Post by Frizzy on Mar 30, 2009 15:24:13 GMT -5
UT:condition-of-probation prisoners
By the spectrum - Opinion
Published: 03/30/2009
The state of Utah has a serious law-enforcement problem. It has more prisoners than its state prison system can handle. As a result, the state Department of Corrections has turned to the counties to help keep criminals off the street.
As part of their agreement, the state pays a fair amount of money per prisoner per day. After all, the counties have employees to pay, facilities to administer and a public to serve. It’s only fair that the counties receive an adequate amount of money to cover their costs.
However, a cut to the state budget has, in effect, thrown a significant portion of the expense to those same counties that were willing to lend a hand.
At issue are condition-of-probation prisoners. These are inmates who a judge sentences to serve prison time but then stays the sentence. Usually, as a condition of that sentence, the prisoner often is put on probation and required to serve time in a county jail.
In the past, counties were paid $45 per inmate per day to provide that service. Some counties actually made money on the deal, but others simply met their expenses.
Now, all of the counties who take part will lose money on the agreement. That’s because counties now will be compensated only $16 per inmate per day for condition-of-probation inmates.
Total funding for the program was cut from $11.6 million to $6.5 million during the last legislative session. Few people would dispute that the budget had to be trimmed because of the economic downturn. Even fewer people would argue that money for such a program should remain untouched by budget cuts when other important programs involving education and health care had to tighten their belts.
By the spectrum - Opinion
Published: 03/30/2009
The state of Utah has a serious law-enforcement problem. It has more prisoners than its state prison system can handle. As a result, the state Department of Corrections has turned to the counties to help keep criminals off the street.
As part of their agreement, the state pays a fair amount of money per prisoner per day. After all, the counties have employees to pay, facilities to administer and a public to serve. It’s only fair that the counties receive an adequate amount of money to cover their costs.
However, a cut to the state budget has, in effect, thrown a significant portion of the expense to those same counties that were willing to lend a hand.
At issue are condition-of-probation prisoners. These are inmates who a judge sentences to serve prison time but then stays the sentence. Usually, as a condition of that sentence, the prisoner often is put on probation and required to serve time in a county jail.
In the past, counties were paid $45 per inmate per day to provide that service. Some counties actually made money on the deal, but others simply met their expenses.
Now, all of the counties who take part will lose money on the agreement. That’s because counties now will be compensated only $16 per inmate per day for condition-of-probation inmates.
Total funding for the program was cut from $11.6 million to $6.5 million during the last legislative session. Few people would dispute that the budget had to be trimmed because of the economic downturn. Even fewer people would argue that money for such a program should remain untouched by budget cuts when other important programs involving education and health care had to tighten their belts.