By RICHARD JOHNSON
It’s been in the news lately that the Floyd County Jail is overcrowded; if nothing changes, a new one will have to be built soon. With a capacity of 240 inmates and a population averaging 300 (and frequently going even higher), something has to be done, but what?
One approach would be to reduce Floyd County Jail’s population — and the way to do that is to reduce the number of repeat offenders.
Nationally, 80 percent of people released from jail will commit another crime and return to jail within three years of their release. In the absence of any local figures, let’s assume that Floyd County’s recidivism rate matches the national one.
Let’s set a goal: Over a three-year period, we want to reduce recidivism in Floyd County Jail from 80 percent to 70 percent. This means that instead of eight of 10 offenders returning to jail, only seven in 10 will do so.
What would it take to reach that goal? First, we’d have to stop the jail’s population from growing. Based on the past two years, Floyd County’s inmate population is increasing at a rate of 5 percent a year. In 2006, the average population was 270; in 2008, it was 300. That’s an increase of 30 people, or 15 new inmates a year. This means that we have to teach 15 people a year to stop re-offending in order to achieve zero jail population growth.
Next, in order to reduce recidivism from 80 to 70 percent, we’ll have to reduce the jail population by another 30 people over the next three years. That’s 10 additional repeat offenders a year. How did I get that figure? Using 300 prisoners as our average, 80 percent recidivism means that 240 of the people currently wearing the jump suits will be back; 70 percent means that 210 will be back. Subtract 210 from 240 and we get a difference of 30 repeat offenders. Divide 30 by three years, and we get 10 offenders a year.
If we take the 15 offenders a year to stop jail population growth, and add 10 more offenders a year to reduce recidivism, we arrive at a total of 25 repeat offenders a year over the next three years, for a grand total of 75 repeat offenders.
A reduction of 75 repeat customers over the next three years could relieve overcrowding at the jail. It also could put an end to the need to build a new correctional facility. Clark County spent about $20 million for its new jail, and it’s already filling up. Even in this day of massive bailouts, that’s real money and one less bond issue for Floyd County to worry about.
Let’s look at other tax savings. As far as I can tell, the Floyd County Jail budget was approximately $1.8 million a year in 2006, when they were averaging 270 inmates. That works out to approximately $6,600 per inmate per year.
• 25 repeat offenders out of the system, times $ 6,600, equals a savings of $165,000 in direct incarceration costs in the first year.
• Add another 25 people in the second year, and second-year savings total $330,000.
• Add another 25 people in the third year, and third-year savings jumps to a total of $495,000, for a grand total of $990,000 in savings over a three-year period. That’s our tax money, folks.
What would it cost to reduce the Floyd County Jail population by 75 people over the next three years? A faith-based organization can do it for roughly $2,500 per year per offender ... and that’s only during the first three years of an ex-offender’s transition from a life of crime to a life of freedom and productivity. Beginning in year four, it costs nothing; any costs incurred at that point can be paid by the ex-offender himself.
Compare $2,500 a year to teach repeat offenders how to live successfully in the free world to $6,600 a year to keep them locked up, and ... well, you do the math.
Keep in mind that I’ve only talked so far about direct incarceration costs. We haven’t factored in the tax dollars we’ll save because law enforcement no longer has to arrest the same 75 people over and over again, and the prosecutors and courts don’t have to try them. Nor have we discussed the positive financial impact of 75 repeat offenders becoming gainfully employed taxpayers, church goers and contributing residents.
Think about it. The problem of overcrowded jails looks unsolvable to many, but we may actually be only 25 people away from success. Faith-based crime-reduction programs are achieving recidivism rates as low as 9 percent in other parts of the country. There is no reason why we can’t do the same thing here.
What does a comprehensive, faith-based approach to recidivism reduction look like? Lord willing, I’ll be writing about it in next week’s column.
Richard Johnson is executive director of Christian Formation Ministries. His organization has numerous volunteer opportunities available. For information, e-mail richard@christian-formation.org, or call 812-945-0886.
