01/26/12: California: State settles up -- interest free -- with prison guards union
California's prison officers union is getting a loan from taxpayers – interest-free – to settle a multimillion-dollar debt it owes the state. The deal sealed on Wednesday closes the books on what the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said was at least $4.5 million the California Correctional Peace Officers Association owed for wages and benefits paid to CCPOA leaders while they were away from their state jobs tending to union business. CCPOA, which represents about 30,000 correctional and parole officers, refused to settle the so-called "union paid leave" tab that has been running since 2005, saying it was being overcharged.
By Jon Ortiz, Sac Bee

01/26/12: Colorado: Prison lights kept on — for now
Nobody will be home, but the lights would stay on at Fort Lyon Correctional Facility through the end of this year under a proposal approved this week by the Joint Budget Committee. The committee approved $400,000 to keep utilities on and pay about 10 maintenance workers through the end of 2012 as recommended by Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget office after December’s favorable revenue forecast. Hickenlooper has said upkeep of the prison will be important for the ongoing effort to find a new tenant.
By Patrick Malone, Chieftain

01/26/12: Florida: Nurses follow suit over prison privatization suit
The Florida Nurses Association has filed a lawsuit against the state corrections department over a prison health care privatization effort ordered by lawmakers in the budget last year. The nurses are using the same argument that the Florida Police Benevolent Association successfully used to kill a prison privatization plan also included in the budget. A Tallahassee judge ruled that the way lawmakers went about the outsourcing was unconstitutional and needed instead to be the subject of a stand-alone bill.
By Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post

01/26/12: Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Corbett quietly launches effort to reduce prison costs
In an unannounced, closed-door meeting Thursday morning, Gov. Tom Corbett launched an initiative to reduce prison costs in Pennsylvania. An afternoon press release announced the creation of a “justice reinvestment working group” led by Corrections Secretary John Wetzel and Mark Zimmer, chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Names of other members of the group were not released.
By Donald Gilliland, Patriot-News

01/26/12: Tennessee: Shelby County juvenile programs earn honors
Shelby County Juvenile Court is the first in the state to earn a rare "Triple Crown" of national honors. The court has been inspected and detention center officials examined about who is detained and how they are fed, educated and disciplined, as well as what steps judges take to reform troubled youths. The result: Shelby County is the only Juvenile Court in the Southeast, and one of only a handful nationwide, to win three top designations.
By Beth Warren, Commercial Appeal

01/26/12: Texas: Bexar County jail overstaffed - Says state report
The results are in.  State inspectors take a close look at the Bexar County jail and concerns that it's understaffed. This all goes back to the county's budget and tax payer dollars. A few months ago the Sheriff's Department was forced to cut 100 positions. It was a budget cut that saved nearly $4 million. But Sheriff Ortiz still believed his jail was understaffed and asked the State Commission on Jail Standards to come in and check things out.
By Mireya Villarreal, WOIA News 4

01/26/12: Prison dilemma: Surging number of older inmates
In corrections systems nationwide, officials are grappling with decisions about geriatric units, hospices and medical parole as elderly inmates -- with their high rates of illness and infirmity -- make up an ever increasing share of the prison population. At a time of tight state budgets, it's a trend posing difficult dilemmas for policymakers. They must address soaring medical costs for these older inmates and ponder whether some can be safely released before their sentences expire.
Associated Press

01/26/12: MacArthur Foundation Provide $2 Million To Support Juvenile Justice Reform
In a new private-public partnership, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are jointly providing $2 million to support innovative and effective reforms in treatment and services for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. "We need to do what's right for America's children," said Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of OJJDP. "This partnership supports state and community efforts to protect youth from harm, hold them accountable for their actions, provide for rehabilitation and improve public safety. In this tight economy, creatively partnering with a private organization such as MacArthur maximizes reform, while stretching limited public dollars."
PR Newswire

01/25/12: California: Chowchilla women's prison halts switch to men's facility
California corrections officials have agreed to temporarily halt a conversion of Chowchilla's Valley State Prison for Women into a men's facility. It was welcome news in the city, which is waging a legal battle over the project in Madera County Superior Court. "This is the first step at attempting to have the state keep its promise to Madera County and our community," said Mark Lewis, city manager.
By Joshua Emmerson Smith, Modesto Bee

01/25/12: Florida: Prison privatization plan now goes to Senate floor
The Senate budget committee on Wednesday approved a version of a South Florida prison privatization plan, but the measure is now breaking allegiances on both sides of the aisle. Budget chair JD Alexander also upset many in the audience by calling a vote before any public comment, causing a chorus of people to start yelling, "Shame!" The Lake Wales Republican did, however, meet with the measure's opponents afterward.
By James L Rosica, Associated Press

01/24/12: Colorado: Funding panel OKs more DOC funds
The Joint Budget Committee approved $11.3 million in additional funding to the Colorado prison system, even though the prison population continues to decline. The Department of Corrections sought $15 million for the 2012-13 fiscal year because it had overestimated the rate of decline in prison population, but the budget committee went with the lower recommendation of the governor’s budget office. “For the first time in the department’s history, offender populations have declined in two consecutive years,” said Henry Sobanet, Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget director.
By Patrick Malone, Pueblo Chieftain

01/24/12: Florida: Prison privatization bills move forward
With its main sponsor saying he's confident of millions of dollars in savings every year, a Florida Senate committee Monday cleared two bills allowing for the privatization of prisons in South Florida. The rules committee approved the bills (SB 2036 and SB 2038) on party-line votes after more than three hours of debate and public comment. Dozens of people spoke against the bills, telling senators privatization would put state employees out of work and will reduce public safety.
By James l. Rosica, Associated Press

01/24/12: Illinois: Layoffs threatened in Sangamon County probation department
Union employees in Sangamon County's adult probation department could face layoffs if they don’t accept a lower raise than promised in their union contract. County officials say the concessions are needed to balance the budget, but employees say the cuts are unfair and would result in cuts in service. The proposed cuts include the layoffs of two union employees in the adult probation department and three positions remaining unfilled in the juvenile detention center. One additional layoff of a non-union, supervisory employee in the juvenile detention center is also on the table.
By John Reynolds, State Journal-Resister

01/24/12: Montana: State seeking bids on new 120-bed medium security prison
The Montana Department of Corrections is seeking bids for a new 120-bed medium security prison to help deal with expected growth in the system. The agency issued the request Tuesday in hopes of finding a contractor to house the inmates at either a new or existing facility. Officials from the Butte-Anaconda area have in the past indicated interest in bidding on the project.
Associated Press

01/24/12: Nevada: Now hiring: State Corrections Department has 200 openings
Despite Nevada's highest-in-the-nation 12.6 percent unemployment rate, the state Department of Corrections has 200 correctional officer vacancies. Deputy Director Sheryl Foster told the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice on Tuesday that recruiting people to fill those jobs is difficult because in rural areas, guards often quit when better-paying jobs open in mines. In urban areas, they leave to take better-paying jobs with city and county governments.
By Ed Vogel, Las Vegas Review-Journal

01/24/12: Texas: Long-closed Presidio County Jail to re-open
The Presidio County Jail is opening for the first time in two-and-a-half years today Wednesday after it passed inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Jail Administrator Mary Byrne said in the eight months she has been with the county, she and Sheriff Danny Dominguez have worked hard to prepare for the jail opening. The county was facing financial problems if the jail did not pass the TCJS inspection and open by the end of January, but with the first federal prisoners expected to arrive Friday, they will begin to be reimbursed for some of their expenses.
By Jon Vanderlaan, Odessa American

01/23/12: Arizona: 'Suicide by cop' attempt at prison ends safely
An inmate at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Douglas is in detention after holding a correctional officer hostage for about 30 minutes Monday morning, prison officials said. Authorities described it as a "suicide by cop" situation. At about 9:50 a.m., inmate Marcus Davis grabbed his assigned correctional officer and placed an object which he claimed to be a knife on the back of her head, officials said.
By Phil Benson, KPHO News 5

