Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 7, 2006 0:19:24 GMT -5
beds at MANCI
Ohio's prison population increased 6 percent in the past year, adding to concerns among some public officials about overcrowded conditions and tensions between inmates and guards.
In June, there were 46,356 inmates in 32 prisons that were built to house 35,730, according to state records. The Lorain Correctional Institution in northeast Ohio was the most overcrowded prison with 1,983 inmates. It was designed to hold 756.
The extra prisoners at the Lorain facility are forced to sleep in bunk beds placed in commons areas.
The Mansfield Correctional Institution, despite losing death row last year, has 2,232 inmates. It is designed to hold 1,418, meaning it is operating at 157.4 % of capacity.
"This is a recipe for disaster," said state Sen. Robert Hagan, a
Youngstown Democrat and member of the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, which issued a new report on the Lorain facility. "When you have more and more people crowded into an area, you have more fights and more discussions on how to hurt other people and less talk about rehabilitation."
It's unclear if the prison population increase is a random spike or a long-term trend. A team of researchers is studying the issue, and a report could be ready within a week, said Andrea Dean, spokeswoman with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Ohio prisons Director Terry Collins said the increase may be linked to a 4 % increase in felony cases -- 77,042 -- filed in courts across the state in 2005.
He said sentencing alternatives, such as community-based corrections programs that judges have used for years are filled, leaving prison as the sole option in many cases.
To alleviate crowding, Collins said he is looking to add nearly 1,300 more beds in 6 prisons -- Pickaway, Ross, Warren, Toledo, Mansfield and Marion -- by reopening cellblocks that were closed several years ago.
MANCI will have 118 beds added.
Cost of reopening the units hasn't been determined, Collins said. The state may be able to bring in staff from other prisons, which would help save money, he said.
"But any time you shuffle staff like that, we have to make sure we're not hurting one prison to help another," said Collins, who oversees an annual budget of about $1.6 billion.
(source: Mansfield News Journal)
Ohio's prison population increased 6 percent in the past year, adding to concerns among some public officials about overcrowded conditions and tensions between inmates and guards.
In June, there were 46,356 inmates in 32 prisons that were built to house 35,730, according to state records. The Lorain Correctional Institution in northeast Ohio was the most overcrowded prison with 1,983 inmates. It was designed to hold 756.
The extra prisoners at the Lorain facility are forced to sleep in bunk beds placed in commons areas.
The Mansfield Correctional Institution, despite losing death row last year, has 2,232 inmates. It is designed to hold 1,418, meaning it is operating at 157.4 % of capacity.
"This is a recipe for disaster," said state Sen. Robert Hagan, a
Youngstown Democrat and member of the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, which issued a new report on the Lorain facility. "When you have more and more people crowded into an area, you have more fights and more discussions on how to hurt other people and less talk about rehabilitation."
It's unclear if the prison population increase is a random spike or a long-term trend. A team of researchers is studying the issue, and a report could be ready within a week, said Andrea Dean, spokeswoman with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Ohio prisons Director Terry Collins said the increase may be linked to a 4 % increase in felony cases -- 77,042 -- filed in courts across the state in 2005.
He said sentencing alternatives, such as community-based corrections programs that judges have used for years are filled, leaving prison as the sole option in many cases.
To alleviate crowding, Collins said he is looking to add nearly 1,300 more beds in 6 prisons -- Pickaway, Ross, Warren, Toledo, Mansfield and Marion -- by reopening cellblocks that were closed several years ago.
MANCI will have 118 beds added.
Cost of reopening the units hasn't been determined, Collins said. The state may be able to bring in staff from other prisons, which would help save money, he said.
"But any time you shuffle staff like that, we have to make sure we're not hurting one prison to help another," said Collins, who oversees an annual budget of about $1.6 billion.
(source: Mansfield News Journal)