RICHMOND
The state will not expand its practice of housing out-of-state prisoners at Virginia correctional facilities, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Wednesday, about two weeks after sheriffs complained about the policy.
The decision will cost the state about $12 million in annual income and will delay the expansion of a Chesapeake prison, state officials said.
The announcement came after Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne sued the director of the state Department of Corrections, claiming the department was violating law by using prison space to house out-of-state prisoners while Virginia inmates remain in crowded local jails funded with local tax dollars.
Kaine told the Virginia Sheriffs' Association in a letter dated Tuesday that the practice would cease, noting that he was unaware of opposition to the policy when it was approved.
"I take seriously the concerns raised by Virginia's sheriffs," Kaine wrote. "I am now directing the DOC not to establish any agreements to house out of state inmates from the federal government or other states with which we do not already have contractual arrangements."
Corrections officials had been permitted to enter into contracts to incarcerate 1,000 out-of-state prisoners for a fee as a way to raise revenue.
To date, Virginia has accepted 300 inmates from Wyoming under an agreement between the two states. Virginia will receive about $7.2 million annually from that transfer agreement, which will remain in place, according to state corrections director Gene M. Johnson.
Nearly 39,000 inmates are the responsibility of the state corrections department. About 5,500 of them are housed in local and regional jails, said Barry R. Green, deputy secretary of public safety.
Typically, inmates serving less than a one-year sentence serve their time in local jails. Longer sentences are generally served in state prisons.
State law requires that inmates whose convictions earn them prison sentences be transferred to state facilities within 60 days of adjudication, but processing lags are common.
The most recent Department of Corrections figures indicate that 1,842 prisoners who should be in state prisons remain in local jails. As recently as December 2006 that number exceeded 3,000.
Kaine in his letter wrote that corrections officials would "take all feasible steps, without creating unsafe conditions, to continue to reduce the number of out of compliance state inmates in local and regional jails."
Although the state pays $14 per day to house those inmates in local jails, Lanteigne says, it costs more than that to keep state prisoners.
Lanteigne declined to comment on the governor's decision Wednesday, said Paula J. Miller, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
As of Wednesday, the Virginia Beach Correctional Center housed 44 inmates who were the state's responsibility, Miller said.
It is unclear how, if at all, Kaine's decision will affect the Beach lawsuit.
As a result of Kaine's ban on future out-of-state inmates, Virginia won't be getting 700 out-of-state prisoners whose presence was expected to raise $12 million annually for the Department of Corrections. As a result of the lost revenue, the opening of a new 800-bed section of Chesapeake's St. Brides Correctional Center will be delayed for two years, said Johnson. The wing was to open this year.
Staff writer Shawn Day contributed to this report.
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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the state is getting paid
the state is getting paid either way now they are charging local inmates a dollar a day for housing plus if someone sends them money on their books they take a portion of that on top of that you have to prepay for the collect calls that are now $1.85 per call so if you have a love one on the inside you havee to suffer as well. i dont see why they wont let the out of towners be housed here they are paying for it
Mets...
Is it me or did you miss the point in Teri's post? I don't recall him referring to all cops as bad. He said that the corrupt ones should be put away (along with City Council - who could argue with that?). I'm sure Teri knows that not all cops are bad/corrupt.
While we're on the subject; if the Communistwealth can collect money from other states to house non-Virginian inmates - that's better than taxing us to death. I kind of like the idea of the state finding other revenue sources not attached to my wallet/checkbook.
Follow the money
The state gets $47 a day to house prisoners, and pays $14 for the cities to house state prisoners. What is the actual cost to house the inmates?
Maybe the state should allow out of state prisoners and just increase the fes charged to other states. Make it $100 a day, if other states are overcrowded, they will send us inmates and money.
If we could get $2400 a day per out of state inmate, we would have the money fix the roads.
the opening of a new section of Chesapeake's St. Brides.........
.....will be delayed for two years. Isn't this referred to as the M&M Vick Wing at St. Brides?
Teri.....Get a clue!
We do not need prisioners from other states. VA has enough. End of story. Teridavisnewman you obviously live in a bubble and are out of touch with life. The moment your baby daddy slaps you around you'll be calling those bad police. Or the moment your spoiled child gets his butt beat for being a brat, you'll call those bad police. People are quick to complain or accuse before they live the life of the person they are talking about. Stick to the topic Teri and don't wander. You only end up looking ignorant.
