Sunday, January 14, 2007
SOUTH CAROLINA PRISONS ADOPT A QUOTA SYSTEM
The Post and Courier has reported that the South Carolina Department of Corrections has announced new quotas for the number of prisoners the state will accept each week from county jails. In response to this announcement, the South Carolina Association of Counties has threatened a lawsuit, claiming the quotas are illegal.
Underlying the dispute are the burgeoning jail population and the growing numbers of county and state inmates in jails and prisons that are beyond capacity. "State law says that anyone sentenced to more than 90 days is in the custody of the state prison system," said Kathleen Williams, assistant director of the South Carolina Association of Counties..."It's pretty clear that the Department of Corrections doesn't have the authority to impose a quota system."
What we still do not understand is why the counties are not taking more aggressive action to speed up processing prisoners who were jailed for civil contempt or to create programs that avoid incarcerating individuals who have not been convicted of a crime. For example, as much money as the Sheriff of Dorchester County spends on "Prisoner Recreation," one would think he could either purchase a bus to transport prisoners to work release jobs or monitoring devices so that they could be on house arrest when they are not working off their debts.
The Post and Courier has reported that the South Carolina Department of Corrections has announced new quotas for the number of prisoners the state will accept each week from county jails. In response to this announcement, the South Carolina Association of Counties has threatened a lawsuit, claiming the quotas are illegal.
Underlying the dispute are the burgeoning jail population and the growing numbers of county and state inmates in jails and prisons that are beyond capacity. "State law says that anyone sentenced to more than 90 days is in the custody of the state prison system," said Kathleen Williams, assistant director of the South Carolina Association of Counties..."It's pretty clear that the Department of Corrections doesn't have the authority to impose a quota system."
What we still do not understand is why the counties are not taking more aggressive action to speed up processing prisoners who were jailed for civil contempt or to create programs that avoid incarcerating individuals who have not been convicted of a crime. For example, as much money as the Sheriff of Dorchester County spends on "Prisoner Recreation," one would think he could either purchase a bus to transport prisoners to work release jobs or monitoring devices so that they could be on house arrest when they are not working off their debts.
