Build Smarter Prisons for Soaring Inmate Population

In two years, California may witness the biggest prison break in its history when the state’s already dangerously overcrowded prisons reach triple capacity, holding nearly 200,000 inmates in a system built to house 71,000.

When this happens, federal courts are likely to what they’ve done in 25 other states: Order the early release of convicted criminals on the ground that prison overcrowding constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment.” Typically, federal authorities cut prison populations back to 150% of capacity. In 1993, federal courts granted early release of more than 17,000 inmates in Florida.

The solution is to provide more prison space as quickly as possible. While opponents argue that California already locks up too many criminals, in reality, we don’t imprison enough. For every 100 felons arrested in California for serious crimes, only eight receive prison time.

Although incarcerating criminals isn’t cheap, it’s well worth the cost. Two recent reports, one by the U.S. Department of Justice and another by the Pacific Research Institute, conclude that prisons are a cost-effective strategy for fighting crime and up to three times cheaper than letting felons roam free. The reports cite numerous studies showing that the social costs of crime far outweigh the cost of incarceration. According to the Pacific Research Institute, locking up more criminals could save California taxpayers more than $10 billion a year.

Delaying prison construction will only make things worse. Although California’s crime rate has fallen in recent years, the decline is probably only temporary. Criminologists predict we are about to experience an epidemic of violent crime, fueled in large part by today’s increasingly violent teenagers. Although the teen population is down in number, this smaller group of adolescents commit more violent crime than previous generations. The number of murders by 14- to 17-year-olds has exploded over the last 10 years, many of them stemming from gang activity.

To prevent this, legislators must find new ways to provide needed prison space without bankrupting taxpayers or shortchanging other vital programs like education and health care.

The following ideas could cut the cost of building and operating California prisons by hundreds of millions of dollars:

* Construction costs could be cut 10% to 15% by building fewer but larger “mega-prisons” that cluster three or four smaller prisons at the same site. Consolidating kitchen and medical facilities, warehouses, administration and infrastructure could significantly reduce operating costs.

* Use inmates to build vocational, educational and recreational facilities within the prison gates. In 1984 and 1985, the Department of Corrections successfully used supervised inmate labor for a major renovation of San Quentin’s electrical and plumbing systems.

* Instead of using multiple contractors, use a single contractor who would be responsible for employing the architects and engineers, mobilizing subcontractors and assuming liability for completion of the project.

* Restructure the prison classification system to distinguish inmates who are a danger to themselves, staff and other inmates from those who are escape risks. Some prisoners currently housed in maximum-security cells could be safely held in far less costly facilities surrounded by electric fencing.

* Put nonviolent, first-time offenders on strictly supervised parole requiring daily reporting to a parole officer. If they violate parole, they immediately go to prison to serve their time. Better programs also are needed to help the transition of parolees back into society.

* Use revenue bonds to finance prison construction. Revenue bonds are less expensive for the first 15 years of debt service than general obligation bonds and can be approved quickly by the Legislature. With prison building costs escalating an estimated $700,000 for each month construction is delayed, immediate action by legislators could net big savings for taxpayers.

We can’t afford to ignore this problem. The price of delay will be far too high for taxpayers and public safety.

Rodney J. Blonien was undersecretary of the California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency under Gov. George Deukmejian, where he oversaw the state’s $2.2-billion prison construction program. Pullquote: