Legislature(2015 - 2016)Anch LIO AUDITORIUM
09/15/2015 10:00 AM Senate FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Alaska Prison Grown Drivers and Costs | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
INTERIM
September 15, 2015
10:03 a.m.
[Note: The meeting was held in Anchorage, Alaska at the
Anchorage Legislative Information Office]
10:03:14 AM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair MacKinnon called the Senate Finance Committee
meeting to order at 10:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Anna MacKinnon, Co-Chair
Senator Pete Kelly, Co-Chair
Senator Peter Micciche, Vice-Chair (via teleconference)
Senator Click Bishop (via teleconference)
Senator Mike Dunleavy
Senator Lyman Hoffman
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Donny Olson
ALSO PRESENT
Terry Schuster, Senior Associate, Pew Charitable Trust,
Public Safety Performance Project; Chief Justice Alex
Bryner, Chair, Alaska Criminal Justice Commission.
SUMMARY
PRESENTATION: ALASKA PRISON GROWN DRIVERS AND COSTS
^PRESENTATION: ALASKA PRISON GROWN DRIVERS AND COSTS
10:04:21 AM
TERRY SCHUSTER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, PEW CHARITABLE TRUST,
PUBLIC SAFETY PERFORMANCE PROJECT, introduced himself.
Co-Chair MacKinnon queried any opening remarks for the
committee to consider.
CHIEF JUSTICE ALEX BRYNER, CHAIR, ALASKA CRIMINAL JUSTICE
COMMISSION, highlighted some background information
regarding the Criminal Justice Commission. He stated that
the commission was created as a bipartisan organization
under SB 64 in the previous year's legislature. The
commission was modeled under efforts in a number of other
states. He stated that SB 64 created a commission that
widely represented all types of individuals from around the
state who were involved in criminal justice. The commission
included a retired or active member of the Alaska Supreme
Court. He stated that he had been selected to fill that
position. He was retired from the Supreme Court since 2007,
and had served previously as Chief Justice for one term. He
stated that he have served for 17 years as Chief Judge of
the Alaska Court of Appeals. He had previously served on
the State District Court, which was the trial court from
another jurisdiction. He felt that he had considerable
background in criminal law. He furthered that there were
two other appointees from the superior court. He stated
that legislators were also on the commission.
10:10:37 AM
Mr. Bryner explained that the commission's duty was to
formulate recommendations to improve criminal justice and
sentencing practices, including rehabilitation and
restitution by considering a list of various topics as
outlined in SB 64. He looked at Section 646 of SB 64, and
noted that the commission was required to solicit and
consider information from a variety of constituencies from
across the state, and base its recommendations on the
seriousness of the offense; the offender's prior criminal
history; the need to rehabilitate offenders; the need for
confinement to prevent future harm to victim, public
safety, and order; the deterrent effect of sentencing of
offenders and others; the effect of sentencing as an
expression of community condemnation; and the need to
eliminate unjustified sentencing disparity.
10:14:46 AM
Mr. Bryner explained that there were various groups within
the commission, which examined various alternatives to
imprisonment and simple incarceration. He shared that there
were some groups to study the current state of affairs in
the rural areas of the state. There was also a group that
focused on barriers to reentry. He shared that Alaska law
held administrative rules and statutes that were full of
numerous provisions that limited, restricted, or guided the
rights of those who were convicted of a crime. He felt that
many of those laws unnecessarily restricted the ability of
an offender to become a productive member of the community.
He stated that there was a group to examine the data, with
the focus on developing evidence based conclusions.
10:21:01 AM
Co-Chair MacKinnon shared that Alaska had invested $327
million in Department of Corrections (DOC). She announced
that the state was facing a $4 billion revenue shortfall.
Alaska was housing prisoners at a cost of approximately
$142 per day. She stated that in ten years the population
in the state had grown 10 percent, while incarceration
rated were up 20 percent. She stated that the committee had
invested in a study to attempt to manage the DOC budget.
Co-Chair Kelly echoed Co-Chair MacKinnon remarks. He
expressed interest in more information about the criminal
justice system. He wondered if the group could create a new
idea for corrections or were the ideas based on what
already exists. He also queried the system in which a
person would be indicted. He felt that the prosecutor may
only be enhancing their own resume, by incarcerating people
that may not need to be in prison.
