OMAHA, Nebraska - The Omaha Police Officers Association is urging Nebraska’s elected state leaders to address the prison overcrowding crisis by prioritizing infrastructure needs like increased bed space over sentencing reform proposals that could jeopardize public safety and increase the crime rate.
The OPOA compared data from the Nebraska Department of Corrections with available corrections data from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The data included in the infographic accompanying this release shows that Nebraska has the second-lowest incarceration rate in the region but also the lowest number of prison beds per capita, contributing to a capacity rate of 155%.
· Nebraska is 23.5% below the regional average in inmates per 100,000 citizens
· Nebraska is 88% below the regional average in prison beds per 100,000 citizens
· Nebraska’s overcrowding rate is 49% higher than the regional average
OPOA President Anthony Conner says the data confirms the view of law enforcement officials that Nebraska does not over-incarcerate, and that more beds are needed to effectively address the prison capacity crisis and promote proper rehabilitation.
“This data reinforces our view that we clearly have a capacity problem, not an incarceration problem,” Conner said. “We need more prison beds to fundamentally address this crisis, and we urge Nebraska’s elected leaders to prioritize the infrastructure needs of the corrections system.”
While the 2020 NDOC budget contains funding for 385 new prison beds, Conner says that Nebraska would need an additional 700 beds to match the per capita rate of Iowa, the next lowest state in the region. To match the regional average of beds per capita, Nebraska would need an additional 3100 beds, almost doubling Nebraska’s current capacity.
During recent testimony before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee in October, Nebraska Department of Corrections Director Scott Frakes acknowledged that there had been no facility improvements in 14 years. Instead of focusing on infrastructure needs, prison reform advocates favor increased parole eligibility, so-called “Good Time” laws, and other potential alternatives to incarceration that Conner says could ultimately put violent criminals on the street and jeopardize public safety.
“Nebraska has not built prison bed space at the same rate of our neighbors and this has not only created overcrowding but also impaired our ability to properly rehabilitate,” Conner said. “Prematurely putting criminals back on the street to avoid hard choices and necessary investment will put every citizen at risk and ultimately cost taxpayers more.”