Several members of the Senate’s Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance grilled Wynnie Testamark, director of the Bureau of Corrections, on the high cost of housing prisoners in the territory compared with sending them stateside.
Sen. Ray Fonseca Tuesday even questioned why all the prisoners should not be sent stateside.
Testamark said prisoners were kept in the territory for many reasons, including the work-release program and the short duration of some sentences. Relations of prisoners have historically complained about the difficulty of visiting prisoners stateside.
“The Bureau houses 238 inmates locally — 91 (73 detainees, 18 inmates) at Alexander A. Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex on St. Thomas and 147 (84 detainees, 63 inmates) at John Bell Adult Correctional Facility on St. Croix,” she testified. The bureau houses 156 inmates off-island at facilities in Florida (73), Virginia (38), and Mississippi (45).
“Incarcerating a prisoner in the Virgin Islands exceeds twice the cost on the mainland. Currently, the Bureau estimates that maintaining an inmate in the territory amounts to $320 per day, compared to approximately $67 to $85 per day in mainland correctional facilities,” Testamark explained.
She said the high cost of living in the Virgin Islands, the maintenance of aging facilities, and the necessity of importing everything contributed to the high costs.
Fonseca also questioned how much the federal government pays the territory when it lodges a federal prisoner in the territory’s facilities. Testamark said $100. Fonseca said that was wrong and that the territory must charge the federal government more like the $320 it costs the territory.
The bureau’s budget, proposed to the committee, was $36.4 million, the same as last year. It includes funding for 214 budget positions. Currently, the bureau has 201 employees. It hopes to add 12 more correctional officers, who are paid $41,500 per year.
Committee Chair Donna Frett-Gregory questioned what the bureau was doing to cut into the over $5 million a year it pays in overtime. Testamark said the bureau has created the position of Correctional Technician to alleviate the problem. However, she added that correctional officers often had to transport prisoners, and all their time off the island was considered overtime. She said, “There are just some things we can’t control.”
Sen. Novelle Francis said the bureau aimed to involve 65 percent of the prisoners in educational programs but only got 38 percent. Peter Abrahams, assistant director of Support Services, said the bureau did reach out to the prisoners, but “we can’t force them.”
Sen. Javan James asked questions about infrastructure. He said facilities had to be improved.
“The projected payroll for the upcoming fiscal year is $13.8 million, representing 38 percent of our budget. Fringe benefits are estimated at $6 million, or 17 percent of the budget,“ Testamark testified.
Sens. Marvin Blyden, Diane Capehart, Samuel Carrión, Dwayne DeGraff, Ray Fonseca, Alma Francis Heyliger, Novelle Francis Jr., Donna Frett-Gregory, Javan James, Franklin Johnson, Carla Joseph, and Milton Potter attended the hearing.
