Transcript National Association of State Budget Officers (2012 report)

Mass Incarceration and
Criminal Justice Reform
in Louisiana
Rhett Covington
Deputy Assistant Secretary,
Louisiana Department of
Public Safety & Corrections
National Association of State Budget
Officers 2012 report



State spending for corrections reached $52.4
billion in fiscal 2012
Spending has exceeded 7.0 percent of overall
general fund expenditures every year since fiscal
2008.
The trend "suggests that criminal justice reforms
have yet to reverse the persistent growth in public
safety spending, and that many states still have a
potential for greater savings from policy reforms."
Louisiana’s State Offender Incarceration &
Community Supervision Costs Snapshot


Average cost of incarceration per day is $37.30
State Institutions (about 18,800 offenders):
–
–

Local jails (about 21,000 offenders):
–
–

$53.80 per day
Approximately $370 million dollars annually
$24.39 per day
Approximately $187 million dollars annually
Probation & Parole (about 70,000 offenders)
–
–
$2.37 per day
Approximately $60 million dollars annually
The Driving Factors of
Incarceration in Louisiana

Highest incarceration rate in the country (one
out of every 55 adults incarcerated).
One out of every 26 adults under some form of
corrections custody
 The prison population has doubled in the past 20
years.

–

Currently approximately 40,000 incarcerated + 70,000
on supervision
Only 41% of those incarcerated have been
convicted of violent crimes.
The Driving Factors of
Incarceration in Louisiana

Louisiana’s crime rate has shown a slight
improvement from 2008 to 2011 in 4 of
9 categories, but we still rank in the top
10 in 5 categories and continue to be
ranked #1 in murder.

Prison costs have tripled in the past 20
years ($700 million).

State budget is declining at record rates.
DPS&C BUDGET
TOTAL GENERAL FUND
$660,000,000
$650,000,000
TOTAL GENERAL FUND
WITHOUT LHSAO
$520,000,000
$640,000,000
$500,000,000
$630,000,000
$480,000,000
$620,000,000
$460,000,000
$610,000,000
$440,000,000
$600,000,000
$590,000,000
$420,000,000
$580,000,000
$400,000,000
$380,000,000
$570,000,000
FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013
FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013
PER DIEM
$45.00
$40.00
$35.00
$30.00
FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013
6
DID YOU KNOW?
Louisiana incarcerates 40,170 offenders.
U.S. Dept of
Justice reports
more than
50% of all
prisoners
housed in
local jails in
2011 were in
Louisiana,
Texas and
Tennessee.
Approximately 11,000 of
the 15,000 releases
annually are from the local
facilities.
7
DID YOU KNOW?
Another 69,845 offenders under our supervision.
8
A TOTAL OF 110,015
The cost to you, the tax payer, by type
Parole
3,074
$2.37/day
GTPS
23,669
$2.37/day
Probation
42,872
$2.37/day
State
18,271
$53.29/day
TWP
3,874
$14.82/day
Local
18,423
$24.39/day
9
DEMOGRAPHICS OF
INCARCERATED POPULATION
State
Local
Probation
Parole GTPS
Black
71.3%
65.6%
52%
55%
65.1%
Male
93.9%
94.1%
74.4%
86.5%
89.1%
Age
38
33.3
25-29
30-34
30-34
Geriatric
Population
Overall
Sentence
Length
Average Time
Served
17.6% of our population
is elderly. Average Age is
54.5 for the population
over 50.
*3,721 in 2005 to 7,081
in 2013 (90% growth)
21
8.1
8.36
1.99
The U.S. Dept. of Justice reports that
we are one of three states (Florida
and New York) that held the most
offenders age 17 or younger in 2011.
It adds that these states hold almost
1/3rd of the total number of
offenders under age 17.
10
DEMOGRAPHICS OF
INCARCERATED POPULATION
Offense
State Local
Total
Violent
Crimes
62.6
%
20.5%
41.5%
Drug
16.7
Offenses %
36.3%
Property 10.8
Offenses %
25.2%
26.5%
18%
> 20 Yrs
4,775 725
5,500
Life
4,649 11
4,660
Death
85
85
0
Education
Levels
Current State
Facilities
Average
Reading
8.2 grade
equivalent
Math
7.4 grade
equivalent
Language
7.4 grade
equivalent
Last Grade
Completed
10th Grade
(self
reported)
11
COMMITMENT DEMOGRAPHICS
Sixty-three
percent of
incarcerated
population
convicted in
10 parishes
26.2% come from Jefferson and Orleans Parishes
12
Medical Health Concerns

Examples of the impact
(males housed at LSP and EHCC 2008-2012)
–
–
–
–
High Blood Pressure
Diabetes
Cancer
COPD/Asthma
33% ↑
25% ↑
34% ↑
55% ↑

Elderly offender population (> 50 yrs) has
increased 26% since 2008 and this sub group’s
health care needs are very high.

