Batt Unveils Cost-Saving Prison Reforms Proposal Would Save State $5 Million To $10 Million A Year By Reducing Number Of Inmates

Gov. Phil Batt unveiled his proposed reforms to Idaho’s criminal system Tuesday, saying that if enacted, they could save the state $5 million to $10 million a year and cut the prison population by 200 to 300 inmates.

“My recommendations will not compromise public safety, and will save taxpayer money if enacted,” Batt said. “I hope to give these findings to the Legislature ahead of the session, so they can take the time to digest them.”

Batt, as a self-appointed “committee of one,” met with judges, prison officials, law enforcement, consultants and other experts before developing his proposals. They are:

Changing two crimes - driving without privileges and writing bad checks for less than $50 - from felonies to misdemeanors. There now are 124 inmates in Idaho’s prisons on those two charges.

Changing Idaho’s parole laws to allow the Parole Commission more discretion to release inmates, and to decide how much time parole violators should serve.

Increasing dollar amounts in state criminal laws to reflect inflation.

Hiring more probation and parole officers.

Cutting the 180-day “rider” program to 120 days. That program allows judges to retain jurisdiction over certain prisoners while they’re in a boot camp program, and release them on probation if they successfully complete the program.

Batt said hiring more probation and parole officers would give judges confidence to sentence offenders to probation rather than prison. And he said he favored more halfway houses, home monitoring and experimenting with a “drug court” to divert drug offenders.

“The main finding I made was that we ought to be pretty happy with what we have,” Batt said. “We have a very low crime rate.”

He acknowledged that an increasing share of Idaho’s resources is going to the cost of locking up both adult and juvenile criminals. That figure has hit $112 million a year, he said, “$100 for each man, woman and child in Idaho.”

John Hayden, chairman of the state Board of Correction, said Batt’s proposed changes would free up prison space for serious criminals that now is being taken up by minor offenders. Plus, he said, “It’s going to put us in a position where we don’t have to build even more beds than we’re building now.”

Idaho’s prison population has grown by 28 percent in the past two years. For lack of cell space, more than 1,000 Idaho prisoners now are being housed out of state or in county jails. A 500-bed prison addition in Boise is scheduled for completion by fall, and a 1,250-bed private prison is to be built by the spring of 1998.

State Sen. Sheila Sorensen, R-Boise, praised Batt for coming up with a package that doesn’t reverse major legislative efforts of the 1980s.

In 1986, lawmakers enacted Idaho’s Truth in Sentencing law, which required judges to set both minimum and maximum terms, and eliminated time off for good behavior in prison.

Batt said he spent a lot of time debating “good time,” which several experts recommended bringing back.

Judges’ sentences shouldn’t be altered, Batt decided. The incentive for inmates to behave in prison should come from the hope of parole after they’ve served their minimum term.

Batt said changing the two offenses he proposed from felonies to misdemeanors won unanimous support of the experts he consulted.

Idaho has plenty of reasons why a driver’s license can be suspended, he noted. When people continue to drive after a suspension, “There’s no sense sending ‘em off to the penitentiary for a year.”

“Sentence them to a short time in jail, let them out, give ‘em their license back so they can earn a living,” Batt said. “We should be realistic.”

“The same thing goes for writing bad checks under $50,” Batt said. “While this is a costly crime to those who are fleeced by these no-account checks, there is little social purpose in a long sentence.”

Batt said current Idaho law doesn’t allow the parole commission to release a prisoner unless he or she has a home and job waiting.

“I don’t think that’s a legitimate reason to keep some of ‘em from going home,” he said.

Plus, current Idaho law penalizes parole violators by turning the clock back to the day they left prison, causing them to lose all of the time they served on parole before their violation. The commission should have the flexibility to decide how much time should be lost, on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Indexing dollar figures in state crime laws to inflation will make the numbers realistic, Batt said. Fines can increased, he said, as can thresholds that define certain crimes.

For example, he said, “If you steal $250, it’s a misdemeanor and you can go to jail for up to a year. Steal $300, it’s a felony, you can go to prison for 14 years.”

Batt said Idaho should continue to be tough on crime, and he called for local officials to “demonstrate a low tolerance” for minor crime.

“You can walk on any street in Idaho practically without fear of getting mugged or robbed,” Batt said. “Our homes are relatively safe. And this is not true in many other states.”

, DataTimes