Pubdate: Tue, 06 Aug 2002
Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC)
Copyright: 2002 Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.journalnow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/504
Note: The Journal does not publish letters from writers outside its daily 
home delivery circulation area.
Author: John Hinton, Journal Reporter

COUNTY JAILS HOUSING MORE STATE PRISONERS

Shortage Of Facilities Puts Strain On Local Systems Despite Fees Paid By State

More prisoners might have to stay in county jails because of overcrowding 
at the state's prisons, according to one state official.

Some county officials said yesterday that the state's plan would stretch 
their limited resources and probably lead to overcrowding in their jails.

Boyd Bennett, the director of the N.C. Division of Prisons, said in a 
letter dated July 18 to county sheriffs that officials might have to keep 
state prisoners in county jails until more prison beds are available.

"The Division of Prisons will exercise every effort to minimize the number 
of inmates it must backlog to the county jails," Bennett said in the 
letter. He couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

Under state law, the state reimburses counties for the money they spend to 
house state prisoners. The state pays the counties $40 a day for each state 
inmate, but local officials say that fee doesn't fully cover the costs of 
keeping the prisoners.

As of yesterday, the state's prison population was 33,573 inmates, the N.C. 
Department of Correction said. That figure exceeds the state's prison capacity.

The prison population has increased 12 percent since Dec. 31, 1995, state 
statistics show.

Population projections by the N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory 
Commission showed that there would be a shortage of prison beds in the 
state by June 30, and that 7,600 additional prison beds would be needed by 
fiscal year 2010.

State prison officials are building three 1,000-cell prisons in Alexander, 
Anson and Scotland counties. But none of those will be ready for inmates 
until August 2003.

State and county officials dealt with a backlog of state prisoners in 
crowded county jails in the late 1990s.

In March 1996, there were 1,358 prisoners serving state-imposed sentences 
in local jails.

By July 1998, every prisoner was housed in a state prison after North 
Carolina completed a building program to expand prison space. But the state 
is running out of prison space again.

Capt. Steve Houck of the Ashe County Sheriff's Office said that the state's 
plan to hold its prisoners in county jails until prison beds become 
available would increase overcrowding in his jail.

"It will make it tough on the jailers," Houck said. "It will mean that we 
will have to throw more mattresses on the floor for the inmates."

There were 20 inmates in a jail that was designed to hold 17, Houck said.

Forsyth County officials said that the state's plan would increase the 
number of inmates in the Forsyth County Jail.

Sheriff Ron Barker said that the state's plan would be "very detrimental to 
us at this point."

There are about 240 detention officers at the Forsyth County Jail to handle 
775 inmates, but the jail averages about 850 inmates a day, Barker said.

Many officers work overtime to handle the additional inmates.

The jail, which opened in 1995, has a capacity of 1,016 inmates.

"It is cheaper for the state to leave these inmates in the jails and let 
the counties pay for them," Barker said. "Taxpayers in Forsyth County are 
paying to house these state prisoners."

There were 985 defendants convicted in Forsyth County courts who were sent 
to the state prisons in 2001, a 5 percent increase from 2000.

District Attorney Tom Keith said that prosecutors have created more space 
in the jail by moving cases involving defendants charged with misdemeanors 
and minor felonies quickly through the court system.

Jail cells should be used to keep habitual offenders and defendants charged 
with serious drug, assault and weapon offenses, Keith said.

Keith and Barker criticized state legislators for not building more prisons 
to handle overcrowding.

"It is not good for our business," Keith said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Tom