Arizona
Articles
06/31/2008 – The Christian Science Monitor: “Program Helps Arizona Prisoners Get Ready for Real Life”, by Sarah More McCann
“Today, the head of Arizona corrections says violence inside state prisons has sharply decreased, and released inmates are less likely to return to prison. It’s the result of a new public policy innovation, Arizona officials say, that begins preparing prisoners for reentry to society from their first day in prison.”
06/15/2008 – The Arizona Republic: “Ending a Cycle of Crime: Ex-Cons Get a Helping Hand”, by Amanda J. Crawford and Yvonne Wingett
“In 2003, prison officials set out to find new ways to keep released inmates from going back behind bars. So they began to map where the more than 30,000 Arizona inmates had lived before they were locked up and where they might return.”
05/03/2008 – Tucson Citizen: “Our Opinion: ‘Parallel Universe Can Improve“
“Dora Schriro came to Arizona to run a warehouse, but instead is operating what might well be the state’s biggest educational and job-training system.”
03/10/2008 – KSWT 13 News: “Bill Would Cut Probation Terms for Good Behavior”
“A new Arizona bill could cut probation terms for offenders who stay on the straight and narrow. Some critics say convicted criminals don’t deserve any rewards.”
03/08/2008 – The Arizona Republic: “Probation Bill Aims to Ease Load on Ariz. Prisons”, by Amanda J. Crawford
“The high number of probation failures in Arizona, similar to trends nationwide, is straining the state’s overcrowded prisons and jails and taxing limited criminal-justice resources.”
01/23/2008 – The Arizona Republic: “Jail Plan May Cost County $58 Mil”, by Yvonne Wingett and Amanda J. Crawford
“A proposal by the governor to have thousands of criminals serve time in county jails instead of state prisons could break Maricopa County’s budget and fill jails beyond capacity, top administrators said Tuesday.”
01/23/2008 – Tucson Citizen: “Governor Willing to Negotiate on Jail Proposal”, by Associated Press
“Gov. Janet Napolitano says she’s open to negotiation on her budget proposal to have thousands of convicted felons stay in county jails instead of being incarcerated in state prisons.”
01/20/2008 – Arizona Central: “Napolitano Wants to Shift Some Prison Costs to Counties”, by Jacques Billeaud
“One of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s proposals for reducing a state budget shortfall would put a financial hit on counties already facing lean financial times.”
01/19/2008 – The Arizona Republic: “Jail Proposal May Save $60 Mil”, by Amanda J. Crawford
“More than 10,000 felons who serve time each year in state prisons could instead serve out their sentences in county jails under a plan proposed by Gov. Janet Napolitano.”
04/29/2007 – The Arizona Republic: “A System in Handcuffs”
“The prison riots in Indiana have two faces. Neither is pretty, but Arizona needs to look deeply into both.”
04/28/2007 – Tucson Citizen: “Our Opinion: It’s Only Fair: AZ Inmates Should Be in AZ Prisons ” (Registration Required)
“Quite simply, there are too many inmates and not enough cells. Over the past year, the number of inmates in Arizona prisons has grown by about 162 per month. That exacerbated a bed shortage that already was severe.”
04/26/2007 – Arizona Capital Times: “Senate Passes Bill to Fund Transitional Program From Prisoner’s Pay”, by Luige del Puerto (Registration Required)
“The Senate today passed a proposal that taps into prisoners’ wages to expand a program meant to prepare inmates for when they leave jail. The measure, H2298, takes five percent of prisoners’ pay and uses it for the expanded program.”
04/25/2007 – Yuma Sun: “2 Staff Members Hurt In Indiana Prison Riot Involving Arizona Inmates”, by AP and Staff Reporters
“Two staff members were injured in what was described by the city’s mayor as a ’’full-scale riot’’ among prisoners Tuesday at the New Castle Correctional Facility, where inmates transferred from the state correctional facility in Yuma are held.”
03/30/2007 – “New Agents Could Mean Faster Inmate Processing”, by Claudio Rivero
"Immigration is a big issue here in the state of Arizona and we can identify them and process them expeditiously before they actually get into the system," said Anthony Sayas, a correctional officer.”
03/17/2007 – East Valley Tribune: “State Rejects Bids to Expand Prisons”, by Dennis Welch
“With Arizona’s prisons bursting at the seams, the state nixed several offers last week to build more space to house thousands of inmates.”
03/17/2007 – “Mesa Chief: Halfway Houses a Magnet for Released Felons”, by Gary Nelson
“Mesa’s halfway house industry has turned the city into a magnet for felons who are feeding a major crime problem, Police Chief George Gascón told the City Council on Thursday.”
