TEXAS COULD NEED 5 NEW PRISONS

Inmate Rise Blamed On Problems With Probation System

AUSTIN =AD Texas would have to build as many as five prisons over the
next six years if the state continues to incarcerate offenders at the
current rate, according to a new report by the state's budget monitors.

Texas' prison system holds 150,575 inmates, more than any other state.
If incarceration trends continue, the system would add nearly 3,700
prisoners over the next two years, and more than 14,000 by 2010,
according to the report by the Legislative Budget Board.

The prison population is already beyond the state's preferred
capacity. A preliminary state budget, released last week, suggests
spending an additional $40 million for contracted space in county
jails and cutting funding for adult probation departments, whose rolls
are falling.

But the report by the Legislative Budget Board =AD made up of the
leaders who craft the state's budget =AD notes that many criminal
justice officials believe the prison population is rising precisely
because the probation system is not working.

The rate of felons having their probation revoked rose 18 percent
between 2001 and 2004, according to the report, which will be released
this week. A copy was shown to The Dallas Morning News.

"More attention needs to be given to the front end of the sentencing
process in order to realize a decline in the state's incarcerated
population," the report states, citing the feelings of criminal
justice officials interviewed throughout the state.

That recommendation dovetails with the ideas of many key lawmakers,
who have said Texas cannot afford to keep building more prisons.

"We don't want to build new prisons," Rep. Ray Allen, a Grand Prairie
Republican who chairs the House Corrections Committee, said in a
recent interview. "If you ask four or five of the top officials, they
will say the same thing. Prisons are inordinately costly."

But how many prisoners are too many? If there is a magic number, it is
typically an equilibrium that accounts for financial realities and a
criminal justice philosophy, experts said.

"The legislators have to get through the session and balance the
books," said Charles M. Friel, a professor at Sam Houston State
University's College of Criminal Justice. "In corrections, we have to
look at the long term. You need a plan you can sell that prepares you
for the next 20 years."

To help reduce the prison population, the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice has asked for an additional $28 million to hire 391 more
probation officers. Lawmakers such as Mr. Allen said that investment
would be far less costly than building new prisons.

Officials interviewed for the budget board's report also recommended:
reducing the probation terms for some offenses, revising laws to keep
small-time drug users out of state jails and prisons, and trimming the
probation terms of offenders who have successfully completed drug
treatment programs.

Texas Youth Commission facilities are also expected to exceed capacity
in the next two years. The report says 236 more juveniles would be
added to commission facilities by 2007, which would put the facilities
nearly 12 percent over capacity.