01/23/12: Arkansas: Funeral set for slain prison guard
Funeral arrangements have been set for a correctional officer who was stabbed to death at an eastern Arkansas prison last week. Cpl. Barbara Ester’s funeral will be held Saturday at Lee High School in Marianna. The Arkansas Department of Correction says the employee trust will cover the funeral expenses and provide $3,000 to her family for miscellaneous expenses.
Associated Press

01/23/12: Texas: Jones County Purchases Jail, Charges Tax Payers
Jones County Commissioners approved plans Monday to buy a jail facility that has been empty for nearly two years. The motion did not pass unanimously, and those not in favor say the county is placing unfair obligations on the tax payers. Those against Monday's purchase said when they originally agreed to just build the jail, they were under the impression that tax payers would have no obligation.
By Josh Berry Big Country

01/22/12: Pennsylvania: Former inmate shoots correctional officer outside bar
A former inmate shot a correctional officer who guarded him at York County Prison when the two happened to meet at a Manchester Township club Saturday morning, according to court documents. A fight between David Whitcomb, the correctional officer, and Craig A. Lewis Jr., the former inmate, began at 1:48 a.m. inside Piazza Romana, 2350 N. George St. in Manchester Township, police said. When bouncers pushed the fight outside, Lewis, 21, of the 200 block of Chestnut Street, York, shot Whitcomb, 26, in the abdomen, according to charging documents.
By Ted Czech, Daily Record

01/22/12: Pennsylvania: Lackawanna County Prison in hiring mode
The Lackawanna County Prison is preparing for a new round of hiring. The county will accept applications through Feb. 7 in anticipation of hiring up to nine corrections officers by early spring, with perhaps more later in the year, Warden Robert McMillan said Wednesday. Applicants will be required to take a written examination, which will be administered by an outside testing agency and is scheduled for Feb. 13.
By David Singleton, Times-Tribune

01/22/12: South Carolina: No added staffing planned for Lieber prison
State correctional officials have no plans to seek funding for additional manpower despite a riot at Lieber prison Wednesday in which disgruntled inmates overpowered their greatly outnumbered guards. Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the five-hour riot at the Ridgeville prison. They also want to know how inmates got hold of a pipe used to beat the two correctional officers keeping watch over a dorm with 229 hard-core offenders, department spokesman Clark Newsom said.
By Glenn Smith, Post & Courier

01/21/12: Arkansas: Female prison guard killed checking on inmate
A convicted murderer stabbed a female guard to death at an east Arkansas prison Friday while she was investigating whether he had an unauthorized pair of shoes, a prison spokeswoman said. Sgt. Barbara Ester, 47, was stabbed in the side, abdomen and chest at about 12:30 p.m., said Shea Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Correction. Ester died about 3 p.m. at a hospital in Memphis, Tenn., about 40 miles away.
By Jill Bleed, Associated Press

01/21/12: Pennsylvania: Inmate denies mistreatment at hands of state prison guard
The case against one of the state prison guards charged with abusing inmates unraveled on Friday when the alleged victim testified the abuse never happened. Investigators for the Department of Corrections charged guard Brian Olinger, 32, of Washington with urinating on Kenneth Vanwy's bed the day he was moved to the Woods Run prison, pushing him down into the urine-soaked bedding after Vanwy returned to the cell and, in later incidents, spitting on Vanwy. Another inmate, Casey Oliver, 32, testified that he witnessed the incidents, but Vanwy, 58, said his sheets were dry the day he arrived at the prison. Though someone did throw a liquid on his sheets several days later, it wasn't urine, Vanwy said.
By Brian Bowling, Tribune-Review

01/21/12: Texas: County’s jail inmate population down, but companies now asking for more money per inmate
Liberty County is already seeing a reduction in costs for the operation of the county jail thanks to a plan initiated by 253rd District Court Judge Chap B. Cain and supported by County Judge Craig McNair, County Court-at-Law Judge Tommy Chambers and 75th District Court Judge Mark Morefield to reduce the inmate population. Morefield discussed the plan as guest speaker of the Cleveland Rotary Club luncheon on Jan. 18. According to Morefield, at the time the plan was put into place, the county was spending 11 percent of its total budget, around $3.85 million, to fund the county jail. Much of the burden had to do with the fact that non-violent offenders were not being released because they were unable to pay their bond.
By Vanesa Brashier, Cleveland Advocate

