Matthew T. Mangino
The Youngstown Vindicator
July 2, 2016
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Corrections (DRC) is on the verge of a dubious milestone. Despite the DRC’s
efforts and resources, Director Gary Mohr said at a statewide conference in
May, “I think it’s a pretty safe bet that by July 1 of this year, we will set
an all-time historic record of incarcerated Ohioans.”
In 2011, Ohio enacted comprehensive criminal justice
reforms focused on sentencing and corrections. The reforms, under the umbrella
of the Council of State Governments Justice Center’s Justice Reinvestment
Initiative (JRI), were intended to reduce the state prison population and use
the savings to support law enforcement and public safety initiatives.
Projected savings
According to the Columbus Dispatch, the reforms were
projected to save taxpayers $46 million by 2015. When the reforms were
announced, Gov. John Kasich, who spent over 200 days out of state running for
president in 2015-2016, said, “I get emotional about this because I think the
passage of this bill and the changing of this law is going to result in the
saving of many, many lives, maybe even thousands, before all is said and done.”
Ohio’s prison population increased 16 percent
between 2005 and 2008, rising from 44,270 inmates to a record 51,273, driving
prison overcrowding and spending growth, according to the Pew Trusts. By 2011,
state prisons were 33 percent overcapacity. Absent reform, a projected influx
of 3,000 inmates by 2015 would have required approximately $500 million in
additional state spending.
Justice Reinvestment was supposed to reverse the
soaring prison population and provide relief from the enormous cost of
incarceration.
JRIs have been enacted in 27 states. JRI’s
data-driven approach to improve public safety includes examining corrections
and related criminal- justice spending; managing and allocating criminal
justice populations in a more cost- effective manner; and reinvest ing savings
in strategies that can hold offenders accountable and decrease crime.
The Policy Review found “significant costs savings
have yet to materialize for JRI programs as a whole. States with Justice
Reinvestment “were slightly less likely to reduce annual costs as compared to
non-justice reinvestment states.”
The Policy Review found that from 2006-2013 justice
reinvestment states were only .125 times more likely to reduce prison
expenditures than increase expenditures while non-justice reinvestment states
were .136 times as likely to reduce expenditures.
JRI is failing in Ohio. In October 2012, contrary to
the projections of JRI, Ohio’s prison population began to increase. The DRC and
some stakeholders speculated that implementation challenges were greater than
anticipated, especially with regard to educating judges on the JRI reforms,
according to the Council of State Governments. In November 2012, the DRC
revised JRI projections indicating a smaller impact on the prison population
than originally projected.
As of today, JRI’s impact on Ohio’s prison
population is nil. The Legislature and governor’s response – fire the prison
watchdog. As things began to look more and more bleak, Joanna Saul, executive
director of the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, was forced to
resign.
Complaints
The inspection committee, established in 1977, to
provide a legislative check and balance on the prison department mainly fielded
complaints from inmates and their families. Saul expanded those
responsibilities, and that roiled legislators.
Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, voted against
changes in the inspection committee, “We need that kind of independent watchdog
who is going to be able to withstand political pressure,” Phillips told the
Dispatch. “It keeps an eye on how a great deal of tax money is being spent. It
is important for the safety of the staff, the inmates and the general public.”
Without an independent watchdog and JRI’s
ineffectiveness, prison costs will continue to climb at the peril of education,
infrastructure and taxpayer’s pocketbooks.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg,
Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was
released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and
follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino
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