COLORADO'S PRISONS: BOOMTOWNS WITH BARS

Inmate Population Is Among Nation's Fastest-Growing

Colorado ranks among the top five states with the fastest-growing prison
populations, according to a federal report to be issued Sunday by the U.S.
Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The findings, released early by the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform
Coalition in Colorado Springs, indicate the state needs to find solutions
other than building prisons, a coalition spokesman said.

"Colorado's love affair with prisons is causing our criminal justice system
to collapse under its own weight, and it is dragging the rest of the state
with it," said Stephen Raher, the coalition's co-director.

With the restrictions in revenue raising and spending clamped on state
government by the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, "I think we're sort of headed
for a disaster with our prison population growing so fast," he said.

But that assessment was denounced as nonsense Friday by Senate President
John Andrews, R-Centennial, who said getting criminals off the street and
protecting the public is a vital function of government.

"The No. 1 job of government is to reduce crime and to make neighborhoods
safer for Colorado families," Andrews said.

"That's what prison population growth is achieving. What astounds me is
that some group can write a news release about our locking up more bad guys
and, in 1,000 words, fail to mention our falling crime rate.

"It's like talking about Colorado and overlooking the Rocky Mountains. The
falling crime rate is the main thing. I'm proud of what we've done, and we
need to keep doing it."

But Raher said it is foolish for Colorado to continue spending millions of
dollars on new prisons at a time when fiscal problems are forcing cutbacks
in key programs across state government.

"Prison spending is crowding out other programs, such as health care,
higher education and human services," Raher said. "This is a problem that
truly impacts everyone in Colorado."

The new figures on growth released by the federal agency differ from the
annual report that the Colorado Corrections Department released in June.
But the state figures were based on a fiscal year rather than a calendar year.

The state report said Colorado housed an average of 17,367 inmates during
fiscal 2001-02. That was a 4.6 percent increase over the previous year and
a significantly smaller increase than prior years.

The 2001 inmate count of 16,605 was a 7.5 percent increase over 2000. And
in 2000, when there were 15,441 inmates, it was a 9.2 percent increase over
the prior year.

Alison Morgan, a spokeswoman for Colorado Corrections, said the fluctuation
in inmates varies significantly by month and year, which is why the
department uses five-year figures in determining future bed needs.

She said she had not seen the new report, but wasn't surprised that it
varied from the state figures, since they weren't comparable time periods.

"When we track bed plans, we look at a five-year period," she said. "We
have to do that because the numbers fluctuate so greatly. And it's not just
year to year - it fluctuates from month to month."

Despite the differences, no one disputes that the population is increasing.
In fact, state lawmakers approved - and Gov. Bill Owens signed into law
earlier this year - a plan to build a new $102.8 million, 948-bed
high-security prison in Canon City.

The annual report, released on June 27 by Kristi Rosten, senior statistical
analyst in the Corrections Office of Planning and Analysis, said Colorado's
prison population is growing faster than many other areas of the country.

"The growth experienced by the Colorado Department of Corrections in recent
years has exceeded the national trends, where population trends have shown
little or no growth," she wrote.

The report to be released Sunday says that Colorado's 7.9 percent increase
in 2002 is significantly higher than the 2.4 percent national average.

A year ago, the same report showed Colorado's prison population growth at
3.7 percent over the prior year.

Seventeen states reported increases of at least 5 percent in their prison
populations during calendar 2002, the report said.

Only nine states had decreases, led by Alaska, which was down 3.8 percent,
and Illinois, which had a 3.7 percent decrease.

Raher said half the male prisoners in Colorado - and nearly three-fourths
of female inmates - are serving time for nonviolent offenses. He said drug
offenses continue to be the most prevalent crime, with 3,691 inmates behind
bars for some type of drug offense on June 30, 2002.

"With one in five Colorado prisoners serving time for a nonviolent drug
offense, it is clear that we need to re-evaluate our priorities," Raher said.

"If we strengthen our commitment to fund drug-treatment and mental-health
services, we will not only save money in the long run, but we will also
help countless individuals and families."

One of the laws that Colorado legislators enacted this year does reduce the
penalty for first-time drug offenders caught with a gram or less of an
illegal substance.

The bill by Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, is expected to save the state $7.8
million in prison costs during the next five years, with a portion of the
money earmarked for drug-rehabilitation programs.