01/20/12: Florida: Senate prez Haridopolos gives prison privatization bill another committee stop
Senate President Mike Haridopolos’ spokeswoman Lyndsey Cruley issued a correction to the privatization bill committee stops. Haridopolos is giving the bill (SB 2038) reviving last year’s privatization of more than two dozen prisons another hearing in the budget committee – NOT the bill that would allow lawmakers to privatize state functions without public input until after contracts are signed. Bowing to pressure from prison privatization critics including Sen. Mike Fasano, Senate President Mike Haridopolos has put the brakes – sort of – on a fast-tracked bill that would outsource all prison operations in an 18-county region south of Polk County to the Florida Keys.
By Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post

01/20/12: Illinois: Lawmakers seek prison crowding fix
Lawmakers from both parties are seeking ways to reduce Illinois' growing prison population, and one has introduced legislation to restart a contentious program that let well-behaved prisoners out early. Gov. Pat Quinn shut down the 30-year-old early release program after The Associated Press reported in 2009 that prison officials had implemented an unpublicized, accelerated version that was springing criminals in as little as eight days. He has shown no interest in reviving it, but least one legislator is looking at it again as the prison population has grown by 3,000 inmates in two years.
By John O’Connor, Associated Press

01/20/12: New Mexico: Female Prison Population Rising
Corrections officials are concerned about a spike in the number of New Mexico’s female prisoners that has required them to house some women in a separate unit at the men’s prison in Grants. Corrections Secretary Gregg Marcantel told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday that a study is planned to figure out what’s causing the uptick. “We’ve got to find out about it,” Marcantel said in an interview after the meeting. “We don’t want to be buying a firetruck once the fire starts.”
By Deborah Baker, Journal

01/20/12: West Virginia: Prison Overcrowding Dangerous for Correctional Officers
The State legislature drafted the Public Safety and Offender Accountability Act last week, which proposes reforms to the criminal justice system, to ease the growing problem of prison overcrowding. State prison overcrowding has been a major concern for state correctional employees, whose safety is compromised by working in dangerously overcrowded conditions. Last year, the State held 6,700 inmates in facilities that were built to only hold 5,100. Officials say these numbers are alarming since the Mountain State has the second fastest growing inmate population in the country.
By Whitney Wetzel, WDTV News 5

01/19/12: California: Fresno Co. braces for next week's labor strike
Fresno County officials said Thursday that next week's planned labor strike won't affect public safety, even with hundreds of jail guards poised to walk off the job. In light of the three-day strike, county leaders have warned that libraries, health clinics and service counters could close, and welfare programs may be suspended. It might be impossible next week to get a marriage license or register to vote, for instance. County leaders just weren't sure Thursday how deeply services will be affected.
By Kurtis Alexander, Fresno Bee

01/19/12: Florida: Major proposed changes to Florida prison system alarm workers, advocates
Determined to cut the size of the $2 billion prison budget, legislators and Gov. Rick Scott are focused on consolidation and privatization.  But as the potential disruption to state employees becomes clear, prison advocates and some lawmakers are scrambling to put the brakes on plans they say could devastate small towns that are highly dependent on prison jobs. Some of the biggest changes in the agency’s history are moving ahead all at once. They include closing seven prisons due to a surplus of vacant prison beds; outsourcing 32 prisons and work camps in South Florida to private vendors; and the privatization of health care for all 100,000 inmates statewide.
By Steve Bousquet, Miami Herald

01/19/12: Florida: Lawmaker: Inmates moved before privatization
A Florida lawmaker says prison employees in his district told him the Department of Corrections last year had moved sicker, more-expensive inmates out of facilities the state was trying to privatize. Rep. Paige Kreegel's comment came Thursday at a House appropriations committee workshop on prison privatization. He was responding to a presentation by Corrections deputy secretary Mike Crews. Private prisons in other states have negotiated deals that limit which kind of inmates they will take. Those who are older or have AIDS, diabetes or other illnesses usually cost more to care for than younger and healthier inmates.
By James L Rosica, Associated Press

