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Savings claims challenged for closing Nevada State Prison
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CARSON CITY -- Questioning claims that the move would save millions of dollars, the Nevada Corrections Association is calling for an audit of a proposal to shut down the Nevada State Prison.
Officials for the Nevada Department of Corrections have failed to document the plan they say would allow closing the prison without endangering inmates or correctional officers, said Gene Columbus, head of the association representing prison guards and other employees.
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval backs closing the prison.
Columbus wrote in a letter last week to Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, that lawmakers have twice rejected the closure, instead appropriating $17.6 million for the prison. He said the funding decision "reflects the Legislature's intention to protect the jobs of a sizable staff employed at the facility."
Greg Cox, state director of corrections, told lawmakers earlier this year the plan is to transfer most of the more than 650 inmates to High Desert in Southern Nevada, which has two new, empty units.
He said Nevada State Prison requires one correctional staffer per 4.7 inmates while new institutions like High Desert require one per 11 inmates. It costs $23,615 a year to keep an inmate at Nevada State Prison and $14,061 a year at High Desert.
But Columbus said prison administrators have "consistently failed to provide adequate supporting documentation for their budgetary claims.
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Cuts have to be made. If not here then where. I would rather have cuts in corrections then education. It is time to release 1st time non-violent offenders. The parole board failed to grant parole 3 years ago to at least a hundred prisoners for failing to complete court ordered programs. What the parole board failed to realize is that the prison system was not offering the programs.
$23,615? Really? That is above those who would be considered on the poverty line. I guess crime does pay, someone. Just a few months ago it was said the average dirt bag prisoner costs the taxpayer $50K. Was that number incorrect and if so, are the taxpayers paying $50K per? Makes you wonder where the other $26,385 per dirt bag, per year is going. How many toilet droppings are there in the cesspool? Times the $26K+ by that number and ask where the tax dollars really are.
Also dont forget that NCA (Nevada Corrections Association) dumped the southern Correctional Officers so why would they even care about the how safe the Officers are in the southern correctional centers.
1 Officer for every 4.7 Inmates at NSP... 1 Officer for every 11 Inmates at HDSP... What about SDCC were 1 Officer works a Unit of 192 Inmates alone!!! Tell me that is safe... And some people think these Officers dont earn the little money the state gives them. To the punks that think state Officers should take a paycut try walking a day in there footprints.
The Corrections budget must be the most opaque in the state. There's no way to easily find out what percentage of our prison inmates are there for committing violent crimes, versus those incarcerated for political reasons.
There are two things we can do to stop prison overcrowding:
(1) stop wrongfully convicting the innocent
(2) release or retry the innocents already there
If our Dept of Justice would respect habeas corpus -- or else our Judges did their jobs to properly referee -- a lot fewer cases would get to trial.
The left always says "pay for education now or prisons later". That's not completely ridiculous. If we cut the Corrections budget a lot of union prison guards will end up behind bars.
This joke of a union is trying to save jobs of Carson City residents, being that NSP is located in Carson City, and HDSP is outside Las Vegas. The move would save money, but there's a lot of officers who may lose their jobs unless they are allowed to relocated to Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City, or out to Lovelock Correctional Center, providing they have positions available.
"He (Columbus) said the funding decision "reflects the Legislature's intention to protect the jobs of a sizable staff employed at the facility." ...... Is this about taxpayer funded JOBS, or housing criminals? Just how important is this in a state with declining tax revenue? Violent murderers should be swiftly executed. Criminals who violate private property should pay restitution to property owners. Drug users shouldn't be incarcerated, and simply be allowed to kill themselves with their poison of choice. The prison/industrial complex is foolishly wasting our resources.