Strategic plan for Nebraska prisons raises questions

Nov. 19, 2015, 6:45 a.m. ·

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Tecumseh State Correctional Institution (Photo courtesy Nebraska Department of Correctional Services)

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There’s a new strategic plan for Nebraska’s prisons, long troubled by overcrowding and other problems -- including a deadly riot at the prison in Tecumseh this spring. NET News talked with the state’s corrections director and key state senators about where Nebraska’s prison system is headed.


Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes‘ strategic plan covers a lot of subjects. One of the most talked about is increasing capacity; the state’s prisons hold 56 percent more people than they were designed to hold. Frakes says prisons have to have enough space for inmates, not only to sleep, but to eat, attend classes, and recreate.

“We can create facilities that provide a good overall quality of life and that are safe to operate – safe for the people that live there; I’ll say as important – more importantly – as safe for the staff that operate those facilities,” Frakes said.

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes

There’s no new prison in the strategic plan. But Frakes does want to spend $26 million to add 160 new beds at the Lincoln Community Corrections Center. That is a facility where prisoners on work release or similar programs spend the night – a level of supervision Frakes and many legislators say Nebraska needs to expand.

Frakes says approaches like that will save money.

“It’s always a goal to house people at the security level that is safest for them and safest for us. We don’t want to overclassify them, because the more secure the beds, the more expensive those beds are to operate. And it also makes it more expensive to deliver programming,” Frakes said.

Frakes says the prison system also needs to do a better job preparing prisoners for when they’re released back into society at large.

“Reentry should start the day they walk into prison – reentry planning. Over 93 percent are going to come back to live with us. Sixty percent are coming back in fairly short time periods,” he said.

And Frakes said prisons need to have a better system for evaluating how likely prisoners are to commit violence or reoffend.

“We need a tool that as they move through our system, and we are able to gauge their behavior, gauge how they engage in programming, make ongoing assessments that will enable us to determine that they can move to a less restrictive level of custody,” Frakes said.

Frakes’ plan represents the latest step in an effort to turn around the troubled Department of Correctional Services. Last year, the Legislature formed a special investigative committee after reports the department mistakenly let hundreds of prisoners out early.

Sen. Les Seiler, Hastings

Sen. Les Seiler of Hastings, chairman of the committee, says Frakes’ plan sounds good, but needs to be fleshed out.

“It’s a nice overview, but it really doesn’t get down to very much specifics. I’m interested in the specifics of how we carry out this strategic plan. What (it) really needs to get down to is what the numbers are, both prisoners and also money-wise,” Seiler said.

Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, who also serves on the Appropriations Committee, echoes those concerns.

“From my perspective as an Appropriations (Committee) member, a strategic plan without a budget is incomplete. So I think that’s an essential part of conversations moving forward,” Bolz said.

Sen. Kate Bolz, Lincoln

Frakes says it’s the middle of the two-year budget cycle, and problems that took years to build up are not going to be solved all at once. But one expense he wants to avoid is building an entirely new prison.

“I hope, for the state of Nebraska, that there is no need to build another prison. Prison has a purpose. Prison is an important part of public safety. But prison is also an extreme measure,” Frakes said.

Both Frakes and Seiler say they want to see what the effect on prison population is from a bill passed last year that reduced sentences for less serious crimes.

Frakes says he also wants to use an evidence-based approach to address high turnover rates among Department of Correctional Services employees.

“Things we’ll measure will be our vacancy rates, our promotions from within, timeliness of evaluations; we can look at unscheduled leave, and we can look at just our general turnover rates,” he said.

Critics, including the NAPE/AFSCME union that represents prison employees, have said forced overtime and lack of pay increases contributed to a high turnover rate and an inexperienced staff at the prison in Tecumseh. Bolz was asked if the department needs to increase pay for security staff.

“In a word, yes,” Bolz said. “I think we’ve heard that loud and clear from the staff and from the union representatives. In a field where there are safety and security concerns, someone who has increased their skill set and has experience does deserve additional pay.”

Seiler says many prison guards leave Tecumseh, an hour’s commute from Lincoln or Omaha, for better pay and conditions elsewhere. He says better recruiting is key.

“I think if you’ve got safe working conditions, if you can show the people they’ve got good quality schools and good quality living there, and you get ‘em a decent salary so they can support their family and that, people are going to move there. And they’re going to live there,” he said.

At a recent hearing, Seiler was upset at Frakes’ dismissal of his proposal for a 200-bed prison behavioral health facility in Hastings. But overall, Seiler says, he’s impressed with the job Frakes is doing.

“I think he’s got great management skills. I’m impressed with the people he’s hired so far. He inherited a job that’s like standing under a waterfall. You don’t know what’s going to hit you in the head next,” Seiler said.

And Bolz is optimistic when asked if Nebraska’s prison system is headed in the right direction, saying, “Yes, but I still think we’ve got a long way to go.”

How far, and how fast, changes go will depend on how Frakes’ plan is implemented, and what senators have to say after the Legislature reconvenes in January.