Minnesota Senate Budget Discussion

25 Comments on “Public Safety Budget”

1. Bruce Harrington
   St Paul
   January 15th, 2009 at 10:21 am

   Drug courts seem very cost-effective and prison does not seem to be effective at correction, or managing offenders in an efficient way. Can we take a portion of our current drug-related prison population and put them through a drug court like program and stop paying for their incarceration?

2. DOC Savemoney
   SAINT CLOUD
   January 15th, 2009 at 8:28 pm

   The Department of Corrections should start at the TOP (DOC Central Office), when it come time to cut the DOC budget. The DOC Minn Cor Industries is a failure and is costing the Minnesota tax payer thousands if not millions of dollars. Minn Cor Industries needs to be investigated. Th cut should start at Central Office. CUT(s): Deputy Commissioner,Assistant Commissioner, 6 Wardens, 6 Assistant Wardens, 30 Case managers….etc.
   The most important part of the DOC is its Correctional Officers. They make the people at the top look good. We have a safety issue within the DOC. The people at the top are cutting Correctional Officers or delaying the hiring of CO’s for months to save a buck. Creating a safety issue. The DOC has to stop hiring Administrative staff and start hiring Corrections Officers.

3. Gwen Hale
   Woodbury
   January 16th, 2009 at 9:22 am

   Dear Senate,

   I worked with the MN Dept of Correctional for many years and I think you should cut cable. We spend an enormous amount of money on the cable provided for inmates. This is a luxuary not a need.

   Another area were we could save money is the Rule 25 funding for Substance Abuse Treatment. I believe the best way to cut spending here is 3 strikes and your out. I have worked in the Chemical Dependency field for 20 yearsand believe the clients/individuals have gained enough knowledge and understanding of their addiction but chose not to take personal responsibility and make the changges neccessary. Many people sober/clean up their life without treatment.

   Thank you for considering these suggestions.
   Gwen A.Hale, M.A.

4. Sen. Leo Foley
   Coon Rapids
   January 16th, 2009 at 11:02 am

   Mr. Harrington, thank you for your comments. Drug Courts have shown some success in reducing recidivism and I believe they are a good long term investment for the state. However, it is important to note that administering the drug courts is very labor intensive and most programs are very selective as to who may qualify as a candidate. Additionally, successful completion of the program often requires a substantial amount of time (a year or more in some cases).

   Given the staff shortages with the courts and board of public defense, it’s going to be difficult to maintain the current funding for the drug courts already in operation if the Judiciary budget receives any reduction this biennium. I do intend to have a discussion on the issue of drug courts this session and believe they play an important part in Minnesota’s criminal justice system.

5. Tilton Davis
   Red Wing
   January 16th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

   There is a tremendously large cost for corrections in the Public Safety budget, 84%. I want to see the reallocation of some dollars for investment in prevention which this state does not support. It is time to realize that we need to work upstream to prevent poor choices and behavior by our children as well as by adults. Children should be taught early in their life to learn social and personal responsibility, many adults have missed this. I believe that prevention education is a necessary strategic plan for our state. It is time the state recognize that sexual and domestic violence is important and it should be state-funded not just by the federal government.

6. Harold Christenson
   Hastings
   January 16th, 2009 at 1:25 pm

   Take all prisoners with less than a year to serve home with home monitoring. Do not stick the county with the bill but rather the released person and the state share the cost. Let them work and pay their way.

7. Lindsay Johnson
   Minneapolis
   January 17th, 2009 at 11:23 am

   What if low-level drug offenders had to perform community service, under some sort of supervision arrangement, instead of going to jail? There are a lot of foreclosed and run down properties in this state now. What if they paid their dues to society by helping to clean up some of these blighted properties? It would also help guard against the deteriorating property values of surrounding homes as well.

8. Richard Mosley
   Carver
   January 17th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

   If the person is not a citizen of the US; extradite them out of the country immediately. If the person arrested is not a “resident” of MN; identify the state they are from and charge that state the costs for the incarceration or ship them back.

