An estimated $1 billion in construction and 5,560 beds to manage inmates over the next decade . . .

Is what is needed, according to a study by Carter Goble Lee released June 1, 2007, for the Department of Correction to address Idaho’s growing prison and probation and parole populations. To put this in perspective, the total General Fund budget for the state for FY 2008 is at $2.820 billion. The report further estimates that the operating costs associated with this level of construction would amount to $146.7 million and require 1,500 additional staff. The challenge for the state and the Department of Correction is how to manage prison growth into the future. This challenged is underscored when one considers that one in thirty-six adult males in Idaho is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction.

A new prison is a key part of the solution. The last prison built was the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC) in 2000. Since 2000, the state has attempted to manage this growth with smaller projects that have added limited bed space. It has also relied heavily on county and out-of-state contract beds. Currently, there are 550 inmates out-of-state and roughly 500 inmates in Idaho county jails at a cost of approximately $21.6 million. The state’s county inmate population currently exceeds the maximum limit of beds provided by the counties and out-of-state beds are limited and at a premium price due to demand coming from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and from California.

To address these concerns, the department has proposed a blueprint for the future that will include efforts to construct additional bed capacity and develop alternatives to incarceration that would include front-end diversion programs as well as back-end aftercare. Some specific characteristics of the blueprint include the following.

Alternatives to incarceration will not solve the problem alone, since these alternatives are best suited to a low-risk offender population. Alternatives will simply “slow the flow” and help take an edge off the $1 billion figure. Prison construction will have to be a key prong in the state’s multi-pronged approach to managing inmate growth.

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