For Immediate Release
March 31, 2010
Contact: Nathan Flood
717-787-4420
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A Conversation with Senator Brubaker

Prison Reform Needed to Ease Stress on State Budget

In last week's column, I examined some of the reasons for the dramatic growth in the state's prison population. The prison population has grown by more than 500 percent over the past two decades, and the governor's budget request includes more than $1.7 billion for the Department of Corrections. We must find ways to reduce this burden on taxpayers.

In 2008, the General Assembly took the first steps toward comprehensive prison reform by passing a package of bills designed to reduce prison costs. Act 81 of 2008 created an early release program, known as the Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive (RRRI) program, to allow defendants to cut a quarter of their sentence if they complete a number of steps designed to integrate them into the workforce and society and educate them about the consequences of crime. The package of reforms also included bills to address prisoner transportation costs, deal with the care of terminally ill prisoners and require new parole guidelines for the Board of Probation and Parole.

The RRRI program is only available to non-violent offenders and seek to give them the skills and education they need to earn an honest living after their release. A similar program in New York helped to reduce inmate population by up to 13 percent, and I am hopeful that this initiative will be as successful in Pennsylvania in the coming years when the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing fully implements the program.

A number of other prison reform proposals have been introduced during the current legislative session as well. Senate Bill 1145 would create a risk and needs assessment for judges to use when sentencing criminal offenders. Senate Bill 1161 would authorize the Department of Corrections to transfer non-violent offenders to pre-release centers when they are within 18 months of their release date to help reduce costs for taxpayers. Senate Bill 1193 would authorize county courts of common pleas to establish a program that will impose swift, predictable and immediate consequences for individuals on parole, including measures to ensure that parolees maintain a drug-free life and participate in any required treatment or service ordered by the court.

Senate Bill 1198 would establish a Safe Community Reentry Program including community and faith-based organizations that will help inmates reintegrate into society. Senate Bill 150 would create a Law Enforcement and Violent Crime Task Force to help weed out the most dangerous offenders in a community to reduce overall crime rates in those communities. I am hopeful that we can review these proposals in the coming months and continue to examine ways to help reduce the number of parolees and released inmates who do not comply with the terms of their release and are returned to prison.

As we work to reduce the prison population, we must take great care to ensure that we do not have a negative impact on public safety. Our highest priority should be protecting Pennsylvanians from crime and keeping dangerous criminals behind bars. However, I am confident that we can take the steps necessary to reduce the inmate population safely and ease the substantial burden that Corrections spending places on taxpayers.