   Stop creating laws and rules that criminalize behavior such as DWI’s and seatbelt laws; drunk driving is not an acceptable action, but in 99.9% of the cases it has not caused harm or damage to another person. As the state continues to lower the BAC Limit and dilutes the focus upon habitual offenders by arresting normal law abiding citizens; the true criminals go free. Get rid of “nanny” state rules.

   Have our law enforcement and prisons focus on criminals that have damaged property and violated the rights of people through physical harm. Assign appropriate consequences for these actions and hold these people for their full sentence.

   Prison should be an “unpleasant” experience; cut the frills and benefits. Make MN prisons a place that people do NOT want to go.

9. Colin Lee
   Lakeville
   January 19th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

   I am a strong supporter of any program that correctly treats low-level, non-violent drug offenders as individuals needing treatment, not as future inmates to receive a taxpayer-funded education in criminal culture.

   I support a revised version of California’s Proposition 36, which would put non-violent drug possession culprits into mandatory treatment instead of jail sentences. Minnesota should revise their bill to have strong consequences for those who fail to show up for treatment. The $200 million per year in savings that California realized from Prop. 36 could easily make $50-100 million in savings here while increasing our job base, reducing recidivism, and limiting the need for building new jails.

   Like Mr. Harrington, I believe drug courts are an effective investment that pays out many times over. The UCLA research into this matter clearly shows a 7-to-1 or better payoff for every dollar spent in correctional drug treatment programs like those created by Prop. 36. Those same drug courts could also recommend community service, as Mr. Johnson suggests.

10. Chris Schmid
    Willow River
    January 23rd, 2009 at 8:47 am

    MN Corrections is one of the more exceptional programs in the country. If you asked a probation official to review their cases you would find that roughly 90% of those cases are drug and/or alcohol related. If you look at prison populations you would see that over half of the offenders are incarcerated because of drug and/or alcohol offenses, and in a large percentage of the other offenses drugs and/or alcohol was involved. In a case in which a person is incarcerated on armed burglary charges, most likely they were seeking drugs or seeking property to sell to buy drugs. Meth is still very prominent in cases like this. As far as DWI offenders what is the difference between them and the armed burglar that did’t kill or injure anyone. The difference is the weapon, except the drunk driver has meny more people within range of his/her 3000 lb 70 mph weapon. Some of the MNDOC chemical dependency treatment programs are outstanding and serve the addict and/or alcoholic so they are able to return to society and contribute in a positive way. These people that enter these treatment programs within the prison system would most likely not be able to afford or be willing to go to any type of treatment outside of being court mandated while in prison. So, they would be on OUR streets doing what they do, and if they had to merely serve community service or DWI’s weren’t criminal charges they would use drugs and/or alcohol until they killed someone or committed some other crime that would be “valid” enough to go to prison. So, why wait until that has happened? The more dealers and users on the streets without treatment and help the more danger our society risks by not wanting to fund programs. One boot camp style chemical dependency program offers many components such as treatment, chemical dependency support groups, education, restorative justice, work skills, physical training, religious services, daily structure, peer accountability and a therapeutic community to offenders treatment to give them the best chance possible to change their life. The recidivism rate among the population that has completed that program successfully is roughly 6%. Those are pretty promising results saying that these people have had life changes and will contribute to society in a positive way. I think the general public would be thankful of outcomes like this in their state. Do some research before making comments from emotion. Most of the comments above sound resentful and vengeful.