01/19/12: Florida: Osceola looks at alternative to jail for those with drug, mental-health problems
Osceola County is looking into establishing a treatment center to keep people with mental illness or drug problems from cycling through the county jail. Corrections Chief Sherry Johnson presented the idea to the County Commission last week, though the plan has been in the works for a few years. The program would allow law-enforcement or emergency-room personnel to send willing participants, some of them homeless, to get treatment. Neighboring Central Florida counties have similar jail-diversion programs already in place.
By David Breen, Orlando Sentinel

01/19/12: Georgia: Behind the scenes of the Wilcox State Prison shakedown
Nearly 200 Department of Corrections officers flooded the gates of Wilcox State Prison Wednesday morning, marking the beginning of an unannounced raid. The DOC's special operations team performs shakedowns at each of the state's 31 prison facilities, searching each cell for weapons and other contraband, including cell phones. Even prison warden Robert Toole was caught off guard, notified only ten minutes before the group's arrival.
By Blayne Alexander, News 11

01/19/12: Massachusetts: Prison Plan Outlines Inmate Needs
The Patrick administration is predicting that Massachusetts will need space for an additional 10,000 inmates by the end of the decade. A prison master plan released by the administration Thursday calls for construction of new jails and prisons — but also for reductions in sentences. The state Public Safety secretary, Mary Beth Heffernan, says both approaches are essential.
WBUR News

01/19/12: New Mexico: Reform Plan For Jail Addresses Overcrowding
Bernalillo County has come up with an unusual idea for addressing crowded conditions at its massive West Side jail: Shut down part of the place. The county plans to ask state lawmakers this session to authorize a two-year pilot project that could involve closing a unit at the West Side jail, which now houses 2,630 inmates, well above its 2,236-bed capacity. Deputy County Manager Tom Swisstack said he envisions taking hundreds of those inmates — perhaps 650 to 750 — and moving them instead into alternative programs based out of the old, vacant Downtown jail.
By Dan McKay, Journal

01/19/12: South Carolina: At least 2 officers injured in prison riot
The only two correctional officers standing watch at a Ridgeville prison dormitory that houses 229 of the state's most egregious offenders were injured Wednesday night after inmates lashed out and set off a five-hour riot. Current and former S.C. Department of Corrections officials said violence is commonplace at Lieber Correctional Institution's Ashley dorm, which contains criminals facing lengthy sentences. The dorm had been on lockdown Wednesday night after "several incidents of violence" in recent weeks, department spokesman Clark Newsom said.
By Andrew Knapp and Glenn Smith, Post & Courier

01/19/12: West Virginia: Corrections says more money needed for crowded prisons
In his 2013-14 budget, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin not only wants a $166 million base budget for the Division of Corrections -- up $14.4 million from its current budget -- but an extra $26.5 million of supplemental appropriations, much of which would go to pay higher costs caused by overcrowded state prisons. That includes a supplemental $9 million to help pay costs for inmates who are housed in state regional jails or in federal facilities because the state's prison beds are full. "We're running out of one-time money," Senate Finance Chairman Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, complained Thursday. "We can't continue doing this."
By Phil Kabler, Gazette

01/19/12: Cost of prison prompts change in US states
After a few minutes in Baton Rouge Parish prison you forget what the sky looks like. Men lie on bunks, wait to make a call, watch daytime TV. Guantanamo-orange jumpsuits are everywhere. You don't have to spend much time in the American criminal justice system to become overwhelmed by the waste, the futility and the failure.
By Jonny Dymond, BBC

01/18/12: Florida: Correctional Officers Say Prison Proposals Will Devastate Their Communities
Correctional officers and other prison workers today said proposals to privatize and close Florida corrections facilities will throw thousands of people out of work and endanger local communities. A dozen correctional officers converged on the Statehouse today to urge lawmakers to reject the plan. Bill Curtis, a correctional officer with Charlotte C.I., said privatization of his facility would cost him his job, his insurance and possibly his wife's life. "It's going to throw everyone out of work," said Curtis. "I'm going to lose my insurance, and that's important to me because my wife had a stroke. It's a matter of life and death."
PR Newswire