10:29:04 AM
Mr. Bryner felt that the examination of the history of
criminal justice was accurate. He stated that the prison
system in primitive times was much different than the
present day. The system had evolved and become more
sophisticated.
10:34:36 AM
AT EASE
10:38:58 AM
RECONVENED
10:38:58 AM
Senator Dunleavy wondered if there was an examination of
those who were in jail for marijuana offenses would be
released, with their record expunged. He queried the
legalization of marijuana on the criminal justice system.
Mr. Bryner replied that the commission had not specifically
focused on marijuana, because it was an issue that was in
progress.
Co-Chair Kelly remarked that there was a myth about the
number of individuals who were incarcerated for marijuana-
related offenses. He recalled that there were exactly zero
in prison at the time of the marijuana legislation
discussion.
Senator Dunleavy felt that the outcomes of the marijuana
discussions could have an impact on the front of the
system. He felt that legalization may alleviate the burden
of the court and enforcement systems. Mr. Bryner replied
that the details were pre and post-trial procedures, which
were layers of how marijuana legalization impacted the
system.
Co-Chair MacKinnon shared that there were some people
online and in the audience that would contribute to the
presentation.
10:45:07 AM
Mr. Schuster discussed the presentation, "The Pew
Charitable Trusts; Alaska Prison Growth Drivers and Costs"
(copy on file). He stated that the presentation would focus
on the driver of the growth in Alaska's prison population.
Mr. Schuster looked at slide 1, "Prison Population Up 27
percent in Last Decade." He noted the prison population had
grown three times as fast as the resident population of the
state.
Mr. Schuster highlighted slide 2, "Prison Population is
Half Sentenced Offenders, Half Supervision Violators and
Pretrial Defendants":
Supervision Violator: 22 percent
Pretrial: 28 percent
Sentenced: 50 percent
10:46:45 AM
Mr. Schuster addressed slide 3, "Largest Growth Among
Pretrial Inmates." He stated that there was growth among
all three inmate types. He noted that the sentenced
offenders increased by 14 percent from July 1, 2005 to
2014. The pretrial offenders increased by 81 percent. The
supervision violator had grown 15 percent during that time.
He stated that commission was attempting to understand the
cause of the prisoner population growth, so the legislature
may be able to identify the policies that may be necessary
to avoid future growth.
Senator Hoffman wondered if there was data related to the
separate areas of the state. Mr. Schuster replied that he
had some raw data, but agreed to provide that information.
Co-Chair MacKinnon agreed that the data about the separate
areas of the state would be helpful to the committee.
Mr. Schuster highlighted slide 4, "Pretrial Defendants Make
Up 28 percent of Alaska's Prison Population." He restated
that the pretrial population had grown 81 percent.
Mr. Schuster looked at slide 5, "Number of Pretrial
Defendants Up 81 percent in Last Decade." He remarked that
most of the growth in the pretrial population had occurred
over the previous five years. He stressed that more people
may be getting arrested or people may be staying for longer
periods of time before release or hearings.
10:50:00 AM
Mr. Schuster addressed slide 6, "Pretrial Admissions Down
13 percent, But Still High Numbers of Nonviolent
Misdemeanor Admissions." The bar on the left represented
2005 and the right represented 2014. He explained the
colors of the graph.
Mr. Schuster displayed slide 7, "Average Pretrial Length of
Stay Up." He explained the colors of the bar graph. He
noted that people were staying much longer pretrial than
ten years prior.
Co-Chair Kelly queried the impact on outcomes after the
allowance for more days in jail. Mr. Schuster replied that
there was some recent research regarding outcomes for
similar defendants who stayed for longer and shorter
periods of time. He announced that, across the board, the
longer people stay detained pretrial, the worse the
outcome. He stated that the act of being detained itself,
was disruptive to peoples' lives, therefore the individual
becomes less and less stable in society.
10:55:36 AM
Senator Dunleavy wondered if there was a link between those
with a higher income and those with a higher income. Mr.
Schuster responded that the link was not tied to their
success rate, but it was tied to their ability to pay bail.