11. Don Carter
    Anoka
    January 23rd, 2009 at 12:21 pm

    We have been “sold out” by our leaders on public safety. They have decided to igore some laws and enforce others–that leads to anarchy! Sanctuary cities????????? NUTS..this is where the the gangs and invading illegal criminals are running rampant and the politicians smile as if they are just misbehaving children. The probelm the crime at the street level… is real…abut of course they leave away form it. They steal property, money, jobs, welfare, schooling, Cop and court resourse, etc etc and our leaders turn a blind eye. Illegals bring all of their bad social habits and believe they can get away with anyhing if they call us racist…and it works???? We pay with crime ridden neighborhoods where people cower in there homes from these criminals while politicians smile and tell us that they are just trying to earn a living! HEY… Go back home and come here legally like my grandfather did: Obey the law, Learn the language, Want to be an American and don’t be burden. Resources are getting harder to get as the productive money source shrinks and the unproductive user group grows…it is unsustainable, it is wrong, it is unAmerican, unpatriotic, and unconstitutional! Lock up or stop ALL freebies to the invading army of illegals and freeloaders. We need to catch our breath… we are a small country and cannot take in SIX (6) BILLION OF the WORLDS POPULATION or any part thereof and pay their way with welfare. Get to work like the rest of us who do to provide for our families– I am not paying your way!!

12. Steve Houfek
    Maple Grove
    January 25th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    Public Safety is one of the core functions of government. I am astonished that you have limited their budget to just 3% of the total. It is high time that the enforcement of the law be a priority. The Minnesota State Patrol is an exemplary force that has done well on a limited budget. The DOC should expand their facilities, perhaps a new prison in Owatonna? Time to review the court records in Hennepin and Ramsey County for the repeat trouble makers causing us expenses in processing, court time, parole officers, admin and make it simple. Three felony convictions and mandatory incarceration for at least 3 years in high security. We have a citizens right to be safe in our persons, and a taxpayers right to make a State where the rule of law is expected and enforced.

13. Colin Lee
    Lakeville
    January 26th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    In response to Chris Schmid, I am not criticizing jail drug treatment programs, nor would I ever suggest that we stop enforcing property laws against drug offenders. In fact, while running for State Rep this year, I ran into a constituent who had attended one of the jail drug treatment programs and he spoke glowingly of its success. I am pointing out that jail in MN costs an average $37,000 per year per inmate, largely since we have fewer inmates who stay in higher security prisons. The UCLA study on Proposition 36 clearly found that court-mandated drug treatment programs saved an effective $7 in public safety spending for every dollar they spent. I am suggesting spending more on court-mandated treatment in order to spend less on incarcerating repeat offenders. In California, direct incarceration savings after the increased treatment costs amounted to $200M the first year and $1.2 billion in the six years they studied. Clearly, your argument about 90% of crimes being drug-related is a great reason to devote more public funds to treatment programs for less severe offenders.

14. Sandra AurandBosch
    Moorhead
    January 26th, 2009 at 11:57 pm

    Develop wrap around services for felons with chronic mental health issues, chemical dependency, etc. Develop community based case management which works with the prison’s case manager and set’s the felon up with psychiatric treatment upon hitting the street. Set up residential programs with accountability and a focus on employment and housing. Utilize run down properties have felons rehabilitate these properties for transitional housing for felons. Put felons back on the work rolls and keep them off the welfare rolls. People that get out without access to mental health care and medications reoffend.. the victim loses, society loses, and the felon loses. Get these people working and paying taxes. It can be done… and develop long term community safe housing for low level sex offenders who are at a low risk for reoffending… it’s cheaper to have them in the community working and Level 1 and 2 ’s are lower risks… develop community based programs for level 3’s with high security… get these people back to work… focus on employment….

15. Sandra AurandBosch
    Moorhead
    January 26th, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    Oh yes share the wealth to the rural areas…

16. Linda Higgins
    Minneapolis
    January 28th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    As the chair of the Senate Public Safety Budget Division I wanted to inform you about two upcoming hearings in our division related to the Governor’s budget. Today, January 28, 2009, we will have budget presentations from the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, POST Board, Human Rights Department and the Private Detective Board. On February 2, we will hear from the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections. Our committee meets in Room 112 of the Capitol from 3 to 5:30pm. If you are unable to attend the hearings you can listen to audio from the meeting by going to http://www.senate.mn/media/media_list.php?ls=86&archive_year=2009&category=committee&type=audio#header

    Below you will find the Agency Narratives and Governor’s recommendations for the Public Safety Budget Division.

