Pubdate: Fri, 31 Dec 2004
Source: Tennessean, The (TN)
Copyright: 2004 The Tennessean
Contact:  http://www.tennessean.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

PRISONERS TO BAD POLICY

Nashville officials are asking the Tennessee Department of Correction the
right questions about one of its most common practices. The state expects
local governments to bear the brunt of its own failure to adequately house
state prisoners. The consequence could well be a repeat of the chaotic
situation that brought both local jails and the state into federal court
because of overcrowding in the 1980s. Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall
doesn't want to wait for the chaos and the lawsuits to begin. Metro, like
other cities, routinely contracts to keep state prisoners. The Metro
Detention Facility hosts 1,300 inmates, of which 900 men and some of the 400
female inmates are state prisoners.

Metro proposes to avoid catastrophe with a plan now under review by
the state Department of Correction. Instead of expecting cities to
deal with the issue, Metro proposes that the state accept its rightful
share of the burden for housing its own prisoners.

When Metro reaches 95% capacity three months in a row, the state could
decide on various options. Tennessee could pay to move state detainees
housed at the Metro Detention Facility to other Nashville jails or
privately run facilities outside Metro. It could ask the court not to
send inmates to the Metro Detention Facility. Or it could transfer
state felons to state prisons or limit the inmates it sends to Metro
to those with fewer than three years to serve.

The alternative simply isn't acceptable to Nashville or to inmates.
Overcrowding forces inmates into cramped cells with three people
living in a space meant for two. The warehousing doesn't even begin to
address the longer range needs of inmates, including training,
education or drug rehab services. It's often a prescription for
disaster: Too many prisoners, even relatively non-violent ones, can
create a volatile situation in a hurry. Nashville could take the $10.2
million state officials are offering to expand the lockup by 380 beds,
but what is really needed is a better policy. Nashville leaders have
offered a reasonable option. The state should welcome the chance to
break free of a plan that has failed Tennessee and its communities.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin