A Growing Mission Field

6,000 INMATES OVER CAPACITY BY 2017?

N.C. prison crunch predicted

State may face tough choice: Cut sentences or expand the system

DAN KANE
(Raleigh) News & Observer

RALEIGH --Unless state lawmakers agree to trim sentences, they will face spending tens of millions of dollars to expand North Carolina's prison system, population projections show.

Evenwith two expansion projects approved last year, the system's capacity will be exceeded this year. By 2017, the state's prisons will not have a place for more than 6,000 inmates, or 13 percent of the projected prison population.

"If we don't get around 800 or so (additional) beds authorized a year, we'll run out of space if the projections are accurate -- and they have been in the past," said Boyd Bennett, state prisons director.

Overcrowded prisons have a domino effect: Prisoners awaiting transfers from county jails may be held there until space opens up at a state prison.

The N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission produces the projections every year. So far, lawmakers largely have dealt with them by spending on bricks and mortar. A booming state population -- and more criminal penalties added to the books -- have added to the space crunch.

Susan Katzenelson, the commission's executive director, said the latest projections show prison population growth has slowed slightly, but not enough to save the state from a hefty construction bill.

Bennett said the department's latest 10-year capital plan includes several expansions plus a new 1,000-bed medium-custody prison.

The commission has suggested tweaking sentencing laws to shorten some prison terms, but lawmakers have balked at that.

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