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Florida Prisons Hit 100,000 Behind Bars, Over 1,500 Prisoners In Century Area
December 19, 2008
Florida prison hit a disturbing milestone Thursday morning — 100,000 people incarcerated in the state’s prison system. A little over 1,500 of those are housed at the Century Correctional Institution and related facilities in the area.
The state releases about 40,000 prisoners per year, and about 13,000 of those return to custody within three years, according to Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Walt McNeal. The 100,000 milestone reached Thursday marks an increase of about 8,000 prisoners in the system since June of 2007, with 2,000 of those being incarcerated since June of 2008.
The Florida legislature cut $332 million from education last year, but the state spend $309 million on prison construction. McNeal has projected that Florida will need about 19 more prisons housing up to 1,300 inmates each over the next five years, if the population growth rate continues at its current pace.
McNeal has said that as many 80,000 of the current 100,000 prisoners will end up back in prison during their lives.
The state spends about $19,308 per inmate per year. About 58 percent of that money goes into security, and another 22 percent into medical costs.
Another 158,000 people are currently out of prison in Florida and serving probationary time.
The Century Correctional Institution consists of five open bay housing units, three cell housing units and has a maximum capacity of 1,345 male prisoners. The facility was established in 1991. Century Work Camp, Pensacola Work Release Center and Berrydale Forestry Camp are under the supervision of CCI.
The total population of Century Correction Institution was 1,446 at the first of this month. There were 143 assigned to the Berrydale Forestry Camp, 82 to the Pensacola Work Release Center and 265 to the Century Work Camp.
Comments
7 Responses to “Florida Prisons Hit 100,000 Behind Bars, Over 1,500 Prisoners In Century Area”
Follow the money. The governor and the legislature accept large contributions from the most powerful lobby in the State, The Police Benevolent Association, and the prison profiteers, GEO group, and Aramark Corporation (bad prison food). Everyone is making big bucks off of incarcerating Florida citizens, with long sentences, for petty or non-crimes. The mentally ill are locked up, thousands of blacks who cannot read past a third grade education, and thousands for driving on suspended licenses because they are too poor to pay child support. The real crime in Florida is what the legislature and the governor are doing to its own citizens, locking them up for profit. With so many tourists and elderly in Florida, this is Florida’s “creative solution” – cutting education (which is the second lowest in the nation already) and building 19 more prisons to incarcerate its citizens. Shame on Florida.
Amanda is right on education; two factors to consider on crime; one is poverty. The two run parallel paths, when one goes up the other follows suit, so one aspect that needs to be tackled is poverty. Unfortunately the tanking economy will probably drive crime up as more people become unemployed. Education is the prime factor in cutting poverty levels. The other factor is seriousness of the crime versus the punishment. Keeping in mind that once you put someone in prison, he has a record, can’t find viable employment on release, and within the facility usually learns the ropes to real criminal activity. The point I’m making is should we consider first time offenders, such as petty thief, especially by young people, be made to do restitution in lieu of jail time? Do we make the system not a dead end for anyone who violates the public trust? For minor drugs, should we consider the lesson learned with Prohibition; the act of prohibition alone made for a large black market, increasing crime. Should we legalize some of it and then regulate and tax the devil out of it??? The synthetic junk makes this a difficult discussion, but one I think worth having.
People that do drugs are not criminals they just have a sickness? When they took their first dose of a drug that they knew was illegal they became a criminal. When they became hooked they became a criminal with an addiction. Don’t lock them up ? I don’t want people high on whatever behaving irrationally ( i.e driving under the influence, commiting robberies in order to score more illegal drugs) and then when caught, claiming not guilty because they were high on drugs. Get them off the street and out of my world is what I say. Rehab them or do whatever but don’t let them out unless they are good to go. Merry Christmas North Escambia
It does not do any good to lock anyone up doing or selling drugs they beat the cops back home now days…….there should be something for these people NOT jail …. jail is not doing it …….they get out to quick……….and go back in and get out go back in …….. it is a crying shame …. all they get in prison is have a motel lay around waste thier lives sorry away.. few days back on the street. Rehab no way they get drugs in Rehab also, i have a daugther thats been there they offer shots, the people that get on the nurses nervers they give them shots and pills and knock them out for a day or two ……rehab is sad they get high there two. maybe one day these folks that work at a certain Rehab .will get caught at thier games……
“The “total capacity” of the state correctional system is 101,860″ (send to me Tuesday, November 04, 2008 7:47 AM by Adams, Robert (Lee) )
It looks like we are very close to that right now. They said as of Midnight Thursday there was 100,108 inmates that means they got 108 inmates in just one day and its Friday now. how many will they have by Christmas less then one week away? Even if we get just 70 inmates a day for the next 30 days we will be over this amount of beds by 340 inmates they best start getting more tents up they are going to need them… Also what happened to the law that the DOC can not be over 99% capacity before the Feds step in and start letting inmates out?
Maybe someone needs to look into these crimes and depending on the seriousness of it .For example, someone caught with drugs or dealing them and quit housing them and fine them so much money per month that they can’t afford to do them and put them in a rehad (out of their pocket) or something instead of overcrowding our prison systems. Some if not a majority of these people have an addiction and really aren’t criminals they just have a sickness. If the rehab out of their pocket doesn’t work then maybe sentence them to some type punishment in the prison systems. I know no one likes drug addicts or dealers but there has to be another way of punishment then overcrowding the systems and us having to pay for their housing. Let them! And it is obvious that they can’t pay when incarcerated. I have heard all of my life that prisoners have just as much if not more access to drugs while incarcerated then when on the streets. Can someone say REHAB first???? I had rather spend my tax dollars on knowing that they are being educated about it then paying for them three meals a day and a hot shower!
The more the state cuts education, the more money the state is going to have to spend on prisons.