A new prison being constructed in Chillicothe will not only provide new jobs and growth to the local economy, but will meet a continuing need for more space to house female offenders.
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A new prison being constructed in Chillicothe will not only provide new jobs and growth to the local economy, but will meet a continuing need for more space to house female offenders.
Larry Crawford, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, said the new prison will hold around 1,600 inmates, nearly triple the capacity of the current facility, which houses just over 500 prisoners. With the population rate of females being incarcerated growing at a steady pace, Crawford said the additional space is being constructed now to meet those future needs.
“The female population is growing at a faster percentage rate than the male population,” Crawford said. “That, coupled with the fact that the only other women’s prison in the state (at Vandalia) is already overcrowded, means additional space is not only needed now, but will be needed in the future.”
The state had made a decision to close the facility at Chillicothe because it had become outdated and was no longer functional as a prison.
“Because it was outdated, the state had not been maintaining the prison and a lot of adaptability was going on to make the facility functional,” Crawford said.
Seeing the need for another women’s facility, Gov. Matt Blunt early in the legislative session had recommended a new prison be constructed. Chillicothe, which has been home to the women’s correctional facility for many years, began a push to have the new prison built in their community and worked with state officials to see that goal achieved.
“They made a big play (for the prison),” Crawford noted. “The city not only gave us a really nice site at the north end of town and agreed to run utilities to it, they also agreed to take the old prison off our hands.”
As a result, the state legislature pushed through a bill to provide funding through bonds that will be used to construct the new facility.
A design-build process will be used, which Crawford said will speed up the timetable in getting the facility completed.
“Not only will it save us time, it will save us money as well,” he said, adding that bids could be let on the project as early as this fall, with a completion date of sometime in 2008.
“And it will be a great economic boon for north Missouri,” Crawford said.
The number of jobs, Crawford said, should more than double, giving several opportunities not only for promotions from within the DOC, but for new hires as well.
“This is a great opportunity for those of our employees who are seeking a promotion as well as providing a chance for persons interested in getting into the corrections system,” Crawford said. “We do almost all of our promoting from within the system while those hired from the outside are primarily brought in at an entry level position.”
The Chillicothe prison will also serve as a diagnostic and reception center for new prisoners, who are currently being taken to Vandalia.
“Those from the western side of the state who are now having to travel all the way to Vandalia to take their prisoners will now be able to go to Chillicothe, thus saving the counties money as well,” he said.
The DOC currently has 11,400 employees, including 17 at the probation and parole office in Trenton. Crawford noted that the local office supervises more than 700 felons and was complimentary of the work those individuals do.
“The staff at Trenton does a good job,” he said. “I don’t think people realize just how many offenders they deal with, not only those who are placed on probation by the courts, but those who are paroled after serving a prison term.”
Crawford said that the Trenton facility has been using the “Re-Entry Process” for its clients in an effort to successfully get them back into society – a model that is now being adopted statewide.
“On a statewide basis, we are trying to wrap up all the services we have available and use those to help those who have committed a crime re-enter society and become successful,” Crawford said. “We are putting together all our efforts through the Department of Corrections, Mental Health, Workforce Development and the Department of Revenue to help them with getting training so that they can get a job, have access to medical and social services, get a driver’s license, whatever it is they need to get back on track. We don’t want them back in jail.”