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Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009 | 6:27 p.m.
Budget plan
Sun coverage
CARSON CITY – The construction plans for state prisons in Southern Nevada don’t make sense to some legislators.
“It makes little sense to cut education and build more prisons,” said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley during hearings on the budget of the state Public Works Board.
Buckley, D-Las Vegas, asked for information about how much the state would save if it scrapped all construction plans for the coming two years.
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, said a better strategy is needed to justify the construction of these prisons.
Gus Nunez, manager of the Public Works Board, said the plan calls for moving women from their prison in North Las Vegas to the state prison at Jean. The North Las Vegas prison would house elderly inmates, which are growing in number.
That switch would allow the state to delay for four years the design of a new prison for women at Indian Springs.
Before the move, the prison at Jean would be leased to the federal Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agency. Howard Skolnik, director of the state Department of Corrections, said negotiations are under way with the federal government to house its inmates.
Lawmakers questioned spending $3.9 million for advance planning at expansion of the Jean prison if the state was going to lease the prison to a federal agency.
Nunez, under questioning by members of the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, said it builds its prison construction program on the estimates of inmates.
In the budget this time is the $221 million construction of a new male prison at Indian Springs. The project calls for three dormitories in the first phase each to have 168 cells. There would be an execution chamber and a regional medical facility.
If approved, it would be ready in July 2011.
Nunez said the project “is shovel ready” if the federal stimulus funds become available.
Buckley questioned the wisdom of building another prison when Gov. Jim Gibbons wants to close the century-old Nevada State Prison in Carson City. She said sections of the Carson City prison were “well functioning.”
Assemblyman Tom Grady, R-Yerington, said a lot of money has been spent on upgrading the Carson City prison. He asked for information on the amount of money spent in recent years.
Grady was also unhappy that the Silver Springs Conservation Camp in Northern Nevada was closed and is being mothballed. Skolnik said no money is being spent for the upkeep of Silver Springs.
There is a deed restriction, Skolnik said, to restrict the camp to females. “We are unable to use it.”
Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said the Legislature should give consideration to reduce the sentences for inmates who committed minor crimes.
He said “several hundred people might not be there” if the lighter sentences had been imposed.
Gibbons has recommended a $582.7 million building program for the next two years, with $404.4 million coming from the state, mostly in bonding money, and $178.5 million from other funds.
The major projects include a $36.1 million readiness center for the Army National Guard in North Las Vegas and a $24.5 million field maintenance shop facility in Las Vegas, also for the Army National Guard.
Cy Ryan may be reached at (775) 687 5032 or cy@lasvegassun.com.
If the legistature is wise enought to make the "weapons enhancement" sentencing structure retroactive to those who were sentenced before the law changed, there would be many prisoners ready for release at a huge cost savings to the state.
It isn't the length of the sentence that matters, it is the rehabilitation and programming that makes the difference. Unfortunately there really isn't that much of it going on in our prisons. The idea is supposed to be to that these people who committed crimes come out into the free world ready to be productive members of society, not drains on the tax structure. That is what is happening now with the medical neglect and the lack of rehabilitative programs in place.
It is time for our legislature to get SMART ON CRIME. Tough on crime just costs us taxpayers money that should be going into the education budget so our children have a better chance to avoid criminal behavior and in turn become productive members of society.
THE NEVADA PRISON SYSTEM AND THE NEVADA JUDICIAL SYSTEM NEEDS A TOTAL OVERHAUL. WITH MANDATORY MINIMUMS PEOPLE IN NEVADA ARE INSTALLED IN PRISON AND THE KEY IS THROWN AWAY. THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT THE PRISONS ARE THE NUMBER TWO INDUSTRY IN THE STATE. ITS CASINOS, PRISONS, AND WAREHOUSES IN THAT ORDER. IF YOUR POOR IN NEVADA AND GET CHARGED WITH A CRIME YOU ARE GOING TO PRISON WHEITHER YOU ARE INNOCENT OR NOT. IF YOUR LUCKY A PUBLIC DEFENDER WILL SPEND ABOUT 2 HOURS ON YOUR CASE AND WRITE ABOUT ONE PARAGRAPH FOR YOUR APPEALS. MAKES ONE WONDER JUST HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS IN THE NEVADA PRISON SYSTEM ARE TOTALLY INNOCENT. I THINK WE WOULD ALL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW JUST HOW MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE EXIST IN NEVADA PRISONS. DON'T GET CHARGED WITH A CRIME IF YOUR POOR BECAUSE YOU WILL MOST CERTAINLY GO TO PRISON.
Stop building prisons?
Ms Barbara Buckley what should we do with those who should be incarcerated?
How about we build 50 halfway houses in YOUR DISTRICT and release them all to those facilities instead of prisons.
I'll second all of the above comment by geezelouise.
Further, if legislators need to secure American Correctional Association certification to professional standards of Nevada's prisons, a healthy operating policy, that does not currently exist, except for Silver State Industries.
Banning textbooks with hard covers to stop higher education, no standards in place for prisoner medical and employee certification or education for both?
Staffers pushed past their limits, food issues waiting for federal intervention, incorrect record keeping... and more.
Putting ACA standards in place would activate objective, efficient, professional policies into Nevada prisons, so that so many people might not return...
Time to end warehousing, poor administration and more expensive buildings!
