Nebraska will need to add 1,500 beds to its corrections system over the next decade to keep up with projected inmate growth. That’s even if the state spends $350 million for a new 1,500 bed prison to replace the aging Nebraska State Penitentiary.
That’s the conclusion of a recently completed Department of Correctional Services prison facilities master plan prepared by three consulting firms that recommends that replacing the penitentiary should be the department’s top construction priority for the next five years.
And, pivotally, it suggests that the new facility should be designed to expand to 2,000 to 3,000 beds to accommodate growth in the number of inmates between now and 2033.
While far from surprising, the report’s estimate that the state’s prison population of roughly 5,500 will grow by another 1,300 by 2030 -- a 24% increase in less than a decade -- is confirmation that Nebraska will continue to have the nation’s fastest-growing prison system.
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And, as it will be years before a new facility can be constructed, the projections indicate Nebraska will also continue dealing with the nation’s most overcrowded prison system, with no relief in sight.
The penitentiary, which was initially constructed in 1869, needs to be replaced. The Legislature has reserved $350 million to do so but has yet to commit those funds.
Nor should it until it reduces the trajectory of the state's imprisoned population. That is the aim of LB163, an omnibus prison bill introduced by Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney that would prohibit the construction or expansion of prisons until the Legislature can determine that the number of people admitted and living in Nebraska prisons will have declined over a 20-year period.
That goal can only be accomplished by comprehensive prison reform that follows the approach implemented by more than three dozen states. That would equate to a reduction in criminal penalties, especially for nonviolent crimes, with treatment and enhanced supervision intended to help people succeed after release.
The reforms, now being considered by the Legislature through a number of bills, should also include increased use of alternative courts.
As the report’s recommendations indicate, Nebraska cannot build its way out of its corrections crisis as long as the incarceration rate escalates and the lack of parole possibilities keeps people in prison for full terms.
Nor can the state realistically afford to continue adding prison space as envisioned by the report’s recommendations, which notably does not include a cost estimate to, essentially, double the size of the proposed replacement penitentiary.
For a new facility to be filled to capacity upon opening is an unacceptable result that can only be avoided by adoption of true criminal justice reform.