Department of Corrections Secretary Cautions Lawmakers to Consider Costs of Their Decisions During Testimony
Topeka, Kan. — During his neutral testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week regarding Senate Bill 80, which would expand the definition of weapon, Department of Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz reminded lawmakers to consider a series of questions and its subsequent impact on the Kansas Department of Corrections. The proposed change would add the word “ammunition” to law thus raising the severity level of the penalty resulting in lengthening prison sentences for criminals. On the surface the change may seem to impose relatively little impact for the Kansas Department of Corrections, however, he offered another perspective with a series of questions.
Those questions included:
- What is the purpose of the legislation and the change in penalty? Is it to deter people from committing this offense? Is it simply to incapacitate them for a longer period of time?
- If the goal is deterrence, I would ask you to consider how many convicted felons will be aware of this legislation or will know that someone with a criminal history of two non-person felonies will move from presumptive probation with an underlying prison sentence of 11 to 13 months to a presumptive prison sentence of 25 to 29 months. I would argue that these folks will not do a cost benefit analysis of possible penalties and decide not to commit the crime because of the new sentences proposed. The fact is, these offenders don’t think they will be caught or simply don’t think at all.
- If the goal is incapacitation, how much more public safety will we buy by increasing prison time by 14 to 16 months, especially if the department does not have the program capacity to address the criminal behaviors that resulted in incarceration? We can certainly prevent offenders from doing much harm while imprisoned, but incapacitation is a very expensive strategy to pursue.
Werholtz cited legislative research requested by Rep. Ward Loyd in the past to determine how many changes were made to sentencing law for a multi-year period beginning in 2005. It was found that 108 changes to sentencing statutes were made. Of those 108 changes, 97 increased penalties.
“When considered independently, each of those decisions may seem to have insignificant impact on the Department of Corrections. However, the cumulative effect has considerable impact on our operations,” Werholtz said in his written testimony. “I chose to highlight this issue, with this legislation, because I think it is a good example of what can happen if we don’t look at the long-term consequences of a change.”
Secretary Werholtz provided a parallel of a truck that continued to have its cargo area loaded with more items. As more and more content is loaded into the truck it could seemingly handle the additional load, but eventually, he hypothesized, the load becomes too much and the truck’s chassis breaks and the truck is unable to be operated anymore. Similarly, the prison system, which is over its capacity will exceed its tipping point too.
“You are no doubt aware by now that we have insufficient space to house our population, insufficient staff to properly supervise them, and insufficient programming to effectively treat them,” Werholtz said in his written testimony. “My request is that, when considering all legislation impacting the size of KDOC’s inmate population, please be prepared to provide the necessary resources to safely house and treat them. Our current trajectory is unsustainable. Your careful consideration of this request is appreciated.”