but four of those counties have populations which are so small that they cannot achieve the economies of scale necessary to operate fully staffed and consti- tutional jails at rates. 5. With the growth of prison populations, the burden of housing state prisoners has become a cost-effecti- per-prison- ve er much more expensive problem which a succession ofcorrections directors and Legislatures have struggled with in trying to provide sufficient bed capacity. 6. Competently managed private corrections companies are generating excellent profits for stockholders by housing prisoners for federal, state, and local government entities which lack adequate bed capacity to provide needed prisoner beds for their prisoner housing needs. As a result of the factors listed above, Utahs counties have over the past few years found themselves in the dilemma of having to build new facilities to meet rapidly growing populations andor to replace or upgrade facilities which cannot meet the requirements which the courts have established as minimal for housing prisoners. Coming up with the finds to retire the building bonds and to staff and operate facilities can be a nightmare; especially, for counties with a weak tax base and competing critical needs. Unfortunately for these counties, the federal courts have not been sympathetic to the budget defense when prisoners rights are in question. Many smaller counties have found themselves so-call- ed overwhelmed at the costs to build for even their most modest needs. Utah has four choices for dealing with convicted felons: 1. Release them back to the community on probation. In the majority of cases (more than 60), that is exactly what is happening in Utah. Also, the length of stay in Utah prisons is lower than most states. The cost: Reduced public safety in the minds and of offenders that criminal conduct carries a lower risk of incarceration in Utah than in other states. 2. Incarcerate them in Utah State Prison facilities. To do that the State must build additional prisons; an expensive approach which legislators would like to avoid. The cost: Tens of millions of dollars to build new prisons, and even more to operate them. The cost of incarcerating a prisoner at the USP is over $55 per day per prisoner; more than $20,000 per year for each prisoner. Adding state prison beds increases the size of state government. 3. Contract with private providers to house them. The States recent experience in contracting wih a private prison firm to build and operate a prison in Tooele County resulted in a cost of more than $63 per day per prisoner. The cost: That would mean Utah taxpayers would be shell-ingo$23,000 per year for each prisoner, which would translate time get paid to rent those empty beds to the state. This also allows counties to build jails with enough bed capacity to achieve cost-effecti- staff-to-prison-er ve costs. The total cost difference to operate a d jail versus a 25-be- 100-be- d jail (if properly de- raise a serious question: Why would the State even consider a $63day contract with a private provider, when they can house prisoners in their own facilities for $55day, and in county jails for about $42day. Lets examine more closely the benefits derived by the State of Utah through contracting coun- SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS AAA Deadlines signed) is surprisingly small. That is because staffing levels are essentially the same in both ties. FRIDAY 1 PM facilities, and staff is by far the to between $9,000.00 and dominating cost of operating a See EDITORIAL, Page 5 $11,500.00 for the proposed 400 jail. or 500 bed facility. In addition, While the counties clearly benthe profits earned by the selected efit, the benefits realized by the State should be obvious. The provider would go to an state avoids the additional capicorporation. 4. The State ancf counties par- tal and bonding costs, staffing ticipate in a partnership in which costs, future retirement paythe counties build facilities outs, and other operational costs. which are large enough to be In addition to those benefits, the then cost comparisons between jail operated The Southern Utah News (ISSN No. 0049-165is published every rent the extra beds to the State contracting and the other availof Utah. This system is, in fact, able options are compelling. Wednesday at 26 N. Main St., Kanab, Utah 84741 . The SUNews serves Kane County, Utah, and the Arizona Strip. Address communications to 26 Cost of jail contracting: $38 currently being utilized. Utah N. Main St., Kanab, Utah 84741 , or telephone Fax counties in cooperation with the per day and $13,800 per year available rates Second Class Advertising upon of Corrections request have to Department per prisoner (plus about $3 $4 postage paid at Kanab, Utah 84741. Newsstand price is 50c per copy. been building extra capacity in . per day for medical and incidenYearly subscription rates to Kane County addresses and Fredonia and new jail facilities or identifying tals). Moccasin, Arizona, $22; others $30 (out of U.S. $50). The SUNews unused beds in existing facili(The counties have requested, reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement or submitted items. ties, then renting those beds to and the Legislature is considerthe Department of Corrections ing, a modest increase from the at $38 per day, (The cost would $38 rate which has been in place Dennis and Dixie Brunner Carol SuIIivanLauraii Noteman actually be slightly higher than for several years for contracting Publishers and Editor Kanab News $38day, because the UDC pays to about $43. This will be offset Sharlotte Brewer for the prisoners medical ex- for the state by a reduction in the Myrna Cox Production Staff condition-of-proba-tioincin rate paid for Glendale News penses and certain other dentals (e.g. hair-cutMichael or about down about from prisoners Evangelista Barb KlmballLori S. Mohr Corrigan $13,800 per prisoner per year. $53 day). LayoutProduction Fredonia News The counties benefit by being Cost at Utah State Prison: $55 able to build for their projected per day and $20,000 per year. Barbara Pyles Postmaster Send change of future needs, thus eliminating Cost of a Private Prison: $63 Feature Writer Main St, address cards the need to build a new jail every per day and $23,000 per year. Kanab, UT 84741 ten years or so, and at the same Note: Such cost comparisons ut AAA out-of-sta- te cost-effective- ly, 9) 435-644-290- s) to-26- N. 0, 435-644-29- |