Nevada lawmakers reviewed a new version of a prison construction plan Thursday, one without the massive $221 million in bonds for Prison 8 in southern Nevada.  Report from the Lahonton Valley News.

Director Howard Skolnik said the governor’s proposal still includes closing down Nevada State Prison, which legislators have said they oppose. They haven’t, however, made a decision on that plan, which Skolnik said saves his operating budget $18 million a year.   “That’s a decision that needs to be made,” he said following the hearing before a joint subcommittee of Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means.    If lawmakers decide to keep NSP open, he said cuts will have to be made somewhere else or more money put into his budgets to balance them.

The plan does, however, include $9.6 million in money to plan and design a major expansion of Warm Springs prison, located next door to the old Nevada State Prison. And Skolnik has said in the past that expansion would restore most of the jobs lost by closing NSP.  The plan includes adding three modern housing units at Warm Springs and core facilities to house up to 1,500 inmates there. It would be built by 2013, in the meantime providing numerous construction jobs.

While the huge new prison in southern Nevada was taken off the Capital Improvement Projects list, the proposed budget does provide for construction of a badly needed southern Regional Medical Facility.  At present, the prison has its only medical center in Carson City even though most of the inmates are in the south.    Added to that project is a new execution chamber, which Skolnik said is needed because it’s unlikely the historic gas chamber in Carson City now used would meet the latest court requirements.   Together, those two projects would cost $62.2 million.

Skolnik said the plan laid out for the committee Thursday “will meet almost any scenario we’ve been asked to prepare.”

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The Nevada Senate’s top Democrat told lawmakers Monday that a new program for low-risk parole violators and drug and alcohol offenders would reduce the state’s prison population and save millions of dollars in taxpayer money. Report from Mercury News.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford told Finance Committee members that SB398 would create a two-year pilot program of “intermediate sanction” centers for low-risk probation violators as well as people whose crimes are linked to alcohol or drug addictions.  Life skill and rehabilitative programs would be offered to about 400 participants a year, who would stay an average of six months.  Horsford said the program could save the state more than $34 million over the next five years. “Clearly there is a new and more innovative approach we can take that would ensure public safety and require the offender to go through their sentence, but also do it in a way that doesn’t cost the state what we’re spending now,” Horsford said.

The program would use existing facilities and wouldn’t require new beds. Horsford added that program participants wouldn’t mix with other inmates and that a little more than half of the beds would be concentrated in southern Nevada.  Drug and alcohol treatment programs for Willden told lawmakers an additional $2.2 million per year would be required to provide such programs, at a ratio of one staff person for every 27 inmates. The centers would be provided through the Department of Health and Human Services, who would work with community service providers, DHH director Mike Willden said.

Bernie Curtis, chief of the Division of Parole and Probation, spoke in support of the bill, saying, “It’s not going to cost us anything in parole and probation, frankly, to use these intermediate sanctions. We think it’s a good start for a program that is needed in this state.”

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Clark County NV officials are thinking about keeping a new jail closed for a year to save operational costs.  The idea is opposed by police and judges.  This report from Las Vegas Review Journal.

Although the inmate population has dropped from a peak of more than 3,700 several years ago, jail officials worry that financial desperation amid Southern Nevada’s anemic economy will spark a crime wave that again will test the limits of the jail, which is designed to hold 2,954 inmates.  “I’m waiting for the bubble to burst,” said Deputy Chief Leroy Kirkegard, who runs the jail for the Metropolitan Police Department. “We need to be prepared for that when it happens.”

The key to that preparation is a nearly finished 1,078-bed low-level offender jail near Nellis Air Force Base. Then-Sheriff Bill Young first proposed such a facility in 2005 with a pitch for a tent city to hold small-time, nonviolent criminals, such as serial shoplifters, vandals and prostitutes, who traditionally have avoided jail time because there isn’t room for them.  That idea evolved into the 200,000-square-foot jail complex set to open late this year. But with the facility nearly complete, Clark County officials are considering keeping it closed for a year to save $13.1 million in operating costs. The county faces a more than $100 million budget shortfall.

