Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508250008
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: G5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
WHAT THE REPUBLICANS ARE SAYING
"The choice we face is fundamental and clear: More prison construction or the early release of violent criminals. To those who do not want to build more prisons to keep violent criminals out of our neighborhoods, I ask a simple question: Which violent, convicted felon do they want to release early?"
Gov. George Allen
What's not being said:
The governor implies that there's an imminent threat of violent criminals being turned loose because there's no room for them. However, the administration says it has temporarily solved the prison shortage by double-bunking some prisoners and shipping others to Texas, although everyone agrees this solution won't last.
Rather than being "fundamental and clear," Allen's call for "more prison construction" is actually ambiguous. What does he mean by "more"? Virginia has already set in motion 17,427 new prison beds for adults by 2001, at a cost of $719 million. If you count juvenile facilities and local jails that the state has contributed money to, that's $1.4 billion worth of jail space in the pipeline.
Democrats say that should leave a small surplus of prison beds. But Republicans say Democrats aren't looking far enough into the future; Republicans want the state to authorize $350 million in funding for another six prisons beyond the ones already in the pipeline.
"Additional facilities are necessary to meet the overcrowded conditions that now exist in the Virginia penal system. Those aren't my words, those are Dick Cranwell's. That wasn't said in 1995; that was 1975. So why after 20 years and an ever-increasing crime problem, does a prison shortage still exist? Why did Dickie vote to abolish parole yet wouldn't support the construction of additional prisons? One word: Politics. Pure and simple."
Trixie Averill, Republican House of Delegates candidate from Roanoke County
What's not being said:
Virginia has doubled its number of prison cells over the past nine years, and Cranwell has voted to build those prisons. Averill is correct that a shortage still exists, but that's because the state is producing prisoners faster than it's building prisons.
Why is the state producing more prisoners? Democrats point, in part, to how the Parole Board, now controlled by Allen appointees, has dramatically cut the parole rate, thus keeping prisoners in custody longer - further worsening prison overcrowding.
As for "the ever-increasing crime problem," it's debatable whether there is such a thing. The overall crime rate in Virginia actually declined from 1990 to 1994, largely because the number of property crimes - thefts, for instance - declined. The violent crime rate surged by almost 28 percent from 1987 to 1991, but since then has fallen slightly, although it remains about twice as high as it was a decade ago.
What's curious is that the violent crime rate went up at a time when the size of the most crime-prone demographic group - males between ages 15 and 24 - declined. The administration warns that the size of this group will start growing again in 1996 and with it, "violent crime will soar." Democrats counter that prisons don't reach juveniles when they first start a career of crime - but prevention programs would.
Averill's charge that Cranwell "wouldn't support the construction of additional prisons" after parole was abolished isn't true. Cranwell did vote to build more prisons this year. He even voted to set in motion all the prisons Allen wanted. He just didn't vote to pay for them all at once, as Allen wants. The Republicans wanted to borrow more than $400 million for the entire program; Democrats provided $181 million, enough to build or complete 15 prison projects adding 6,613 new beds and draw up plans for four others which, if later funded for construction, would add 4,211 beds.
WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE SAYING
"Since 1992, the General Assembly has authorized a total of 21 prison projects, which provide 17,427 beds by the year 2001, with a total capital cost of over $719 million. ... When local jails and secure juvenile facilities are included, the construction total exceeds $1.4 billion. This demonstrates clearly the General Assembly's commitment to fund needed prison construction on a sound, rational basis."
Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton
What's not being said:
The assembly indeed has "authorized" all those projects, but it hasn't provided the construction money for some of them, and that's the rub. Of those 21 prison projects, funding has been worked out for 18 of them - about $402.8 million worth. As for the three disputed prisons (Andrews isn't counting a fourth facility for juveniles that's on a separate list of projects in the pipeline), Allen wanted permission to borrow the money for them now; the Democratic-controlled legislature provided only $2 million to draw plans, preferring to hold off on borrowing until later.
"Texas abolished parole and floated a huge bond issue for prison building. Texas now is housing prisoners from other states. They've got excess capacity."
House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County
What's not being said:
Democrats frequently warn that Virginia doesn't want to make the same "mistake" Texas did by building too many prisons. "That's a fallacy," Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Jerry Kilgore says. "People assume because we are renting space in Texas, they are overbuilt. We are leasing local jail space in Texas. Texas is still building space in its state system, so Texas is not overbuilt as some people would have you believe."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB