New York State Prisons: A Drain on the State’s Resources

1. New York State Prisons:A Drain on the State’s Resources Presented by: Salvatrice Badalamenti Caz Craffey Christine Galea Chris Jackson Vanessa Marseille Gary Salvador Group 4

2. PROBLEM • An examination of New York State’s budget reveals an increase in spending on operating the State’s jails • Increased spending in correctional facilities means a drain on the city’s resources. It will be unable to provide much needed funding for other projects, e.g. operating state universities Questions • What is causing a rise in New York’s jail population? • What is currently being done to reduce it? • What Christian values can be applied to solutions? • What is our proposal?

3. The Rockefeller Drug Laws • Increasing population of jails is tied to the Rockefeller Drug Laws • Enacted in 1973 when Nelson Rockefeller was governor, the Rockefeller drug laws impose harsh prison terms on the sale and possession of even a small amount of drugs. • As of December 31, 1998, there were 22,386 drug offenders in the NYS prison system, about 33% of the entire prison population.* • Of the 19,453 commitments to the NYS prison system in 1998, 9,063 or 46.6% were for drug offenses. In 1980, 886 drug offenders were sent to State prison, 11% of the total commitments for that year.* * http://www.drugolicy.org/library/factsheets/mandatory_ny.cfm

4. Prison Terms

5. Cost Of Operation

6. Cost Of Operation

7. Cost Of Operation • Expenses decreased by $24.6M and prisoners by 1,874 people. • 2003 average cost per inmate = $58K • 2004 average cost per inmate = $60K

8. Drug Reform • On December 14, 2004, Governor Pataki signed into law the Rockefeller Drug Law Reform bill. • This legislation makes significant changes that will affect sentencing in drug cases in the future. • Other aspects of the legislation will affect those already serving sentences for drug convictions.

9. Categories of Drug Offenders The three categories under new legislation • First felony offender • Second felony offender with a prior non-violent felony conviction • Second felony offender with a prior violent felony conviction Each category has its own sentence range.

10. Governor Pataki's reform legislation: • establishes alternatives to state imprisonment for certain drug offenders who would be more appropriately served by treatment programs. • establishes a procedure for conditional expungement of drug convictions for individuals who successfully complete such treatment programs. • permits incarcerated non-violent offenders that have been sentenced for A1 felony convictions to apply to the sentencing judge to be re-sentenced to as much as a 50 % lower sentence. • adopts a structure of determinate sentences for felony drug offenders who are sentenced to prison. • creates new offenses or elevated punishment levels for those who :

11. Objectives Of The Legislation • Expand judicial discretion to allow judges to sentence non-violent, drug-addicted offenders to highly-structured treatment as an alternative to prison. • Reduce the lowest allowable amount of time non-violent drug offenders can serve in prison, increase prison terms for violent drug offenders, and create a determinate sentencing structure to allow judges to determine the amount of time an offender will serve in prison. • Increase penalties for drug traffickers who use or carry guns, sell drugs in public parks, use children or the Internet to sell drugs, or lead or manage drug organizations.

12. Drop The Rock • The campaign to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws • Composed of many that want to see a change in these harsh laws. • Russell Simmons is happy with the State’s decision and credits the hip hop community for helping “raise awarness” of this issue.

13. Privatization Solutions Problem identification: • - Bloated state and local government budgets • - Increased tax burdens • - Cost inefficiencies resulting in decreased effectiveness • - Capacity constraints resulting in overcrowding and early releases of prisoners • Estimated total outlay of state and local governments for correctional services is expected to exceed $18B by 2009 or 2010.

14. Privatization Solutions Recent calls for change: • - Taxpayers refusal to increase tax revenues without better cost efficiencies • - Fiscal constraints concerning correctional funds available • - Court-ordered demands for facility quality improvements • - Immediate demand for increased capacity levels

15. Privatization Solutions Our proposal: • * Accelerate the already existing trend of converting prison functions from the municipal side to the private side. Can be done in one of the following three forms: • 1) The contracting of various prison services out to private firms (medical, food services) • 2) Allow private investors/firms to own and operate functioning prisons • 3) Contract out prisoners for labor and allow the actual prisoner to pay for their housing • - Currently, using the limited number of privately-run prisons, it costs an average of approximately $36 to house a prisoner per day, versus $44-$45 per day in publicly-run prisons. • - Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) holds a 55.6% market share in the operation of private prisons • - New Mexico, Montana, and Alaska currently have the largest percentage of state prisoners in private prisons (all 30-35%)

16. Privatization Solutions Questions regarding Christianity and the privatization of prisons: • - Are human rights violations more likely to occur in a privately-run prison versus a publicly-run prison? • - Is profit an appropriate primary objective for the operation of the imprisonment of human beings? (Does profit conflict with good practice?) • - Is this a move that will lead to prisoners being treated as a commodity rather than a human being? • - Should private security guards have the right to carry and utilize deadly weapons? • - With respect to the free market system, is the prisoner at an immediate disadvantage in facing the private market since he has no free thought process to select a prison over other alternatives? Isn’t this comparable to a free consumer facing a monopoly?

17. Privatization Solutions Other questions to consider during this transition: • - Can the government maintain adequate supervision/regulation over the prison industry? • - What will be legislated to require a minimum standard level of safety and security at all prisons? • - What will be the legal liability of the private entity for malpractice issues? • - Finally, is incurring some quality costs worth the cost savings to state and local municipalities?

18. Privatization Solutions Potential pros of privatization: • - Not only will private firms act more efficiently, but state and local governments will be forced to compete in the free market and will have to operate with better efficiencies • - Accountability for failed employees • - Cost containment in specific areas such as labor • - Reduced overall operational costs • - Comparable safety and security quality • - Conversion of legal liabilities from the municipality to the private enterprise • - Increased potential for staff promotion and development • - Private market has shown a better ability to react to demand fluctuations • Most importantly, it has been estimated by privatization proponents that within five years of full private implementation 10-15% of state and local budgets can be cut or allocated elsewhere.

19. Privatization Solutions Immediate criticisms of the plan to privatize: • - Quality of the facility is not based on the intrinsic value of the correctional facility to rehabilitate prisoners, but rather, better revenues must be the driving factor for quality improvements • - The private sector will inevitably engage in ‘necessary’ cost cutting compromising the safety of the prisoners and the surrounding community • - Facilities will be inherently unequal, having better ‘money-makers’ with the ‘best’ facilities, while states with lower crime rates will have lower quality facilities • - Constitutional violations against prisoners are much more likely to occur when the government takes a back-seat to private investors • - Correctional officers will incur increased competition for work and consequently will receive lower wages, which has the potential to result in a severe drop in quality of the labor force • Anti-privatization push being led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Bar Association (ABA)

20. Privatization Solutions Suggestions to mitigate the issues rose by critics, and to maximize the likeliness of the pros taking place: • - Private entities are held accountable for failing facilities by state and local municipalities and alternatives are immediately available • - Careful monitoring of facilities’ safety and security measures, as well as implementation and enforcement of ‘complete contracts’ dictating minimum standard levels for private prisons to abide by • - Local communities affected will be consulted by state governments before conversion to privatization takes place • - Top importance placed on upholding the constitutional rights of all prisoners