First of all, our schools are among the worst in the nation and cutting our, already struggling, teachers pay is just amazing to me! The key is to give our children the best chance when they are young and avoid the prison system altogether but I guess we really should have voted for a rocket scientist instead of the idiot we have now for governor. BTW I did NOT vote for him! Our politicians are all greedy and there is no money to be made form our teachers so they must think that they are expendable.
Second, building new prisons isn't the answer. Creating more programs like the boot camp out at Indian springs is. It is rated #1 in the country and for good reason. The young men coming out of there are given a real second chance at life. They don't have a bunch of idle time on their hands to think up new ways to be bad and in fact it is quite the opposite. These young men go through drug treatment, anger management, and self awareness programs, which let's be honest most people are in prison as a result of drugs, alcohol or anger problems. These people need help not more prisons. I think if they want to build more facilities in Indian Springs they should be putting in a women's boot camp.
How hard is it to implement activities that keep the men and women busy (idle time is surly the enemy)? The boot camp uses good old fashion hard work and exercise to keep those men busy, how much could that possibly cost? Hiring good men and women from our awesome military to reform these men and women is the perfect answer! get these people ready for the real world so they can go on to have a better chance at a good life! Will it work for everybody? NO, but it is much better than the alternative. I personally know people who have gone through the program and have victory over their addictions! I also know people who have been in prison over and over because they are clueless as to how to stay clean!
Someone here made a comment about the Public Offenders office. Yes, I know that it is really the Public defenders office but lets be real, they work for the state and so does the DA. They are all a bunch of liars! I have personally witnessed a young lady get sentenced for a crime she did NOT commit and there was ZERO evidence to put her there. She was a drug addict and yes she was poor too. I believe that the DA only cares about closing their cases not actually having the real criminal behind bars. I'm glad Kephart didn't become judge because he's as dirty as they come IMHO!
the racist, elitist, class warfare exemplified by our Dept. of "corrections" is hopefully a pen stroke away from being dismantled, as is Gitmo, and other hell holes around the world.
Skolnik and his crew of sadists should be prosecuted for years of lying to the Legislature, and abuse of power.
It IS time for a Prison Oversight Committee made up of lay people with no vested interests.
Time to get the DOC off the backs of the NV taxpayer, and time to take care of our children, so that the need for prisons in this State evaporates.
This is what our Governor and Legislators should be looking at is the actual inmates that are being housed at all of the prisons at one time. NDOC moves hundreds of inmates around from one prison to another to show that the prison is over crowded. When they get the count from one prison and on to the next they move the inmates again to show that they are at capacity. Never has anyone investigated this or have done a complete accounting at one time for all of the prisons. If they did it would show that we don't need anymore prisons.
There are some great comments in this section. Geezelouise & Tonja are on mark, as is everyone else, except Bob Cirelli, who threw the facetious remark meant to be informative/funny but failed. However, he's right in one way: "This state needs more half-way houses".
Filmaker has good knowledge on housing prisoners, for example quit sending drug cases and non-violent people to prisons and branding them as felons.
Those cases are mental health and probation problems--not prison problems--which is much cheaper to treat than building prison cells and hiring guards to control--instead of guide.
Even legislator Coffin has an intelligent comment on prison building, though he advocates legalizing prostitution, also. Imagine, keeping Nevada afloat on the backs of our young girls.
This is the type thinking Nevadan's have allowed our legislators to guide this state to its present state of confusion. Nevada's legislators aren't smart--they are simply Good-Ole-Boys trying to line their own pockets. Playing with my money and yours--as their personal folly.
It is the stupidity of legislators bringing forth "Tough on Crime" sentencing crap--because citizens might view the legislator as being the protector/friend of all citizen/taxpayers, and they might get re-elected more easily with this lie.
In reality, they have saddled the
taxpayer/citizen with more debt than our children's future can handle & the kids are now looked upon as state income producing
chattel by legislators in search of a prostitutes. This isn't new, folks. Legislators have always looked upon taxpayers as their personal whores.
Almost every law is at the expense of the poor. Why is that? Because the rich won't permit bad legislation to go against them & if it does NO MORE LEGISLATIVE DONATIONS! The rich can afford to fight--the poor can only complain. "Yeah, tell me I'm wrong! I love great humor."
BUILD NO MORE PRISONS. TRY REHABILITATION! IT WORKS IF GIVEN A CHANCE. GET RID OF SKOLNUT & SALLING. TWO PEOPLE WITH LITTLE HUMANITY FOR THEIR FELLOW MAN! I THINK THE WORD "PARASITE" BELONGS IN THIS SENTENCE... Have a nice day!
REDUCE sentances for minor crimes? How about paroling those who HAVE served the minimum on their sentances, who HAVE done their time, learned their lesson, are more rehabilitated and are NOT the same person they were when they went in? These are the ones who cost the state the most as they are growing old and require more medical. OR how 'bout changing consecutive sentences to concurrant? OR holding two pardons board hearings a year as the law states (and actually granting some clemancy for those who earn it). OR reducing sentences for accomplices who had no control over the person who committed the crime. OR releasing innocent people. There are countless smarter ways to reduce prison population without impact to public safety and still punishing those who deserve it.
Wow. Intellegent people with real solutions. Not haters who just want to cost our children their education in their attemp at revenge.
What a concept.
Spartacus, halfner, metarviezzle, Tonja, conniek - we need people like you in office not the leaches who reside there now. I am really ready to change the status quo.
How about those of you who want nothing more than revenge pony up and pay the incarceration costs so that the rest of us can educate our children without spoiling your lives by asking you to be realistic.