Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Corrections official: 2,500 inmates could be released if tax plan fails

CARSON CITY -- In an attempt to buttress its proposed tax increase, the administration of Gov. Kenny Guinn said Friday that nearly 2,500 inmates would have to be released from state prisons if there are no added state revenues.

Jackie Crawford, director of the state Department of Corrections, told the Senate Finance Committee, "This is not a scare. This is a reality."

The department would have to reduce its staff of 301 employees and some of the 20 prison facilities or conservation camps would have to be closed, she said.

"This will ruin the system," Crawford said. "It will place the department and public at risk. This will endanger the public."

Inmates most likely to be released would be burglars, drug users, DUI offenders and some prisoners who committed violent crimes, prison officials said.

Guinn is asking the Legislature to approve a $1 billion tax increase $700 million of which is needed to continue the present level of state programs.

The prison's share of the state's budget is 7.7 percent, Crawford said. If the $700 million is not forthcoming, the director said, that would mean a $27 million cut in each of the next two fiscal years.

"This is a road we do not want to go down," Crawford told the committee. The system currently has 10,340 inmates in custody. Of those 2,493 would have to be freed if new revenue is not approved, she said.

The department has already sliced 104 positions because of the 3 percent ordered by Guinn last year.

Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, said this is the side of the tax debate that the public has not been shown.

Nevada already has the highest ratio of uniformed officers to inmates, Crawford said. There is one officer to every 6.6 inmates, compared with the national average of 4.2 inmates to one officer, she said.

Glen Whorton, assistant director of corrections, told the committee that inmates who would be considered for release would be assessed for their risk. But he added, "Anybody who says they can predict the behavior of an individual is either lying or a fool."

Crawford's testimony came after the committee heard a plea from law enforcement officers to restore the drastic cuts made in the state Division of Investigations.

A parade of law enforcement officials, legislators and others told the committee that the proposed reduction would open the door to drug trafficking in rural Nevada that would spill over to Clark County.

The state division has 79 authorized positions, of which 70 are filled. Guinn's budget calls for the number to be lowered to 40. Many of these officers conduct undercover drug investigations in rural counties. And they help the sheriff's offices in sparsely populated counties and small cities with some major investigations. The division has been helping the Mesquite Police Department with the investigation that led to the arrest of Beau and Monica Maestas on charges of stabbing two girls in Mesquite last month.

David Kieckbush, assistant director of the state Department of Public Safety, sent the committee a letter to explain the reductions. He said law enforcement is primarily a local responsibility.

Kieckbush said the governor does not favor duplication of services. But he said the governor would be willing to restore the cuts if there is more tax revenue available.

Lt. Stan Olsen of the Metro Police Department, said the reductions in the state investigation division "would be devastating to law enforcement particularly in rural Nevada."

Olsen challenged the suggestion the state investigators duplicated the work of local police departments. He said these state officers have special training. And law enforcement officials from rural Nevada said these officers, often members of undercover drug task forces, are invaluable.

Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, said the downsizing of the division of investigations "will create a crisis of major proportions in rural Nevada." He said the small counties do not have the money to pick up the slack.

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