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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin