HD46 - Prison and Jail Overcrowding
Executive Summary: The present state of overcrowding in Virginia's local jails and state institutions is, in large part, a result of policy choices made over the past fifteen years, which reflect public sentiment toward the punishment of criminals. Nationally, and in Virginia, that sentiment has been expressed as a belief that the crime rate has been increasing, that the court system is too lenient on criminals, and that harsher punishment - longer sentences - for criminals is the most appropriate response to crime. Judges, prosecutors, legislators and other officials in Virginia and across the nation have responded to the public's perception and demand by "getting tough on crime." For instance, 17 recent legislative changes have contributed to the increase in the prison population in Virginia. The problem of overcrowding is certainly not unique to Virginia. Most states are involved in costly building programs. Thirty-eight states are currently under federal or state court order to alleviate overcrowded prisons and jails. Fortunately, Virginia is not one of these states - yet. While the crime rate in Virginia has remained relatively stable over this decade, Virginia's inmate population has grown steadily. As Figure 1 illustrates, in July 1983, there were 14,833 inmates in Virginia's prisons and jails; in July 1989, there were 24,851. Since 1983, Virginia's incarcerated population has grown, on the average, at more than 8.9 percent annually. State facilities are operating over capacity statewide. Still, in October 1989, there were over 3,000 state felons with greater than six months to serve in local jails, awaiting transfer to state prisons and further straining local jail capacities. Certain jails are operating at three times their capacity. In response, the Governor and the General Assembly authorized, over a three-year period, a 45 percent increase in the capacity of the state system, at a capital cost of $232 million. If all recent jail expansion projects proceed as planned, there will be a 30 percent increase in jail capacity statewide by 1992. Even with the additional planned resources directed towards the offender population, it became clear in 1988 that current construction programs would not keep pace with the number of offenders to be housed in local jails and state prisons. It also became clear that temporary solutions could not alleviate the population pressures over long periods of time. Despite planned increases in capacity, if current trends continue - and there is little reason to expect otherwise - the system will be far short of the number of beds needed to house inmates in prisons and jails in the 1990's. |
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