DPS mulls off-island detention for inmates

The Department of Public Safety is looking into the possibility of sending some inmates to the U.S. mainland in order to ease overcrowding at the corrections and pare down expenditures of the agency.

Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram said the proposal will cut down the department’s daily expenses in feeding and providing security to inmates by as much as $70. Currently, DPS spends some $130 per day for each prisoner.

Initially DPS is considering prisoners held in maximum and medium security who have at least three more years to do in jail for off-island detention.

Ingram said the move is part of the contingency plan the department is seriously studying between now and the completion of the new corrections facility.

Due to its growing needs, DPS was hoping that its current appropriation would be maintained for FY 2000, but the Office of Management and Budget has reduced it to $13.2 million from $14.3 million.

At least 89 percent of the $13 million budget for the next fiscal year will go to salaries of personnel alone, while the remaining 11 percent will fund operations. With the budget cut, DPS has expressed concern that its patrol car operations for next year may be affected after the budget for car lease has been slashed to $800,000 from $1.1 million.

The budget office has also drastically reduced the department’s allocation for fuel to $18,000 from the current appropriation of $147,000. DPS burns approximately $13,000 worth of fuel every month.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year, DPS has stopped overtime work for its administrative staff as well as the hiring of full-time employees for several offices under the Division of Corrections, which is in need of 11 more staff.

When he assumed the post, Ingram started trimming down the bloated bureaucracy by removing the offices of one deputy commissioner and director for administration.

So far, the Office of the Governor has already pledged to look for funds for to make the DPS’ aging radio communication equipment Y2K compliant. It is estimated to cost $500,000.

According to Bob Webb, special assistant for telecommunications, some $250,000 will come from the Office of Insular Affairs through its technical assistance program.

Failure to upgrade the system will hamper the delivery of services because police cars, ambulance and fire trucks will be not able to respond to emergency calls.