Police department officials have proposed a limited opening with 350 beds, which would save $5.1 million, said Kirkegard, who will speak to the County Commission today as it considers budget issues.   If the jail opened with 500 beds, the county could save $1.2 million, he said.   Even if the facility remains closed, the county must pay $11.3 million to rent the complex from the private developer, The Molasky Group …

Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman, chief judge for Las Vegas Justice Court, said judges at times have felt subtle pressure from jail staff members about handing out jail sentences.  She welcomed the low-level offender jail, saying it would “stop the revolving door” of repeat misdemeanor offenders who have gotten used to avoiding time behind bars. “The reason you see them over and over again is because they know nothing will really happen to them,” she said.

There is more detail and background in the full article.

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As reported by the San Jose Morning News:

Key lawmakers in a Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee say they are likely to go against Gov. Jim Gibbons’ recommendation and keep the old Nevada State Prison in Carson City open for the next two years.   Panel members also are saying that they will likely vote to keep the prison system’s Tonopah camp open. Prisoners at that camp help fight wildfires throughout the state. The budget subcommittee, which is making preliminary budget decisions, said planned prison expansions would likely be postponed since the prison population is projected to decline over the next few years.

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Random home visits that catch misdemeanor probationers in their underwear and socks, along with surprise tests for drugs and alcohol, are ways the Washoe County NV  Department of Alternative Sentencing curbs recidivism and annually saves the county millions of dollars in jail fees, officials said.  This report from the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Program chief Joe Ingraham’s reputation among probationers is tough love and a genuine desire to have them succeed. Offenders say the program gives them a reason to stay crime free while random tests and visits make them think twice about relapsing.”Being random is where it’s at,” Ingraham said. “Misdemeanor offenders used to languish in the system with no one watching them and were able to commit more crimes and not follow conditions of their probation. But this intense supervision really stops the revolving door” …

He said his program saved nearly $12 million in Washoe County Jail costs last year. The program spares a daily incarceration fee of $84 for 300 to 400 local offenders each day. Participants also pay $40 a month for the supervision. The county’s house arrest program is now a part of DAS, where up to $30,000 in monthly fees are collected from participants.

But the cost savings to the community are even more, said program coordinator Wendy Keller.   “They lose their job when they go to jail,” she said. “When they get out, they’ll be relying on social services and the medical community. Now, they maintain a job and a home and are less likely rely on social services.”  The program also has a low recidivism rate, 5 percent to 10 percent, because offenders are afraid if they violate their probation, such as by using drugs or alcohol, they will get caught in a surprise sting and be sent to jail, Ingraham said. Most of the participants are ex-felons, he said, who don’t want additional incarceration. “This program holds them accountable,” Ingraham said. “We are the teeth of the court order and make sure there is truth in sentencing. The goal is to make them stop criminal activities and be productive citizens. In turn, they become taxpaying citizens who give back to their communities.”

There is a lot more interesting material in the full article at the Reno Gazette-Journal.

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The Associated press reports:

Clark County NV commissioners are considering delaying the opening of a new low-level offender jail in an effort to save $13 million in operating costs. But Sheriff Doug Gillespie said Friday he opposes the plan. He says the jail is needed to relieve overcrowding at the county detention center.  Gillespie says he wants at least a small portion of the new jail to open on schedule.   The commission will vote Tuesday on the proposal. Even if commissioners delay the opening, the county would still have to pay more than $11 million a year for the lease on the 200,000-square-foot complex. The county is facing a $90 million projected deficit.

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Nevada lawmakers advanced a plan Thursday that would allow some state prison inmates — who lost the use of personal typewriters starting in 2007 — limited access to the Internet.  Story from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Currently, inmates can’t use the Internet but have access to electronic library materials on CD-ROMs. Under AB34, they could get e-mail from approved senders, take online classes and access an electronic law library. They also could videoconference with state Parole Board commissioners for hearings, virtually visit with doctors and buy items such as digital music files.   The bill, which provides for monitoring of all e-mail traffic by prison staffers, was advanced to the full Assembly by the Committee on Corrections, Parole and Probation.

The plan is to set up kiosks where inmates could access incoming e-mails from approved senders and download MP3 digital files for a price. State Corrections Director Howard Skolnik said that secure types of kiosks are available on the market and used in prisons in other states.   “It’s the new technology,” said Skolnik. “We are aware of at least 14 states that have already implemented this type of programming. It’s bringing us into the 21st century, and I think the 21st century is a good place to be” …

The committee vote on the bill was 10-4. The opponents … questioned whether the change could impact prison security.”

