STATES TO CLOSE MORE PRISONS

Inmate Population Lowest In 30 Years

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Calif. - (KTT) Eagle Mountain, named for the rose-colored
peaks on its northern edge, fears it is on the brink of disappearing.

Founded in 1947 as an outpost to mine iron ore, the town managed to outlast
the mine by converting old miners' dormitories into a state prison in 1988.
But now the Eagle Mountain Community Correctional Facility is one of five
prisons scheduled to close at the end of June, signaling not only the
possible end of this windswept desert community of 300 residents, but also
the waning of a national boom in prison building.

After decades of growth, state prisons have become a prime target of
cutbacks. The reasons: the national drop in crime, state budget shortfalls,
the easing of some strict prison policies, and changing public opinion
about how to handle criminals, particularly those convicted of drug-related
offenses.

While the federal prison system is growing at historic rates, the growth of
state prison populations has slowed since 1995 and now has fallen to its
lowest level in three decades, according to a recent report by the U.S.
Bureau of Justice Statistics.

"I think we have reached the point of stability," said Alfred Blumstein, a
criminal justice expert at Carnegie Mellon University.

The nation's incarceration rate, including state and federal inmates, held
steady at 110 inmates per 100,000 residents during the 50 years up to 1970;
it has since more than quadrupled, to 472 prisoners per 100,000 residents.

Whether the rate of incarceration drops will depend, Blumstein said, on
whether a coalition emerges between liberals advocating more moderate
policies and fiscal conservatives who object to additional prisons because
of the tremendous costs, estimated at $20,000 per year per inmate.
Corrections budgets are more obvious targets for cutbacks because of their
sheer size. Nationally, $1 of every $14 in states' general funds is spent
on corrections, according to Vincent Schiraldi, president of the Justice
Policy Institute, a Washington-based organization that advocates reducing
incarceration rates.

Half of the states this year have reduced budgets for prisons or are
considering cuts, and only higher education is a more common target,
according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
So-called three-strikes laws, requiring violent offenders convicted of a
third felony to be held for 25 years to life without parole, also are being
reconsidered.

In Illinois, prison officials this year closed the Joliet Correctional
Center and have proposed closing two more sites, the Illinois Youth
Center-Valley View and the Vienna Correctional Center in southern Illinois
- -- although on Memorial Day, Gov. George Ryan recommended keeping the
Vienna prison open.

Meanwhile, Illinois' prison population has fallen nearly 7 percent over the
last year, a drop driven in part by parole policy changes, said Sergio
Molina, Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman.

Throughout the nation, states are finding ways to reduce the inmate population.

Louisiana, which has the nation's highest incarceration rates, abolished
some mandatory sentences and returned some judicial sentencing discretion.
Texas, with the nation's largest inmate population, has reduced the number
of technical reasons for revoking parole. North Carolina enacted
comprehensive sentencing changes to reduce the number of non-violent
offenders going to prison.

Michigan and Ohio are considering measures like those that were
overwhelmingly approved in Arizona and California to allow those convicted
of non-violent drug possession charges to receive substance-abuse treatment
instead of incarceration.

"Crime is down, so people feel safer," Schiraldi said. "And people are
beginning to see the unintended consequences of really harsh laws passed at
the peak of punitiveness, like people getting life sentences for stealing a
piece of pizza. That affects public opinion."

Opinion polls indicate a dramatic decline in concerns about crime. For
instance, in 1993, a nationwide Harris Poll found crime was the top
concern, listed by 36 percent of those queried, with health care in second
place. Last December, crime was listed by only 1 percent of those queried
as a top concern. It had been replaced by concerns about the economy,
followed by terrorism.

California is emblematic of the shift. In the early 1980s, the state led
the nation with the largest prison building program in history, building 17
prisons in a 10-year period at a cost of more than $2 billion.

Now, five minimum security prisons are set to close and the lone remaining
high-security prison on the drawing board is the subject of legislative
debate about whether it will be built.

Political dynamics have changed as well, however. The California
Correctional Peace Officers Association gave a record $2.3 million to state
legislators and their campaigns during 1999 and 2000, making it the state's
top political donor, according to California Common Cause, an advocacy
group. In return, the union wields wide influence.

All five prisons slated for closing are run by private businesses with
non-union guards. The union has managed to win a generous new five-year
contract that could raise guards' salaries by 25 percent and boost
retirement benefits by more than $1 billion, the Common Cause analysis found.

The raises come as the state faces a budget shortfall for the coming fiscal
year of $24 billion, a quarter of the state's general fund.

At the entrance to the Eagle Mountain community, Ken Statler posted a red,
white and blue hand-painted sign that says, "Attention! Gov. Gray Davis is
closing down our town! Please help us fight."

Statler, the proprietor of a general store in nearby Desert Center who ran
an Eagle Mountain shopping center when the town was more prosperous,
described the sentiment of most residents: "It feels like life is shutting
down on you."