STATE JAILS HITTING ALL-TIME RECORD: 50,000 INMATES ANNUALLY

(08/31/2006)

BUILDING MORE JAILS AND THEY WILL COME, OR ARE WV RESIDENTS BECOMING MORE CRIMINAL? West Virginia has one of the fastest growing prison populations in the USA, ranking third, and prisons are rapidly becoming one of the state's biggest industries. The cost to taxpayers is rising, even though the state's crime rate is one of the lowest in the USA and the state's population continues to shrink. Now, the regional jail system is on track to break new records. Director Wyetta Fredericks projects the state's 10 new jails will soon house a total of more than 50,000 inmates annually. The authority announced that counties and cities will soon be getting checks totaling more than $3.2 million, the first payments under a 2005 law to help with regional jail expenses. How much relief that brings to jail bills is uncertain. Between 1993 and and 2005, WVs lock-up numbers increased from 2,110 inmates to 5,312 daily. Did more people become more criminal in WV, with its declining population? While violent offenders should be locked up, the number of violent offenders between 1998 and 2004 actually dropped. There were more lock-ups for drug offenses, burglary and property crimes. In 2004, seven in 10 inmates were non-violent offenders. The Department of Corrections says it costs $24,000 a year to house a prisoner, but that cost does not include the construction and debt load costs of building more and more jails.

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