Our legislature has returned to the criminal justice fork in the road with signs reading “Crisis” and “Management” and is choosing to take the well-worn road to “Crisis.”
Recently, the House passed Republican House Bill (HB) 5, a collection of policies aimed at public safety. These bills increase already harsh criminal penalties, including those targeting unhoused Kentuckians.
Instead of achieving the desired results, this legislation is yet another case of pandering politicians enacting short-term thinking. HB5 neglects the root causes of crime and focuses on increased spending on incarceration. Historically proven to be counterproductive, this will only further tax the already costly and overburdened jail system.
The Prison System’s Problematic History
Today, Kentucky locks up a higher percentage of its citizens than all but six states. Many jails are dangerously overcrowded and lack the treatment programs available in state prisons.
With Kentucky’s legislature increasing the severity of criminal sentencing and limiting the options available to judges since the mid-1970s, a look at the past few decades of legislation shows how we got here.
Over the past 45 years, sentencing has become more severe and Kentucky’s prisons have not been able to keep pace, evidenced by the number of county jails now serving as state prisons. From 2000 to 2012 county jail capacity increased from 10,000 to 20,000 beds. Four of every ten felony-sentenced state prisoners are housed in county jails that were designed for short-term confinement.
In 1980, we had 4,000 people in our state prisons. This doubled in the 1980’s and almost doubled again in the 1990’s. By 2017, Kentucky’s prison population reached 25,000, an increase of 800% over 1970. Kentucky Department of Corrections also built five new prisons, sent thousands of state prisoners to county jails, and contracted with a private prison corporation to keep up with demand.
Fifty-nine bills that increased sentence length were passed between 2011 and 2021. The average sentence here is now 14 years. Additionally, Kentucky has 63,000 people on probation or parole.
The Price of Pandering
Our legislators are ignoring the elephant in the room and pandering for votes with “tough-on-crime” laws like the “Safer Kentucky Act.” This is especially harmful when the cost of incarceration is sure to rise even without HB5.
Kentucky’s prison population is aging. Over the past 12 years, our percentage of incarcerated people over 45 years old has grown by 30%. Incarcerating older people costs more. Kentucky is building 2 new state prisons. One is designed for assisted living and the other is for people with chronic medical needs. Kentucky State Reformatory, at LaGrange, is currently being used for high-need medical people but it is scheduled for demolition, caused in part by the inability to recruit adequate staff. Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville is operating at half capacity due to a lack of staff.
Cycles of spending more on incarceration have not solved our problems. If these measures were effective, surely we’d have achieved the desired results after the past few decades of legislation.
HB5 is being sold to the taxpayer without a price tag. Increased costs per prisoner are listed in the required “Corrections Impact Statement” but there is no projected total cost. Talking about taxpayer’s costs does not get votes.
A Path Forward
In 1970, the Kentucky Department of Corrections annual budget was $7 million. This has grown to $715 million today. Another $400 million per year is spent to house 20,000 people in our 74 county jails. Staff shortage in prisons and jails threatens public safety. West Virginia and other states have used the National Guard for prison staff. Fayette County Jail considered using the National Guard During the pandemic. Recruiting adequate staff is an ongoing problem for Louisville’s Metro jail.
Taxpayers are not served by short-term thinking or feel-good legislation like HB5. Inhumane prison and jail conditions guarantee high recidivism and are dangerous for public safety and the safety of those who live and work in them. Instead, we should look towards long-term solutions such as funding community mental health initiatives and addressing the root cause of each issue.
There is unequivocal evidence to suggest that poverty is a cause of incarceration. From 1940 to 1970 Kentucky’s prison population fell more than 25%, from 4000 to less than 3000. This was a period when the wealth gap grew smaller (especially if you were white). In 2021, 433,000 of Kentucky’s children lived below 200% of the federal poverty line.
Action addressing medical care, food security, education, and housing will prove more effective in the long term.
Louisville’s Metro jail admits about 97 people on Home Incarceration (ankle bracelet) each month because they have no home. The current cost per day at Metro Jail is over $150. It would be cheaper to build housing for the homeless.
Prevention and community treatment would be cheaper in the long run. Our legislature needs to consider long-term plans for public safety —a whole lot sooner than the next election.
Related Stories
Is The Bible Killing Kentucky’s Civil Rights?
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 12, 2024.