Senator Dunleavy wondered if there was evidence supporting
the idea that individuals had a better chance of receiving
a lower bail, if they prove to have a steady job. Mr.
Schuster responded that the bulk of the research was
related to assessing risk. He stated that the best
predictor of risk were related to previous crime, or not
showing up to court in the past. He stated that employment
and stable residence were only somewhat predictive, but
were weighted less than the static factors.
Co-Chair MacKinnon felt that the prison population may
become resentful to those that were to be released, so they
would initiate an altercation to prevent the person from
being released. Mr. Schuster responded that the issue may
be related to the living situations within the facilities.
He shared that the focus of the study was not related to
the operations.
11:00:20 AM
Co-Chair MacKinnon surmised that the review did not include
the length of stay by the last thirty days of incarceration
to determine a spike in number. Mr. Schuster replied that
the data was not related to the disciplinary records.
Co-Chair MacKinnon wanted to contact DOC regarding that
assertion.
Mr. Schuster discussed slide 8, "Sentenced Offenders Make
Up 50 Percent of Alaska's Prison Population." He remarked
that the number of sentenced inmates had also increased
remarkably over the decade.
Mr. Schuster looked at slide 9, "Number of Sentenced
Inmates UP 14 Percent in Last Decade." He stated that the
analysis of growth examined the number of people entering
the system as sentenced offenders, and the length of stay
on their sentences. He noted that fewer people came into
prison the previous year than ten years prior. He stressed
that the growth was not caused by more people coming into
prison. The growth was caused by people staying for longer
periods of time.
Mr. Schuster addressed slide 10, "Despite Declines, 82
Percent of Prison Admission Are Misdemeanants." He shared
that over 6500 people came into prison on a nonviolent
misdemeanor offense. He shared that 82 percent of all
prison admissions in 2014 were for non-felony offenses.
Senator Dunleavy wondered if these numbers included all of
the offenses for one person. Mr. Schuster replied that
people often were incarcerated for various charges, but the
chart represented the most serious offense.
Senator Dunleavy asked if the data would not be include in
the property category. Mr. Schuster replied that people
were only counted once.
11:05:14 AM
Senator Dunleavy queried the reason length of stay
increase. He wondered if it was related to sentencing
discretion or legislation to increase sentencing. Mr.
Schuster responded that it was probably a combination. He
remarked that there were sentencing changes over the recent
ten years.
Senator Hoffman queried some examples of nonviolent
offenses, and wondered if there was an examination of "dry
villages" versus "wet villages." He specifically wondered
if the nonviolent offenses were in rural or urban Alaska.
Mr. Schuster replied with slide 11, and stated that the
chart only captured felony alcohol offenses. He furthered
that he had not conducted a study based on region.
Mr. Schuster highlighted slide 11, "Felony Length of Stay
Up Across Nonviolent Offense Categories." He noted that
felony alcohol offenses were mostly driving under the
influence (DUI).
Mr. Schuster discussed slide 12, "Felony Length of Stay up
17 Percent for Person Offenders; 86 Percent for Sex
Offenders." He noted significant changes in sentencing for
the types of offenses over the decade. He stated that the
slide showed conservative estimates for average length of
stay, but did not include individuals who received
sentenced that were so long that they had not yet been
released. He restated that the average length of stay only
included those that were released. He stated that the
average lengths of stay would increase, if the longer
sentences were included. He restated that sentenced inmates
made up one-half of the Alaska prison population, and had
increased substantially over time. The vast majority of
individuals who came to prison as sentenced offenders were
sentenced for non-felony behavior. He stressed that lengths
of stay for nonviolent and violent behaviors had all
increased over time.
11:09:46 AM
Mr. Schuster looked at slide 13, "Supervision Violators
make Up 22 Percent of Alaska's Prison Population." He
stated that almost one quarter of the current prison
population were supervision violators.
Mr. Schuster displayed slide 14, "Number of Supervision
Violators Up 15 Percent in Last Decade." He stated that the
slide showed a snapshot of the prison numbers of
supervision violators on July 1, 2005 and July 1, 2014.
