A policy change by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office that could send 2,600 more people to prison each year could cost the state nearly $60 million annually and has irked the agency charged with incarcerating prisoners.
The additional inmates would further strain a prison system that is already overcrowded and understaffed. As of Nov. 28, there were 5,618 more prisoners than beds and 471 unfilled corrections officer positions.
“We’re already pitch-herding to accommodate those 5,000 inmates,” Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katie Decker said. “We don’t tell him how to prosecute, he shouldn’t tell us how to incarcerate.”
Still, she said the department is obligated to incarcerate any new prisoners sent its way by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who announced Nov. 28 that second-time offenders in the county would no longer be able to enter a plea deal unless they agree to go to prison. The policy shift will go into place in 60 days.
“If he’s going to keep this policy…then, at the end of the day, we cannot turn criminals away who are convicted of crimes,” Ms. Decker said.
Thomas: ‘tent city’ for Arizona needed
At a Nov. 28 press conference, Mr. Thomas said one way for the state to house the additional prisoners would be to set up a “Tent City for Arizona,” similar to the Tent City Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio runs for the County Jail.
Ms. Decker said the Department of Corrections already has 1,000 prison beds in tents, and 200 more are expected to come online in January. Part of the problem, she said, is that Mr. Thomas didn’t discuss the policy with her agency before unveiling it publicly.
“He could have saved himself an immense amount of embarrassment if he had dialogued with the Department of Corrections, because we’ve had tents for years,” she said.
It costs the state $56.19 a day to house each inmate. If Mr. Thomas’ estimate that the new policy would send 2,600 more criminals to prison a year is accurate, the new plan will cost an additional $57.4 million each year.
“That’s going to have to come from somewhere and government is run by taxpayers, so it’s going to come back to them,” Ms. Decker said.
Governor Napolitano said it was unfair for one county’s attorney to affect citizens of all other counties.
“If he wants to do that, we’re going to have to open up a serious discussion how Maricopa County is going to help pay for that,” she said. “I don’t know why the other 14 counties have to subsidize one county’s prosecution policies.”
But one lawmaker says the additional prisoners can be accommodated without raising taxes. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-18, who chairs one of the House of Representatives’ two Appropriations committees, says the Legislature has the ability to move funding from other programs to pay for the prisoners.
“If we have to give revenues from social programs to [fund prisons]…that’s a decision this body ought to make,” he said.
Though it will be a challenge, Mr. Pearce said it is the state’s responsibility, first and foremost, to protect the public, regardless of the cost.
“Public safety is our No. 1 responsibility in the Constitution, to protect life, liberty and property,” he said. “I don’t know how you put a price tag on preventing somebody from being a victim.”
And, because less than 20 percent of the population commits 80 percent of crimes, Mr. Pearce says, the large upfront cost of the policy change will result in a long-term savings for the state, as there will be fewer prosecutions and victims’ support services.
Inmate population by county
County-by-county figures for origin of state’s inmate population as of Oct. 31:
Apache: 130
Cochise: 506
Coconino: 620
Gila: 357
Graham: 200
Greenlee: 47
La Paz: 97
Maricopa: 23,185
Mohave: 1,217
Navajo: 528
Pima: 4,881
Pinal: 1,107
Santa Cruz: 92
Yavapai: 1,464
Yuma: 918
Source: Department of Corrections; NOTE: figures exclude some inmates in initial processing or housed in facilities other than state prisons.