On site medical encounters have increased by
45% since 2008.
Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Concerns

28% of DOC Offender has diagnosed Mental
Health Issues

13% are on Psychotropic medications.

There were 53,822 psychotropic prescriptions
written in FY 11/12.

71% diagnosed with substance abuse addiction
or dependence.
The Costs: Why do they matter?



The fiscal year 2012/2013 was allocated
$45,313,460.00 for health care.
The average cost per offender at the two LOC 1
facilities (EHCC and LSP) is approximately
$24,000/year. The cost for elderly offenders is at
least 3 times higher (approx. $72,000/year)
While incarcerated, Medicaid and Medicare may not
be used to leverage these funds unless the patient is
admitted to a hospital, so all of it is State General
Fund dollars.
RECIDIVISM
Total Population
State Facilities
Local Facilities
Transitional Work Programs
Impact
Steve Hoyle Treatment Program
Blue Walters
Parole Board Releases
Sex Offenders
Education
Faith Based
Female
5 Years
(2007)
45.3%
44.7%
49.0%
40.8%
44.2%
41.7%
55.8%
40.5%
44.5%
39.0%
44.3%
30.9%
Recidivism
data shows
us where to
focus our
resources.
16
Cost of Recidivism







About 16,000 offenders incarcerated annually
Half of these are probation/parole revocations
Nearly half of all revocations are for technical
violations and not new arrests (about 4,000 annually)
Offenders who complete probation/parole have a 14%
recidivism rate
Average length of incarceration following revocation is
18 months (SAS, 2010)
This equates to over $13,000 per offender (local
jail housing at $24.39/day)
These revocations cost the state over $48,000,000.00
in incarceration costs alone (18 month period)
Criminal Justice Reform:
Louisiana Sentencing Commission

Statutorily mandated to “conduct a
comprehensive review of Louisiana’s
current sentencing structure, sentencing
practices, probation and parole
supervision, and the use of alternatives to
incarceration” (R.S. 15:321)

22-member body, chaired by District
Attorney Ricky Babin, 23rd Judicial District
Nature of the Sentencing Commission
 Advisory:
makes recommendations, does not
make policy
 Apolitical: recommendations are based on
– Data
and Research
– Best Practices
– Experience of the Members
 Builds
Consensus by working with criminal
justice community to solve problems within
the Louisiana Criminal Justice System
Enacted Legislation
Enacted Legislation
Justice Reinvestment Initiative




PEW/VERA assistance
Drove many of the reforms coming out of the
work of the Sentencing Commission
Continues to assist with data collection and
analysis
Has helped to stabilize our prison population to
some extent
Local Implications


95% of those incarcerated will be released and return to
the community
Todd Clear “suggests that high rates of incarceration can
destabilize communities in ways that make them
vulnerable to crime. This argument draws upon social
disorganization theory, which has long held that in areas
where residents are highly outwardly mobile, crime will
flourish because those locations will lack the stable
infrastructure that is required as a foundation of informal
social control.” Todd Clear, “The Problem with Addition by Subtraction: The Prison-Crime
Relationship in Low-Income Communities” in Invisible Punishment 182 (Marc Mauer & Meda Chesney-Lind eds.,
2002).
Local Implications




Punishment alone is not very effective, particularly in the
manner it is used in the criminal justice system.
Cognitive behavioral and skills based interventions that
include role play and practice sessions are the most
effective at reducing recidivism and criminal conduct.
Community based interventions and solutions are twice as
effective as those offered during incarceration
Local communities cannot shift responsibility for dealing
with criminal conduct to the state or federal level, since
the offender will one day return to the community.
Local Implications



Our communities are caught in a vicious cycle of poor
educational achievement, poverty, crime, and drugs. This
doesn’t excuse the crimes or their very real costs.
Incarceration in some neighborhoods has reached the
point of destabilization
The cost to our communities will continue to rise both in
dollar and in human costs unless ALL of us take an active
interest in finding real solutions rather than exiling those
that offend us.
Mass Incarceration and
Criminal Justice Reform in Louisiana
QUESTIONS?
Rhett Covington
Deputy Assistant Secretary
LA Department of Public Safety & Corrections
[email protected]
225-342-6942