New Department of Corrections report out today
Pennsylvania’s state prison population and related costs continue to grow, while the state’s population growth has remained stagnant for three decades.
The state Department of Corrections (DOC) released its 2009 Annual Statistical Report Thursday, showing the department spending nearly $1.8 billion per year to house 51,000 inmates and pay about 16,000 caretakers.
In 1999, 11,007 inmates were sent to state prison. In 2009, the number was 17,052, a 54.9 percent increase.
During the same period, the state’s overall population went from 12.3 million to 12.6 million, a growth of under 3 percent.
Given the size of the DOC’s operating budget, it has become a focal point of possible cost cutting as the state faces a $4 to $5 billion budget shortfall in the Fiscal Year 2011-12 operating budget, which begins July 1.
The state’s prison population currently exceeds its capacity by 8,000 to 9,000, according to the DOC. There are plans to build four new facilities at a cost of $800 million. Pennsylvania currently rents out space in Virginia prisons to relieve the overcrowding.
Recent proposals by Democrat Auditor General Jack Wagner and state Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill) include reducing the burgeoning state prison population through the release of nonviolent criminals and those incarcerated for some drug violations, as well as using paroles and probation to monitor released convicts.
The problem is, according to the new DOC report, about 35 percent of those confined each year are parole violators who were previously incarcerated. The cumulative figure on such violations increased by 54 percent between 1999 and 2009.
William DiMascio, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prisons Society, recently wrote educational programs for those incarcerated would provide a significant step toward eliminating recidivism.
He quoted a study by the Correctional Education Association that found “simply attending school behind bars reduces the likelihood of reincarceration by 29 percent. Translated into savings, every dollar spent on education returns more than two dollars to the citizens in reduced prison costs.”
“It’s also wise to teach prisoners so-called cognitive life skills, helping them to develop new ways of thinking and problem-solving, and building pro-social behaviors. Other beneficial efforts teach anger management, parenting, impulse control, and financial literacy,” Mr. DiMascio wrote.
The DOC already offers a comprehensive educational program beginning with elementary programs through the possibility of college level courses.
Forty-nine percent of those incarcerated by DOC are African-American, 39 percent are Caucasian and 11 percent are Hispanic. At the end of 2009, there were 48,656 males and 2,831 females incarcerated.
The top 10 counties sending offenders to prison during 2009, in order, are Philadelphia, Allegheny, Delaware, Berks, Montgomery, Dauphin, Bucks, Lancaster, Lackawanna and York.
The top 10 incarceration rates per population are, in order, Philadelphia, Dauphin, Venango, Lebanon, Lycoming, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Erie, Fulton and Fayette.
Dept. of Corrections 2009 Annual Statistical Report
