To: Governor Doug Ducey
Expanding Corrections' Capacities for Medium and Max Security Beds
As a state with a significant number incarcerated in state prisons and a significant percentage of these in Private for-profit facilities, Arizona should issue official prison population projections (with each expansion request) that are coordinated with the local Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (if one still exists) or an appropriately selected group representing the interests of each CJS group (Police, Courts, Juvenile Departments, Parole and Probation Agencies) and nationally recognized experts in implementing recognized methodology for population projections.
Why is this important?
There was a day in the not recent past where most state and county governments coordinated the planning for (including establishing the need for) building new cells for additional prisoners with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee in the state or that county that the new space would serve. These CJCC's were sponsored by federal government who also supplied along with the Council of State Governors the methodologies and list of consultants who were approved to provide technical assistance. Members of the various CJS (Corrections, Courts, Probation and Parole, and Police got together along with these Councils to produce Projections Reports for Incarcerated Populations on a yearly basis whether or not any plan for expansion was being. Reports were part of Public Information.
Now, it seems, a few states have ignored this procedure and governors have felt free to lobby for passage of facility expansion without any reports being issued to inform public opinion. Arizona, a state with the second highest per capita incarceration rate, is one of these states. Whereas, in 2001 it was reported that an average of 5.3% of the prisoners (across all states) were being held in Private facilities, while some states including Louisiana had 50% of their prisoners in Private facilities.
Currently Arizona is fifth (at close to 50%) while Louisiana has backed off to 11th. Arizona has not put out a population Projection Report for several years even though the department was staffed with people who were more than competent to do so. Meanwhile, there are well known accusations that the governor has accepted multiple contributions to her campaigns and according to CBS 5 "two of Brewer's top advisers have connections to CCA"
All states, especially those with significant contracts with Private Prison Companies, need, to maintain public confidence, to issue Corrections Projection Reports either annually or in association with efforts to obtain more public money for prison expansion.and these reports need to be developed with local criminal justice coordinating councils and use recognized methods for conducting their analyses.
Now, it seems, a few states have ignored this procedure and governors have felt free to lobby for passage of facility expansion without any reports being issued to inform public opinion. Arizona, a state with the second highest per capita incarceration rate, is one of these states. Whereas, in 2001 it was reported that an average of 5.3% of the prisoners (across all states) were being held in Private facilities, while some states including Louisiana had 50% of their prisoners in Private facilities.
Currently Arizona is fifth (at close to 50%) while Louisiana has backed off to 11th. Arizona has not put out a population Projection Report for several years even though the department was staffed with people who were more than competent to do so. Meanwhile, there are well known accusations that the governor has accepted multiple contributions to her campaigns and according to CBS 5 "two of Brewer's top advisers have connections to CCA"
All states, especially those with significant contracts with Private Prison Companies, need, to maintain public confidence, to issue Corrections Projection Reports either annually or in association with efforts to obtain more public money for prison expansion.and these reports need to be developed with local criminal justice coordinating councils and use recognized methods for conducting their analyses.