Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS) Copyright: 2004 The Clarion-Ledger Contact: http://www.clarionledger.com/about/letters.html Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/805 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) PRISONS Fiscal Prudence Includes Policies The layoff of up to 100 Department of Corrections employees is only a small step toward fiscal prudence that could be taken to bring the state's corrections budget under control Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said Wednesday that 90 employees, from guards to teachers, are being laid off, with 10 more expected by month's end and maybe more later. That's to save about $3.52 million annually, after MDOC had its budget cut by nearly $20 million by the 2004 Legislature. But layoffs really aren't the answer, especially when simple policy decisions could save much more money. Mississippi needs to use more alternatives to incarceration. In the 2004 session, lawmakers made a new effort to fund statewide drug courts. State Auditor Phil Bryant calculates that just 500 participants could save the state up to $5.4 million annually. That's a good policy approach. The biggest expense, though, is the 1995 so-called "Truth in Sentencing" law requiring prisoners to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for parole. The federal rule upon which it was modeled applied only to serious offenses, but Mississippi applied it to all crimes. House Corrections Chairman Bennett Malone, D-Carthage, and Senate Corrections Chairman Robert "Bunky" Huggins, R-Greenwood, have said they will review sentencing laws this summer - including this one. How big an impact is this law? Inmate numbers swelled from 12,474 in 1995 to more than 20,000 this year, with the MDOC budget going from $109.6 million in 1995 to $266.1 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget will continue to swell with the state's current policies that require more prison cells rather than using common-sense alternatives to incarceration. Laying off employees is a pittance by comparison to what could be saved by better corrections policies. That's a political decision that only legislators can make. Until they do, Mississippi will continue to pay a high price for prisons. (Sidebar) Savings Prison officials expect to save $3.52 million annually through layoffs, but enrolling only 500 offenders in drug courts could save $5.4 million annually. The "Truth in Sentencing" law has cost the state about $150 million. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin