Report: Rhode Island Prison Population Increased 250% Since 1980
Monday, July 22, 2013
Data on national incarceration statistics show that in Rhode Island, the prison population in the state increased over 250% since 1980 - despite a significant decline in recent years.
According to The Sentencing Project, which since 1986 has worked for a "fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration," the Rhode Island prison population stood at 611 in 1980, and peaked at 2,522 in 2008.
Reports for 2011, the last year listed for data available, show the number of prisoners in the state at 2,065. Data for the number in jails was not available.
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"In 2008, the General Assembly passed changes to the "good time law." nmates can earn up to 17 days a month in "good time" -- gives them completion time (GED, anger management), industrial time. They dispersed the inmates," said David Mellon with the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers. "We support the GED and some other programs, but we think that the good time is overly generous. Now someone can get 10 years, five to serve, and with good time, would be in prison for a significantly less amount of time than sentenced."
Despite the recent downward shift in prison numbers in Rhode Island since 2008, the overall trend of growing prison populations has been even higher nationally, with the number in prison in the country in 1980 having stood at 315,974 -- and subsequently increasing to 1,537,415 in 2011.
In total with the nation's jail population, the United States is the world's leader in incarceration with 2.2 million people currently in the nation's prisons or jails, according to The Sentencing Project. -- a 500% increase over the past thirty years.
GoLocal talked with Director of the Department of Corrections' A.T. Wall about the state's efforts to reduce the number of prisoners in the state -- as well as Steve Brown with the Rhode Island Civil Liberties Union regarding racial and ethnic disparities that persist in the incarcerated population.
Decline in Population Result of Concerted Effort
"After years of stability, the numbers of prisoners in Rhode Island went up dramatically," said Wall, speaking with GoLocal to offer his perspective on the reported statistics . "[The state] built two new facilities, including the intake service center by January of 1991, and the medium security Moran facility came online in phases in the early 1990s, which between the two increased institutional capacity by 40%."
"The population had risen to the point we filled those institutions, and the number of prisoners continued to rise in the early 2000s. By the time the number reached its peak, however, the economy had soured -- there
was no appetite to build or run more prisons," continued Wall.
"The Governor and legislative leaders went to the Council of State Governments Justice Center, who had developed state-specific solutions for states. It took a look at the drivers, and list of options available to the state and estimated the beds that could be saved."
"A consensus was reached by the three branches of government on two major policy decisions. One was that we standardized earned time. We actually had a system that was upside down. The longer your sentence, the greater percentage off your sentence you could earn -- but if your sentence was short, you couldn't earn any time off -- so they equalized it."
"Secondly, the legislature authorized credits for program participation and completion. We gave inmates incentives for time off," continued Wall. "The population peaked in 2007, the reforms were implemented in 2008."
Wall pointed out that the decline in prisoners in recent years did not pose any harm. "What's interesting is that these reforms do not show an impact on public safety," said Hall. "They have not increased the rate of recidivism. We believe inmates are better prepared when they leave. Admissions are down.
Wall addressed a number of issues currently facing the Department of Corrections that affect the prison populations. "We're concerned about the percentage about the number of mental health prisoners. We have an iron-clad no-refusal policy. We have to take you in, no matter the condition."
"We work with state agencies and departments that have expertise -- and some funds. They've identified the correctional facilities a priority," said Wall. "We're leveraging the resources to the best we can, especially with the Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities. and Hospitals."
Racial Disparities Addressed
According to the most recent data as reported by The Sentencing Project, the white imprisonment rate per 100,000 in Rhode Island was 191, while the Hispanic imprisonment was 631 per 100,000 -- and black imprisonment rate was 1,838 per 100,000.
Steve Brown with the Rhode Island ACLU provided his perspective on the data.
"You can tell from a quick look at the graph, the prison population often has no relation to the crime rate. It has skyrocketed over the past few decades in ways that have nothing to do with the level of crime," said Brown.
He continued,"The racial disparities in the prison population have long existed and remain an area of great concern. Although Rhode Island’s overall incarceration rate for all races is lower than that of most states, the ratio of incarceration for blacks and Hispanics within the state, when compared to whites, has, disturbingly, generally been well above the national average."
"The statistics make very clear the consequences of governmental policies and laws that are implemented and enforced in a disparate manner against the minority population in Rhode Island. For example, the statistics on traffic stops in Rhode Island have consistently demonstrated that blacks and Hispanics are much more likely than whites to be stopped and searched, even though they are less likely than whites to be found with contraband," continued Brown.
"In the same vein, [the RI ACLU] recently released a report showing how blacks were much more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in Rhode Island. If police target particular groups for extra scrutiny, the inevitable effect is a prison population whose racial breakdown mirrors that targeting."
Wall was in agreement with most of Brown's findings. "What is true in Rhode Island is true in the nation overall. We have a disproportionate number of minorities as inmates," said Wall. "About 50% are Caucasian, 27% are African American, 20 percent are latin or Hispanic, the balance are southeastern Asian and Indian populations. We're at the tail end of decisions made elsewhere -- police, court decisions funnel down to who we see at the ACI."
Wall said that one of the Department's focused continued to be on prisoner re-entry into society.
"We find that the most difficult piece of prisoner re-entry is employment," said Wall. "Women will say they need a safe place to live -- men, almost to an individual, say they need a job. We know that these are people who have a willingness to break the law, and employers might be reluctant to hire them, but they should realized that 97 of discharges have supervision. They are in some ways a better risk to give a job to, they've got probation officers."
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