    Thank you for your comments and suggestions,
    Senator Linda Higgins, Chair, Public Safety Budget Division
    District 58

    http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/narratives/gov/corrections.pdf

    http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/narratives/gov/human-rights.pdf

    http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/narratives/gov/peace-officers.pdf

    http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/narratives/gov/priv-detective.pdf

    http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/narratives/gov/pub-saf.pdf

    http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/narratives/gov/sentencing.pdf

17. Rob Jacobs
    Rice
    January 29th, 2009 at 1:01 pm

    Taking away the Corrections Early Retiement benefit from current employees is a terrible proposal. Many of us have worked directly supervising inmates and now at the end of our careers the DOC wants to change the rules on retirement. This would be very very unfair, we have given up money in exchange for this bennefit many times during contract negotiations. This would be like Enron pulling the retirement rug out from under us after all the years of public service. If you want to save money, take a look at how top heavy the DOC is. Take a look at how Mincor is ripping off the taxpayers and also how top heavy Mincor is. there is millions that can be saved without cheating us out of the retirements that we have earned!

18. Vernon Jorgensen
    St Paul
    January 31st, 2009 at 9:28 am

    One of our major Public Safety problems is drunk drivers. I feel that anyone arrested for a third time should have the vehicle that they are driving confiscated. Just taking away their drivers license doesn’t seem to make a difference, they keep driving anyway.

    Also, I thought we had a law stating that commission of a felony using a weapon was supposed to add a minimum of five years to the sentence. If we don’t, we should.

19. Vernon Jorgensen
    St Paul
    January 31st, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Another suggestion would be to make the criminals and druggies clean up the environment in chain gangs. They do it in Florida and it works great. It would free up some public employees for more productive work.

20. Alan Rasmussen
    St.Paul
    February 5th, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    As a former worker for the Department of Corrections. I do agree that there are some issues that need to be cleaned up.
    Minncorr is the slick Willy organization of our time. Nothing sticks to it. It’s where Top Doc buddies get their jobs. Now soon they will have another one in the DHS program. Is it a surprise how many of the Good old Correctional Boy network have taken similar jobs with DHS. Did I mention with a substantial pay increase. The correctional department also ought to look at hiring competent workers instead of either Outsourcing or having wasteful Service contracts that could be done in house. Everyone knows that you can write proposals that are so specific that only your chosen company will get the bid.
    Enough with the cronyism, you owe it to yourself and the great people of this state to spend their dollars wisely.
    With regards to the Caseworkers and crews losing their 55 retirement. Look if you walk through the doors of a correctional facility you are putting yourself at risk for injury with societies baddest of the bad. You don’t have to be working with the janitor that vacuums out your office to have them assault you. No I think it was a bad choice to not only discontinues those peoples 55 retirements, in my view walking through the door puts you at risk. Whatever happened to one for one and one for all? Give them all 55, that is why they call it public safety they keep you and I safe. Look you’re not over paid as a state employee, no matter what you have heard. Most of us stay in it primarily because it provided for our families. So yeah they all should get the retirement. Look if you work for some of the units you only acquire 1.4 % a year towards retirement, so if you worked 30 years you would get 42% of your pay, only a portion of your Sick time. Funny how somehow the state workers are thought of as glorified Welfare recipients, when in fact they are some of the most talented professionals I have worked with. I don’t seeing people getting upset at the teachers unions who get far better raises and a retirement that would embarrass me quite frankly, for working about 100 days less than anyone else. It makes more sense to go after the piece of Budget Pie that if you shake the tree just a little bit your could find some wasteful apples that would fall with little shaking. People need to get over saying the education us untouchable. Efficiency is for everybody. Look I would have loved to have the average raises and salary that teachers with 15+ years have enjoyed. Save me the crying towel. You want to be paid like a full time worker, work a complete year. I only pay ChemLawn for the summer months because that is all he works. Let’s not get fooled either by the disguise of year around school as because of the time off, it still is amounting to anywhere from 10 to 20 days more a year. Let’s do a little more on line course work.