03/13/2007 – Arizona Daily Star “Arizona Helping Fill Indiana Prison with 1,260 Male Inmates”, by Paul Davenport
“With one state needing more prison beds and the other having room to spare, Arizona will send up to 1,260 medium-security male prisoners to an Indiana state prison, the Arizona Department of Corrections announced Monday.”
02/19/2007 – Tucson Citizen: “Prison Growth a State Duty, Not Private”
“No question about it: Dangerous criminals should be locked up. And private prisons have their place – as stopgaps to ease temporary crowding. But the state must explore innovative treatment and release options for first-time nonviolent offenders. Filling new penitentaries isn’t the answer.”
02/19/2007 – The Kingman Daily Miner: “State works to address growth projected in prison population”, by Aaron Royster
“Arizona’s prison population is projected to grow more than 30 percent in that time period. The Arizona Department of Corrections has already submitted a request for 3,000 new prison beds.”
02/07/2007 – East Valley Tribune: “Bulging prison bill going up”, by Dennis Welch
“The cost of running Arizona’s overcrowded prison system will soar in the next decade, according to projections that show an additional $3 billion will be needed if the state continues to lock away criminals at today’s rate. The prison population is expected to grow by 52 percent during the next 10 years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Council of State Governments Justice System, a nonpartisan organization.”
02/07/2007 – KVOA News 4: “Surge in prison population seen as research puts spotlight on AZ”
“Arizona already faces a shortfall of thousands of prison beds to house its inmate population, and a new report projects that population will grow by more than half again its current size over the next 10 years.”
02/07/2007 – The Arizona Republic: “Ariz. Part of Prison, Crime Study”, by Amanda J. Crawford
“The Council of State Governments’ Justice Center announced Tuesday that Arizona was one of five states selected as part of the new initiative that will look for ways to curb prison population growth projected to be as high as 50 percent over the next decade. A new analysis unveiled to launch the research project shows that left unchecked, growth could cost taxpayers and additional $3 billion over the next decade. That’s on top of a corrections budget that is approaching nearly $1 billion per year.”
02/07/2007 – Tucson Citizen: “AZ Seeks Ways to Control Prison Beds”, by The Associated Press (Registration Required)
“Arizona faces a shortfall of thousands of prison beds to house its inmate population, and a report projects that population will grow by more than half again its size over the next 10 years.”
02/06/2007 – Tucson Citizen: “Our Opinion: Your Bill for State Prisons – $100,000/hour”
“In her budget request for fiscal 2007, which begins July 1, Gov. Janet Napolitano is seeking 12 percent more for prisons – $913.6 million. That’s more than $100,000 for every hour of the year.”
“If this keeps up, in fiscal 2008 we’ll spend more than $1 billion to lock up people. In a couple of years, we’ll spend more for prisons than for the state’s universities.”
02/05/2007 – Eastern Arizona Courier: “Konopnicki Explains Sentencing Bill”, by Diane Saunders
“A bill introduced by District 5 Rep. Bill Konopnicki that calls for the early release of inmates imprisoned for nonviolent crimes is not aimed at being soft on crime, Konopnicki said.”
02/01/2007 – Arizona Daily Star: “Editorial: Some Prisoners Are Prepared for Another Chance”, by James Stewart
“A Republican bill that would expand the Department of Corrections’ early-release program for nonviolent inmates is an essential starting point for reducing the prison system’s drain on the state treasury.”
01/31/2007 – The Arizona Republic: “Thomas Assails Inmate-Release Bill”, by Jahna Berry
“Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has blasted a bill sponsored by three fellow Republicans that he said could pave the way for the early release of about 26,000 prison inmates.”
01/30/2007 – The Business Journal of Phoenix: “Thomas Wants Crack down on Jail Terms”, by Mike Sunnucks
“Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is criticizing Gov. Janet Napolitano for what the he says will result in the early release of more than 26,000 felons from state prisons.”
01/24/2007 – Tucson Citizen: “Our Opinion: Reform More Inmates; Cut Costs, Lost Time”
“Arizona corrections officials are working to stanch recidivism among inmates, but given the high cost of prisons and huge number of prisoners, we urge them to do even more.”
01/12/2007 – KVOA News 4: “Budget Won’t Include Prison Costs from Prosecution Shift”
“Gov. Janet Napolitano’s initial proposed budget won’t include a request for more money to cover increased prison costs resulting from a new Maricopa County get-tough prosecution policy toward repeat offenders, the Department of Corrections said.”
12/04/2006 – KVOA News 4: “Get-tough Policy on Sentencing Would Add to Prison Population”
“Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on Tuesday announced a get-tough policy to require prison time under plea agreements for most repeat felony offenders.”
“The move drew criticism from the state Corrections Department because it would mean a significant boost in the inmate population of the already crowded prison system.”