There is more detail in the story at the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Lawmakers questioned Thursday whether this is the right time to shut down the old Nevada State Prison, as proposed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, and build a new prison near Las Vegas. Report from the Mercury News.

During a joint Assembly-Senate budget subcommittee hearing, Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, said the public wouldn’t understand why NSP, located on the east side of Carson City, would close and money would be spent on a new “Prison 8″ in southern Nevada when funding can’t be found to renovate schools …

The lawmakers asked prison officials for details on how much it would cost to build a new medical facility and execution chamber, which are part of the $200 million-plus Prison 8 construction plan, and hold off on the rest of the construction. The state would have no execution chamber if NSP closed, and currently has to transport inmates from southern Nevada for medical care at the prison system’s medical facility located in northern Nevada.

Director Howard Skolnik said the governor recommended closing the old NSP in efforts to reduce budget costs, adding that the main reason wasn’t the physical condition of the prison. “We could not close the women’s prison because we only had one, we could not close the Ely prison because we only have one maximum-security facility, and we could not close Warm Springs (prison) because it did not meet the numbers we had to target,” Skolnik said.

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After a scathing legislative audit that found the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation had failed to assess high-risk offenders and collect DNA samples, division officials said they have fixed the problems but will seek extra personnel to ensure they have.  Report from Reno Gazette-Journal.

The division is short 102 positions statewide, including 53 officers, and will be asking lawmakers for more help, said Mark Woods, a deputy chief of the division.But a change in the law since the last legislative session and a leveling off of criminal convictions in Nevada has allowed the division to adequately oversee offenders who are not incarcerated, Woods said … Officers oversee high-risk offenders at a ratio of 30-to-one and sex offenders at a45-to-one ratio, Woods said.

Bernie Curtis, a former Douglas County undersheriff and county commissioner, became chief of the division last year after John Gonska, resigned following release of the audit.

The division is charged with keeping track of offenders who are sentenced to probation or released on parole, and of sex offenders on lifetime supervision. Officials must meet with offenders when they are first turned over to the division so an assessment can be made to determine their risk level, Woods said … The division changed its system so sergeants now follow-up on reviews on a monthly basis to ensure officers are keeping up with the caseload, Woods said.The division also lowered its supervision of low-risk offenders in Las Vegas so that it would have enough officers to track high-risk people, he said. At present, officers oversee low risk offenders in Clark County at a ration of 300 to one, he said.

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The New York Times‘ Green Inc blog recently published an interesting survey of environmental projects within the corrections’ industry.  A sample:

Instead of reporting to the laundry or the kitchen or the boiler room, a Washington state prison inmate may report to the compost heap [if they are] taking part in a “green work” program at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center. Inmates grow organic produce, compost the prison’s food waste, take part in ecological research projects with a nearby university, and even produce honey from the prison’s own hives.  The Washington State Department of Corrections boasts 34 LEED-certified facilities, with 923,789 square feet of LEED-certified space added in fiscal year 2008 alone …

This fall, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced 16 new green retrofitting projects, which they estimate will save $3 million in energy costs each year. The state already has solar power fields at two facilities, and plans to build six more in the coming year. A new $176 million juvenile detention facility in Alameda County — home to Berkeley and Oakland — recently became the country’s first jail to receive LEED gold certification.  Other green projects — from wind turbines to biomass boilers — have been announced by Departments of Corrections in Virginia, Nevada, and Indiana…

Ken Ricci, of Ricci Greene Associates, is currently working on a new $120 million detention center in downtown Denver, which the company plans to submit for LEED certification. “There’s a recognition that sustainable, or ‘green’ design, is actually a plus for a population that’s confined 24 hours a day,” Mr. Ricci said. “Environment cues behavior. If you treat people like animals, they behave like animals.”  Mr. Ricci … says design elements that earn LEED points, like daylighting and access to views, also improve security. “If you treat them like human beings — that is to say, there’s daylight coming in, the noise level is at a normative level — therefore your adrenaline level goes down, therefore your stress level goes down, the inmates feel safer.”

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