About 'mesa financial'|...s dealing seriously with the city’s financial troubles. The controversies...pension crisis and the Sunroad development in Kearny Mesa to the very function of a city attorney. In the...
Citing the Arizona Guardian on their article written by reporter Mary K. Reinhart, titled "Budget woes could spur sentencing reforms" it is important to put this matter into perspective as it can be a political football that is subject to a fumble near the goal line. The Guardian writes that Arizona's budget deficit could force lawmakers to consider rewriting the state's 30 year old sentencing guidelines to reduce the prison population." This would buck a trend that has created a mass influx of inmates into the Arizona prison system that is now well over capacity with more than 40,000 inmates needing secure housing and supervision. Realizing that such a move is very unpopular in a state such as Arizona, lawmakers are looking at revising those crimes that are articulated to be low crime, non violent or drug related crimes. Lawmaker Ash states ""I think our financial situation will be an impetus for people to consider things they may not have considered otherwise," said Rep. Cecil Ash, R-Mesa, a former public defender. "I sense there's a will to do things differently. We see so many things that aren't working." Ash, who chairs a legislative study committee on sentencing, said he plans to introduce a bill next session to create a panel charged with revising Arizona's mandatory sentencing laws. The study committee meets again next Wednesday. (1) Other lawmakers and prosecutors agree that there is a need to change the way Arizona judges are instructed to impose the sentencing laws and that it about time the state takes a look at making it more efficient and less political in the next legislative session. The main factor driving the need to change the laws are the needs for the Arizona prison system to expand their size with large additions of private beds offered to be put up for bid here real soon, allowing more inmates to be housed within the state rather than contracting beds outside Arizona. The Corrections Department is allocated a budget that is nearly 1 billion dollars and is barely meeting its financial abilities with the amount allocated having to seek supplementary funding in the years past. Already reducing present costs that included a 5 per cent staffing reduction, the elimination of the 2.7 per cent performance pay and furloughs for every state employee not classified essential e.g. the correctional officer, this year's challenge will be to stay within the budget provided as the needs for prisoners grow annually. Maricopa County, one of the biggest systems to fill the state prisons, has a county prosecutor who agrees. In the Guardian article, County Attorney Rick Romley said "The code does need to be looked at," Romley said. "There's not a prosecutor who will tell you that. But there's not a prosecutor who disagrees with me." (1) On the national front, there appears to be an approved green light by major conservatives that are speaking in favor or prison reforms and talking out loud to all the 50 states who are experiencing serious budget deficits. Encouraging changing their business as usual approach, they cite several examples of good reforms that have proven to be sound and practical steps to reduce costs. An article written by Newt Gingrich and Pat Nolan express the need to "act with courage and creativity." The article goes on to state "We joined with other conservative leaders last month to announce the Right on Crime Campaign, a national movement urging states to make sensible and proven reforms to our criminal justice system - policies that will cut prison costs while keeping the public safe. There is an urgent need to address the astronomical growth in the prison population, with its huge costs in dollars and lost human potential. The prison population is growing 13 times faster than the general population. The Right on Crime Campaign represents a seismic shift in the legislative landscape. And it opens the way for a common-sense left- right agreement on an issue that has kept the parties apart for decades." We all agree that we can keep the public safe while spending fewer tax dollars if we spend them more effectively. The prison population is growing 13 times faster than the general population. (2) The Right on Crime report documented Arizona's needs with a summary that stated in brief "In December 2008, Arizona became the first state to implement performance-based adult probation funding pursuant to Senate Bill 1476. [ii] Under this incentive-based approach, probation departments receive a share of the state's savings from less incarceration when they reduce their revocations to prison without increasing probationers' convictions for new offenses. Probation departments are required to reinvest the additional funds in victim services, substance abuse treatment, and strategies to improve community supervision and reduce recidivism. Training probation officers to utilize motivational interviewing, which is a method of therapy that identifies and mobilizes the client's intrinsic values and goals to stimulate behavior change [is essential for success]. Separating the minimum-risk offenders from the medium- and high-risk populations and varying supervision and caseload levels for each group, with one officer handling minimum-risk offenders in each city within the county." Understand that to be considered "successful," a prison must reduce recidivism among inmates. States' daily prison costs average nearly $79.00 per day, compared to less than $3.50 per day for probation. Consider geriatric release programs when appropriate. Consider eliminating many mandatory minimum sentencing laws for nonviolent offenses. A study by The Reason Foundation indicated that private prisons offer cost savings of 10 to 15 percent compared to state-operated facilities. It summarizes their report with "Despite this progress, Arizona policymakers are looking at additional options for improving their criminal justice system. They are facing both a budget crisis and a September 2010 projection by the state corrections department that 8,500 new prison beds will be needed by 2017 at a construction cost of $974 million, not including operating costs of well in excess of $150 million a year.[ix]" (3) The debate on privatizing prison in Arizona will continue to be a hot button and it is speculated this article will support the governor's approach on leasing or contracting with private prison providers to reduce the costs of incarceration in the state. The state however needs to pursue the majority portion of the report which focuses on recidivism and sentencing laws. Sources: (1) http://www.arizonaguardian.com/azg (2) http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110112/EDIT05/301129962 (3)http://www.rightoncrime.com/reform-in-action/state-initiatives/arizona/ |
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