SALT LAKE CITY—
The Utah Department of Corrections said it may have to release inmates early because of prison overcrowding issues. The prisons at Point of the Mountain and in Gunnison are within 150 beds of maxing out. Within the last two months, 37 inmates have entered the prisons -- on top of those who have been paroled."We are inching closer to that maximum capacity," said Tom Patterson, the executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections.
The Utah State Legislature didn't fund an expansion of the Gunnison prison. Lawmakers also only gave one-time seed money to fund a parole violator center that would prevent the need to bring inmates back to the prisons for minor offenses. During the legislative session, corrections officials threatened to release more than 200 inmates early if their funding was slashed. The threat was merely delayed, however.
"As we spoke with legislators and leadership, we were very, very plain in our warning," said Patterson.
Many state lawmakers who deal with the funding were stunned to learn from Fox 13 that inmates would likely be released, figuring they had solved the problem by not slashing the corrections department's budget. Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, said he knew it was not if, but when, adding that lawmakers grappled with so many funding priorities in a bad budget year.
"Is it going to be popular? Are people going to be comfortable with the ideas of people going home from prison? No," he said. "But that's part of keeping a balanced budget and I think people understand that."
When the prisons hit maximum capacity, likely at the end of this year, state law requires conditions to remain overcrowded for 45 days. During that time, the prison will be required to accept more and more inmates, adding to the problems. Patterson fears what will happen then.
"During that 45 day period, keeping in mind we have no excess beds, we have no ability to move inmates and we have a pressure cooker for both inmates and for staff," he told Fox 13. "Security issues are at a premium and an opportunity for injury and fatality is really at a height."
To prepare, Patterson has ordered staffers to be issued vests that help prevent stabbings. The prison SWAT team has also begun training exercises in the event of a riot. Hutchings said funding for the prisons has to be more of a priority.
"We're not building any new prison pods, we're not putting any new capacity on the table and as the population of the state continues to grow, we're still going to have an issue with that," he said.
Legislators may address corrections funding during the interim session scheduled for mid-May.
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FOX 13's Ben Winslow reports.
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