01/17/12: California: Judge to end Calif. prison receiver
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered California officials to prepare for the end of a six-year, court-ordered oversight of the prison system that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars and helped force a shift of lower-level criminals from state prisons to county jails. U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson cited improving conditions in the prison system in a three-page order that says "the end of the Receivership appears to be in sight." The ruling marks an important milestone in a process that began nearly six years ago when the judge appointed a receiver to run California's prison medical system after finding that an average of one inmate a week was dying of neglect or malpractice.
By Don Thompson, Associated Press

01/17/12: Florida: Budget panel told that closing prison a "death sentence" for Jefferson County
Jefferson County officials told a House budget panel Tuesday closing their state prison will be an economic death sentence for the small, struggling rural community. But the head of Florida’s prison system said there can’t be any reprieves for the seven prisons and four work camps he announced last week will be closing before June 30. Department of Corrections Secretary Ken Tucker said a detailed business analysis was used to evaluate each institution and that his agency will do all it can to transfer some employees and help find jobs in other state or local agencies for others. “We are a community on life support and this decision will equate to pulling the plug on us,” Kirk Reams, the clerk of court and chief financial officer for the county, told the House Justice Appropriaitons Subcommittee.
By Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau

01/17/12: Minnesota: 6 LSD-taking inmates hospitalized
An incident of LSD use by inmates at a prison in Faribault, Minn., resulted in violent reactions that hospitalized the prisoners, corrections reports indicated. Correction reports and interviews with prison officials indicated the six inmates attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at the state prison on Christmas Eve and later ingested the hallucinogen, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday. Corrections officials declined to offer a characterization of the incident, but acknowledged guards were exposed to a sequence of medical emergencies and physical confrontations with violent, hallucinating prisoners.
UPI

01/17/12: New Hampshire: 155 residents sign petition opposing prison
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will soon take up a proposal to limit where prisons and half-way houses can be built after more than two dozen residents of Hackett Hill came to City Hall to oppose a proposed private prison in their neighborhood. The zoning changes were suggested by the city not because of the prison plan, but in response to a New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling on the city's rejection of a proposed half-way house. It identified holes in Manchester's zoning on this issue and the Planning Department suggested naming an area where these buildings could go and setting up a vetting process for the planning board.
Union Leader

01/16/12: Ohio: County hires attorney to review jail contract options
The Liberty County Commissioners Court hired a private attorney to review the county’s jail contracts for negotiations and consider other options such as the sheriff’s department taking over the facility. The commissioners held a specially-called meeting on Jan. 17 and hired Jay Arnold, an attorney from Liberty to review contracts with the current jail operating company, Community Education Centers, and LaSalle Corrections. Both companies have submitted bids to operate the county jail. Arnold will also consider the option and financial benefits or cost of having the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office operate the jail.
By Melecio Franco, Advocate

01/16/12: Ohio: Prison warden says CCA will be good partner, neighbor
A good group of experienced employees is helping Lake Erie Correctional Institution make the transition from state prison to private business, Warden Barry Goodrich said Friday. Goodrich, who sat down to discuss the prison and its tenure under owner Corrections Corporation of America, said the staff who stuck with CCA when the facility changed hands has been a huge asset. “I’m really impressed with the people,” Goodrich said. “Ninety-five percent of the staff stayed, and they are really good, hard-working, smart people.”
By Mark Todd, Star Beacon

01/16/12: Washington: State lawmaker targets  uniforms made by prisoners

State prison officers should not have to wear uniforms made by the inmates they guard. State Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, along with 10 other Republicans and 19 Democrats, is sponsoring a bill to allow private companies to sell uniforms to correctional officers. Washington law currently requires the Department of Corrections to buy uniforms from Correctional Industries, a program which employs 1,600 offender-workers at 16 state prison facilities.    

By Eric Francavilla, Murron News Service

Updated 1/27/12