danielle
03-13-2003, 10:47 PM
In working toward accreditation for all its prisons, the Mississippi Department of Corrections has found a little more room to maneuver.
A new court-approved reduction of inmate living space could save the state money and relieve overcrowding in state-run prisons.
State inmates locked up in dormitory-style quarters had been given a minimum of 50 square feet of living space in accordance with a 1981 court order. To the American Corrections Association, which reviews correctional facilities for accreditation, those conditions were luxurious. The ACA suggests 35 square feet for dormitory settings.
Last month, a U.S. magistrate in Oxford approved that measurement for Mississippi facilities. All three state-run prisons have bay areas that house dozens of prisoners each.
The court ruling came at a crucial time for the state corrections system. With the September shutdown of Delta Correctional Facility, MDOC had no more room to place the 800 inmates it expects the total population to grow this year.
"Before the ruling, we had maximized all our state beds," said MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps. "The only place to put them was in the private prisons or regional jails."
Epps estimated that the new measurements will add 5,299 beds to the maximum that the state uses to determine its inmate population. That figure doesn't mean the state can fill all those beds. MDOC still must preserve a ratio of one officer to every five inmates.
"There may be some places where the square footage is safe, but the officer can't see all of the inmates," Epps explained.
Occupancy also must stay well below the maximum so the system has room for growth and emergency situations.
But increasing the occupancy of state-run prisons would further reduce the per-inmate cost, Epps said, something MDOC has specialized in recently. Since 2000, the annual cost to house an inmate has dropped from $15,458 to $13,826.
Estimating the savings from the new standard would be difficult, said Epps, but he predicts it will lower costs even further in the coming year. "Obviously, this will be an option that will save the taxpayers of this state money and yet maintain public safety," he said.
So why has Mississippi operated for so long under the outdated square footage?
Ocean Springs architect and prison specialist William V. Lack says it's because the state has never set official jail standards.
"Mississippi does not have any adopted jail standards, which means the court rulings are what set precedent," said Lack, who designed the plans to convert part of Delta Correctional into a Leflore County jail.
The ACA recommendation is the first outside opinion the state has gotten on inmate living space since the 1981 court order, and it's a good one, he said.
"ACA is somewhat the Bible that people refer to for standards. Usually, the ACA standard is pretty well accepted by the courts."
A new court-approved reduction of inmate living space could save the state money and relieve overcrowding in state-run prisons.
State inmates locked up in dormitory-style quarters had been given a minimum of 50 square feet of living space in accordance with a 1981 court order. To the American Corrections Association, which reviews correctional facilities for accreditation, those conditions were luxurious. The ACA suggests 35 square feet for dormitory settings.
Last month, a U.S. magistrate in Oxford approved that measurement for Mississippi facilities. All three state-run prisons have bay areas that house dozens of prisoners each.
The court ruling came at a crucial time for the state corrections system. With the September shutdown of Delta Correctional Facility, MDOC had no more room to place the 800 inmates it expects the total population to grow this year.
"Before the ruling, we had maximized all our state beds," said MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps. "The only place to put them was in the private prisons or regional jails."
Epps estimated that the new measurements will add 5,299 beds to the maximum that the state uses to determine its inmate population. That figure doesn't mean the state can fill all those beds. MDOC still must preserve a ratio of one officer to every five inmates.
"There may be some places where the square footage is safe, but the officer can't see all of the inmates," Epps explained.
Occupancy also must stay well below the maximum so the system has room for growth and emergency situations.
But increasing the occupancy of state-run prisons would further reduce the per-inmate cost, Epps said, something MDOC has specialized in recently. Since 2000, the annual cost to house an inmate has dropped from $15,458 to $13,826.
Estimating the savings from the new standard would be difficult, said Epps, but he predicts it will lower costs even further in the coming year. "Obviously, this will be an option that will save the taxpayers of this state money and yet maintain public safety," he said.
So why has Mississippi operated for so long under the outdated square footage?
Ocean Springs architect and prison specialist William V. Lack says it's because the state has never set official jail standards.
"Mississippi does not have any adopted jail standards, which means the court rulings are what set precedent," said Lack, who designed the plans to convert part of Delta Correctional into a Leflore County jail.
The ACA recommendation is the first outside opinion the state has gotten on inmate living space since the 1981 court order, and it's a good one, he said.
"ACA is somewhat the Bible that people refer to for standards. Usually, the ACA standard is pretty well accepted by the courts."