Mr. Schuster addressed slide 15, "Nearly Half of
Revocations Staying More Than One Month; 29 Percent More
Than Three Months." The chart showed a study of a count of
the number of people who came into prison on a probation or
parole revocation, and was broken down by the length of
prison revocation.
Co-Chair MacKinnon wondered how Alaska's probation system
may differ from other states. She remarked that other
states may also have graduated systems for relocations. Mr.
Schuster replied that there were various supervision
strategies to reduce recidivism.
11:14:28 AM
Co-Chair Kelly wondered if there was a correlation between
the number of sentenced people and the length of sentence.
Mr. Schuster attempted to respond.
Co-Chair Kelly asked if there was a correlation between the
number of incarcerated individuals and the Choose Respect
Campaign. Mr. Schuster deferred to Mr. Bryner.
Co-Chair Kelly noted the increase in 2010. He wondered if
there was a correlation between that increase and the
Choose Respect Campaign. He remarked that there was
approximately $17 million allocated for that campaign. Mr.
Bryner replied that he did not have a recollection of
anyone drawing that correlation.
Senator Dunleavy wondered if juveniles were included in the
data. Mr. Schuster replied that juveniles were only
included if they were charged and convicted as adults.
Senator Dunleavy queried the number of those individuals.
Mr. Schuster replied that it was a very small number; in
the single digits.
Mr. Schuster discussed slide 16, "Almost Two-Thirds of
Offenders Released Return to Prison Within Three Years." He
noted that in 2002, there was a 71 percent recidivism rate.
He pointed out that only 63 percent of people released in
2011 returned to prison by or before FY 14. He noted that
recidivism had reduced since 2005. He stated that there was
substantial research on what works to reduce recidivism
among offenders. He noted that there were different types
of supervision strategies and intervention into peoples'
lives. He remarked that Alaska had taken many steps to
incorporate the strategies into their current practices. He
furthered that 63 percent was still a high number, so the
commission would consider additional policy changes that
could go further to change offending behavior.
Co-Chair Kelly wondered how much of recidivism was
probation violations. He asked if recidivism was a
probation violation or another crime. Mr. Schuster replied
that this definition of recidivism was a broad definition,
and included any return to prison.
11:20:10 AM
Co-Chair Kelly asked if the recidivism rate was higher than
other states. He also asked if the probation officers were
doing a proper job, and whether they needed further
training. Mr. Schuster replied that it was difficult to
compare Alaska to other states, because other states had
counties.
Co-Chair Kelly wondered what the high number of recidivism
could be compared against. Mr. Schuster responded that,
objectively, 63 percent was a high number. He stated that
it was difficult to compare it to national rates or other
states' rates. He remarked that in the last three years,
there was a two-third recidivism rate.
Co-Chair Kelly agreed that it was a high number.
Mr. Schuster looked at slide 17, "Spending on Corrections
Up 60 Percent Over Past 2 Decades." He stated that the
graph looked at the operating expenses. He remarked that
DOC was not solely responsible for the population. He
remarked that there was a 60 percent increase over two
decades in the operating budget for DOC.
Co-Chair MacKinnon noted that the slide was adjusted for
inflation, and did not include capital expenditures. Mr.
Schuster clarified that only the percentage increase was
adjusted for inflation.
Co-Chair MacKinnon surmised that the slide only represented
operating expenditures. Mr. Schuster agreed.
Mr. Schuster highlighted slide 18, "Absent Further Reform,
Prison Population Projected to Grow 27 Percent, Costing At
Least $169 Million." He remarked that the slide looked back
ten years and looked forward ten years, at the average
daily population in Alaska's prisons. He noted that there
was an anticipated growth of over 1400 prison beds in the
upcoming ten years. The dotted line represented the current
bed capacity. He stressed that the projected prison growth
would exceed the capacity.
11:25:28 AM
Senator Hoffman queried what the cost per bed for instate
and out of state. Mr. Schuster replied that the cost was
$100 per day for an out of state bed, compared to $142 per
day for instate beds. He furthered that there were
substantial transportation costs for out of state
prisoners.
Co-Chair MacKinnon remarked that she would like more
information on the data for the reason behind the region
that may be driving the growth. Mr. Schuster replied that
the cost of a prison that would accommodate 1400 additional
beds may be close to the cost of the Goose Creek facility.
Mr. Schuster addressed slide 19, "Next Steps":
Alaska Criminal Justice Commission policy development
meetings
-Sept. 9-10
-Oct. 14-15
-Nov. 18-19
Report and recommendations from the Commission
-Dec. 10
11:28:04 AM
Senator Hoffman looked at the projected growth. He wondered
if there were any numbers on the Alaska Natives.
Mr. Bryner replied that there were a number of
circumstances between the rural areas of Alaska and urban
centers of Alaska. He felt that there were some economic
factors and conditions that went into the growing prison
populations.
Senator Hoffman wondered if the growth rate assumed that
one-third of the population in 2024 would continue to be
Alaska Natives. Mr. Schuster replied that he did not have a
demographic breakdown.
11:35:01 AM
Senator Hoffman asked for a calculation related to the
Alaska Natives in the prison system. Mr. Schuster agreed to
provide that information.
Senator Dunleavy queried the link between juvenile offense
and the current data. Mr. Schuster replied that he did not
have that data. It was difficult to receive juvenile
adjudication history. He stated that it was known that past
behavior was a good predictor of future behavior.
Senator Dunleavy asked how to receive the juvenile data. He
hoped to develop possible early intervention. Mr. Schuster
replied that there would need to be new request for
criminal history.
Senator Bishop felt that alcohol and drug rehabilitation
should be a focus of the legislature. He noted that the
state should focus on job training to the reduce prison
population. Mr. Schuster responded that the commission had
conversations regarding how money was spent.
11:40:49 AM
Co-Chair Kelly encouraged the commission to study Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and its prevalence in the
criminal justice system. He wondered if there was an effort
to ensure that people exiting prison had a general
education diploma (GED) or high school diploma. He queried
the cost of the implementation of a GED program in the
prison, and the tutors necessary to educate the prisoners.
He understood that the state may need to absorb the cost.
Mr. Bryner replied that the commission was aware of the
issue of FASD, but it was difficult to track those
individuals. He felt that the issue could be related to
mental health treatment, which may be beyond scope of the
commission. He furthered that reducing recidivism through
education was very important. He stressed that there must
be investment in a workable system, but understood that the
state did not have the financial resources to make
immediate reinvestment. The state must be resourceful, and
he felt that a GED program would provide tremendous
assistance. He felt that the communities may be able to
provide the funding for a GED program.
11:46:12 AM
Co-Chair Kelly shared that a group was recently created to
eradicate FASD, and the group would be return to the
Institute of Circumpolar Health in October 2015. That group
had a network of scientists to address the issue. He stated
that he had an employee that could assist in studying the
impact of FASD within the justice system. Mr. Bryner
appreciated that information. He announced that the
commission was entirely based on public process. All the
data and project information was available to the public.
The commission welcomed comments and information regarding
any developments that would reveal studies to reflect.
Mr. Schuster shared that the commission had conducted
outreach to different stakeholder groups in the state to
involve the communities across the state as the policies
develop. He explained that there were some policies related
to reducing the prison lengths of stay or other policies
about incentives.
11:50:07 AM
Senator Hoffman echoed Senator Bishop's remarked regarding
the rural Alaska, and the issue of alcohol. He felt that
the laws in the dry communities were not properly enforced,
because alcohol was still in those communities.
Senator Dunleavy remarked that substance abuse often lead
to criminal behavior. He wanted to focus on juvenile
behavior, because he felt that it would save money at a
later date. He encouraged data related to substance abuse
and juvenile activity.
Co-Chair MacKinnon thanked the committee and the
presenters.
ADJOURNMENT
11:54:35 AM
The meeting was adjourned at 11:54 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 091515 Gov Walker to AK Criminal Justice Commission.pdf |
SFIN 9/15/2015 10:00:00 AM |
Corrections |
| 091515 Legislature to AK Criminal Justice Commission.pdf |
SFIN 9/15/2015 10:00:00 AM |
Corrections |
| 091515 AK Prison Growth Drivers and Costs.pdf |
SFIN 9/15/2015 10:00:00 AM |
Corrections |