Corrections can't be ignored another budget year

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums Guest column • Jon Ozmint: Corrections can't be ignored another budget year (04/14/05) • Amanda Bauknight: Settlement for Lake Hartwell injury inadequate (04/13/05) • Mary Ann Pires: Change is coming and it doesn't have to be bad (04/12/05) • Judith Prince: Greenville offers many opportunities to learn leadership (04/11/05) • Jeremy S. Elliott: Spend time helping your children save money (04/10/05) More details Jon Ozmint is the director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He was appointed to this position by Gov. Mark Sanford. Ozmint, an Anderson native, has devoted most of his career to working as a prosecutor.

At Corrections, we recognized the difficulties that legislators confronted. We did not play the blame game. Because complaining and excuses breed complaining and excuses, we chose to focus all our energy and resources on fulfilling our mission of safety, service and stewardship. We will continue to do so.

This year, the budget bill passed by the S.C. House contains more than $600 million in new spending. I commend House budget writers for finding a way to fund a long-overdue pay raise for law enforcement in South Carolina.

Even with that raise for our security staff, however, the House budget would result in a $6.8 million cut in operational funds at Corrections. On the other hand, Gov. Mark Sanford's executive budget not only proposes a mechanism to provide a pay raise for our law enforcement officers, but it proposes more than $17 million in new operational funding for Corrections.

During the past five years, our Legislature has cut funding for Corrections lower than any other state's. While South Carolina ranks 19th in the nation in spending per child on education, we rank 50th in funding per inmate. Such continuing neglect of this essential function of state government is shortsighted and dangerous.

Unlike some government functions, measuring efficiency and costs in Corrections is not difficult or subject to a great deal of interpretation. We spend $12,170 annually per inmate. It is telling that even as other states have experienced budget difficulties, no other legislative body has taken such great risk in funding corrections. For example, North Carolina spends more than $23,000 per inmate.

In order to maintain a safe system at the lowest spending level in the nation, this agency has reached record levels of efficiency. We now produce our own eggs, milk, grits and meal; our inmates repair state vehicles so that we can buy parts for our aging fleet; we even save $1 million annually by ensuring that we pay no more than state health plan rates for outside medical care. From food costs to medical care to prison industry, we lead the nation in efficiency.

While we are efficient, funding neglect has pushed our inmate-to-staff ratios to the worst levels in the nation. During the past five years, Corrections employees have risen to the challenge of managing thousands of additional inmates with 1,400 fewer employees. Much of our infrastructure and equipment, including essential security equipment, is old and in need of repair. A large portion of our equipment is beyond repair. We transport hundreds of inmates each day in worn-out vehicles with more than 200,000 miles.

We are unable to repair or replace equipment and infrastructure, including food preparation equipment and critical security equipment such as fences and razor wire.

Even with reasonable levels of funding, bad things happen in prison.

At our spending levels, ignoring our operational needs this year will jeopardize our ability to maintain a safe and constitutionally acceptable prison system. And in the long term, if we continue to put more pressure on limited staff and worn-out equipment and infrastructure, the odds will catch up with us, resulting in tragedy.

Unless the Senate provides operational funding, 500 of our 800 addictions treatment unit beds will be closed. There will be no addictions treatment for women or for 17- to 28-year-old men. I can think of no better formula to increase recidivism than closing those operations.

I recognize that prisons have no constituency. Ignoring Corrections will always be easy and will draw little public opposition. Our citizens and lawmakers clearly believe that prison should be a difficult place. I agree, and in South Carolina, prison is a difficult place.

We do not seek to waste money on programming for inmates who do not comply with our rules and have no desire to help themselves. But for those inmates who demonstrate a desire to change by their behavior and attitude, it is shortsighted and mean-spirited to offer nothing.

Casting aside willing inmates speaks volumes about a society. However, if we continue to fall farther behind the nation in correctional spending, we will have to eliminate all programming just to pay for basic security. Our prisons will become warehouses.

I pray that we never reach that point.