Lawmakers must act on prison crisis

The Nevada Legislature can't wait much longer before it solves the prison problem in the state.

Nevada's prisons are overcrowded and understaffed. The state's prisons are stuffed with 13,113 inmates (as of May 3). That's about 1,200 more prisoners than the system should hold.

Gov. Jim Gibbons has asked the 2007 Nevada Legislature for $300 million over the next two years to expand the prison system. He's also seeking $30 million for 337 new positions in the department -- most of them corrections officers.

But estimates are that the prison system will grow by almost 9,000 prisoners over the next decade. Just to keep up, Nevada must invest $1.9 billion for new corrections facilities during the same period.

If conditions at Nevada's prisons don't improve, the federal government will step in. It would mandate new prisons be built and staffed. Then it would send the bill to Carson City.

Gibbons' plan to build more prisons will help -- if they can be staffed. In the past few months, we've spoken with several corrections officers at Ely State Prison. One told us staffing at the prison is short 50 corrections officers. Another tallied the guard shortage closer to 60.

When we asked the Department of Prisons about the correction officer shortage, the spokesman admitted hiring new guards “is a challenge.”

Part of that challenge, of course, is the money.

And once new prison employees finish POST training, they can easily find better-paying jobs.

That's a large part of the “exodus at ESP,” one currently employed guard told us.

Statewide, the overcrowding of prisoners makes the corrections officers' jobs more dangerous and gives more incentive to seek work elsewhere.

Solutions to the overcrowding on the table now include more ways to earn good-time credits for inmates, leading to early outs.

Last month the Pardons Board granted early release to 45 illegal aliens incarcerated in Nevada.

All of them would have been illegible for parole by July 27. They will be deported upon release.

Of the remaining 1,000 or so inmates who are illegal aliens, 186 more are being considered for early released to the INS for deportation. Another 470 illegal aliens being held in Nevada prisons are serious felons the state does not want to release.

All of the illegal aliens are costing Nevada taxpayers about $9 million a year to house.

A good idea being discussed is to turn them all over to their countries of origin -- and pay the countries cash to imprison them there.

That would be cheaper for Nevada and create more prison bed space.

More probation officers would help, as well.

Judges will not give defendants probation if they don't trust the system. Nor does the public want convicts walking the street on unsupervised probation.

Methamphetamine is a major problem. But drug courts around the state are attempting to easy prison crowding and save lives by placing drug violators in diversion programs. About 1,400 drug users are in those programs now, including in Ely.

But it requires a sufficient number of probation officers for programs like that to succeed.

Nevada has a higher rate of parole than most states. About 55 percent of those eligible for parole have it granted. But only just over half of those successfully complete their parole. Those who fail usually end up back behind bars.

The Nevada recidivism rate also is low compared to other states at 27 percent.

This reflects the understaffed parole and probation department.

In the short term, Nevada must turn to alternatives to prison time. Only those who pose an actual danger to others should be placed behind bars.

Non-violent criminals should face house arrest, electronic monitoring, public service or fines.

People guilty of technical violations of probation should face tighter controls, not a return to prison. Technical violations include not checking in with the probation officer, not maintaining employment or testing positive for drugs. In years past, this warranted return to prison. But with the condition of the system, exceptions must be made.

Nonetheless, the state must increase salaries for correction officiers and probation officers and build new prisons or expand current ones.

Salaries for corrections officers must improve, as must working conditions, or we'll return to the days when almost anyone could get a job as a prison guard at ESP regardless of their suitability for the job. Corrections officers should be highly qualified and their salaries should reflect that.

Not all lawmakers understand that.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, a Las Vegas Democrat, says we can cut the number of inmates in Nevada prisons by funding more full-day kindergarten classes. She questions the state's priorities.

We question hers.