George Allen's folly lives on
Don't forget, it was another of our Republican governors, George Allen, who went on an unnecessary prison building spree. That's why we have so much extra space, which means more money for heat, air-condtioning, water, electricity, etc. Remember the REAL record of Allen and Gilmore next time you go to the polls. No wonder Democrats are doing so well.
Kaine's Mutiny
As a former correctional officer at a Maximum security penitentiary, (where the death penalty was carried out), in Joliet, Illinois, it is a common and everyday practice for states to exchange convicts, for economic reasons; or, sometimes to prevent a "Gang Chief" from becoming too powerful within that particular institution. This is nothing new or "unusual." These convict transfers are referred to in the correctional system as, "Circuit Riders." They "ride" the prison circuit to various locations, whether inside their own state or other states. States accrue a "whole lot of easy money" for housing these convicts. Sometimes, their stay is very short-lived, before they are transferred to another institution or state. It looks like the State of Virginia will miss out on $12 million dollars, as a result of Kaine's reluctance to "make room" for extra money! If Kaine "executed" more convicts. he would have more cell space. But then again, I didn't vote for him; however, the people in the State of Virginia knew which way this "Hurri-Kaine" would blow, regarding capital punishment. I'm for the death penalty; and, trust me people, after working at Stateville, (where no convict will ev
Thanks Sheriff
Better late than never. Maybe Sheriff Drew was right in supporting you afterall.
RE: Needs the room
Just how mnay death row inmates has Kaine commuted? How many did Gilmore commute????
Education is available to
Education is available to all who seek it. Especially in jail :)
needs the room
he needs the room for death row inmates when he commutes their sentences...
Ummm Teri..
I take it from your comments that you didn't bother to read the whole article about the prisons. This story isn't about how we need to stop crime..it's about the dollars generated from housing PRISONERS FROM OTHER STATES. One local sherrif didn't like it. Can't blame him, I'm sure Va Bch has plenty of it's own prisoners to house. If all the state penns are filled w/prisoners from other states, the prisoners who committed crimes in this good ol' boy state serve their time in the local jails(i.e. Va Bch City Jail, Norfolk City Jail, Portsmouth City Jail) and the respective cities are then responsible for their care. The Va Bch sheriff wants to move those prisoners, who committed crimes in VA,that should be in the State system to the state system so that the burden will fall on the state as opposed to the local gov't.
I would think that if a prisoner from Wyoming is sent here there's little that VA could have done to keep him from offending considering the states are miles apart. And yes, we don't want folks in jail unless they need to be there, but it's not VA's responsibility to lower the NATIONAL crime rate. Besides like someone else said...we should start at the top and
Uh oh...
"Sadly, when a state takes in prisoners from another state for income, you know they have all but exhausted the taxing of its people!"
Maybe this is Kaine's way of shoving more taxes up our, er....down our throats.
Teri-
You stated "Break the cycle of poverty and crime with education and jobs that pay enough to afford a decent lifestyle.." Impossible Teri! Look what is going on in Portsmouth! You have a state senator collecting money from investors and then getting money from the HUD program to build a hotel and convention center and THEN be able to get an additional 6 million from the Virginia Dept. of economic development! In Norfolk, you have a law firm called Fraim et al..who got the real estate taxes on the building they occupy "changed to a lesser amount"! You want to break the cycle Teri? Break the people who are "Not" representing the "People". Fraim, Riddick, Lucas and Williams come to mind right off the top of this writer's head. Sadly, when a state takes in prisoners from another state for income, you know they have all but exhausted the taxing of its people!
Good
Hopefully I will get my own room now.
Imported Prisoners??
Why would Virginia need to import any MORE prisoners to become the nation's penal colony? Judging from the crime rate in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, et. al., I would think that Virginia has all the prisoners she needs. Why don't we try reducing the crime level instead of filling the prisons with scumbags for the taxpayers to support? What is Governor Kaine smoking anyway? Of course if you want to lock up some people who REALLY deserve it, why don't you start with the Norfolk City Council and the crooked cops who are framing the guy for murder after they busted into his house? Those people BELONG in prison, but reducing the crime rate is a better and cheaper solution. Break the cycle of poverty and crime with education and jobs that pay enough to afford a decent lifestyle and Norfolk taxes.