CORRECTIONS MUST ADDRESS VACANCY RATE, OTHER ISSUES

The Department of Corrections is considering closing two to four prisons,
is taking in fewer inmates, has a 10 percent vacancy rate and is in the
middle of a $51 million expansion. Something about this picture does not
add up, and state officials need to get a handle on it. This troublesome
picture was revealed by an analysis of Corrections records conducted by The
State. The analysis showed our prisons have about 2,400 more bunks than
inmates. Staff writer Clif LeBlanc's story also raised questions about the
agency's use of cell space, its methods of determining where inmates serve
their sentences, how it spends money and its reporting system.

It was surprising to learn that state prison officials had overstated the
need for space in a successful bid to get construction funds. Corrections
is in the middle of an expansion to add 2,048 bunks at six prisons. Of
course, the budget cuts for the fiscal year that began July 1 means there
will not be money to operate the new facilities. Prison officials say
inmates eventually will occupy the new bunks; they just don't know when.

In 1997, Corrections asked for the funds to do the expansion. We hope
prison officials simply made bad projections. The only other explanation
would be that they misrepresented the overcrowding problem and misled the
public and lawmakers. That would have been irresponsible; the dollars being
spent for new prison space could have been used elsewhere. Of course, we
understand that part of the reason officials overstated the need for space
is the Legislature's "lock 'em up" attitude of the mid-to late-'90s. Many
of the nation's prison systems overbuilt during those years because
lawmakers across the country were passing laws that could increase prison
stays. South Carolina imposed tougher sentences on violent offenders after
Jan. 1, 1996, which resulted briefly in a 4 percent jump in the prison
population.

It was under those circumstances that lawmakers responded to Corrections
officials' plea for more space. Now we find that they might have been
asking for space (--) and money (--) they did not need.

Some prison officials insist that the vacancy rate is misleading. They say
about half the vacant bunks are restricted to inmates with mental illness,
AIDS or other special needs. They argue that those beds should not count as
vacancies in the general population. That would greatly reduce the number
of vacancies.

Some lawmakers were unaware of the high vacancy rate, mainly because of the
confusing manner in which the department reports the information to the
Legislature. That can - and should - be corrected by the department
producing a simplified, easy-to-read report.

It appears that Gary Maynard, the new prisons director, is willing to be
up-front about overcrowding as well as the need for other changes in the
system. He has shared the actual picture of the prison population with
lawmakers. He has said he might restrict the use of third bunks in
two-person cells, and he is studying the process the agency uses to decide
where to assign inmates and how prison population figures are reported.

Understandably, the large number of empty beds in the system has some
people questioning the validity of the Corrections' 1997 funding request.
That could lead to more skepticism that could hurt the agency's chances of
getting help that it truly needs.

To overcome the skepticism, Mr. Maynard must address problems openly. He
also must keep the public and lawmakers abreast of the condition of our
prisons.