21. Elizabeth Carroll
    Hopkins
    February 6th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

    How can Minnesota allow cities to charge $300 for an accident if emergency vehicles have to be summoned. This is bizarre and a sad commentary on how the state funds public safety.

22. Michael Bischoff
    Minneapolis
    February 7th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    Thank you for asking for this input, Senators.

    To save money and increase public safety, I think that MN can reduce our prison population by 50%, reduce the prison release violation rate by 50%, and also reduce crime.

    I’ve done research and direct services in the field of criminal justice for the past 15 years. During that time, I’ve seen MN’s prison population (and Correction’s budget) explode. From 2000 - 2005, MN had the fastest growing prison population in the country. We are still below average in prisoners per capita, but if the trends of the last 15 years continue, we’ll be in a situation like California, where they can’t afford to house thousands of their prisoners. TI think that the long-term goals I mentioned above (50% reductions in prison population, etc.) are do-able within 5 years.

    I think the budget limitations of this year ask us to be proactive and efficient in the area of public safety. The Council of State Governments has produced an excellent strategy for reducing correction’s spending and increasing public safety (http://www.justicereinvestment.org/). Revisions to MN’s Sentencing Guidelines and release procedures are 2 important parts of this strategy.

    I realize that you don’t have 5 years to reduce expenses. You need to do it now! I think that immediate changes to sentencing guidelines, reinstalling a parole system, and revamping how prison releases are managed could save the state 10s of millions within 1 year. The Council on State Governments has already worked with 9 state governments, and they have effective examples to draw from. All the changes are not a quick-fix–but I think they can include both short-term savings, as well as long-term financial and public safety benefit.

23. Renae Citrowski
    Brooklyn Park
    February 11th, 2009 at 9:08 am

    I think the County and State should consider purchasing foreclosed homes in the metro area, renovate them and use them for probation neighborhood office sites, County Home School beds, or other County or State office or housing needs. Hennepin County has Sentence To Service (STS)Homes work crews that could perform the renovations and learn skills at the same time. This could reduce some of the costly office space leases and help solve the home foreclosure problem as well.

24. deborah jacobs
    monticello
    February 11th, 2009 at 11:08 am

    It has been very interesting readying everyones ideas on how to save money. I have a couple of ideas to add to the mix.
    I have been a teacher and now I work for corrections. My parents were teachers in Michigan where the unions are very strong so I have some understanding of both corrections, teaching and unions.
    During the 20 years that I have lived and worked in one of the school districts in Minnesota, the administration has grown tremendously. The building itself cannot even house all the added secretaries and assistants to the assistant. The government keeps adding more and more reports in order to be accountable. This takes up lots of time and expense. The technology that was supposed to make things easier and faster has created a monster. Things were much easier when all you needed to do is type out a report.
    If anything needs to be cut, it is all the added technology.
    The new programs that keep coming out every 6 months. The training in the new program and then the added time to do the added steps, then forget it when the next program comes out and it starts all over again.
    I have worked in Corrections for 10 years now and it is even worse than education. With every new computer program, we have to take hundreds of hours fixing all the records that did not go through and all the wrong data, then in another 6 months, another program comes along and we have to start all over again. They update programs faster than the vcr to dvd to blue ray movies. This can not keep going on. We will drown in technology upgrades. Keep it simple is a rule we have to hold to.
    As far as cutting staff goes; the administration is increasing faster than the support staff to support its function. The support staff is doing all it can to keep up with the new systems and procedures coming down from them. We need to hold the line on administrative promotions. If you check the last 5 years you will see the increases in promotions to administration where the support staff has remained a constant with no increase in personnel.

25. deborah jacobs
    monticello
    May 3rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    My sisters who live in other states were telling me recently that they can get their drivers licenses immediately without it having to be sent by mail. This would save our state time and money. Can you imagine the savings in postage alone? The states of New Jersey, Michigan and Florida take your photo and attach it to your card and laminate it right there. They hand it to you and you can walk out the door with your drivers license without having to wait up to 4 weeks the way it is here now. This process could save our state money in postage as well as the extra time it takes to processing time needed to send the licenses out later.

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