The Colorado Department of Corrections would close two prisons and sell 1,000 acres of land as part of a proposal by the state to eliminate a looming budget shortfall, reports the Rocky Mountain News. The prisons slated for closure are the Colorado Women’s Correctional Facility in Canon City and the Rifle Correctional Center. The women’s facility has about 200 inmates. Some female offenders would go to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, where officials plan to “double bunk” 76 beds. The facility already does some double bunking.
About 23,000 inmates are housed in Colorado’s 23 state prisons and six private facilities. The agency’s budget this fiscal year is $761 million. Closing the women’s facility would save more than $5.2 million in fiscal year 2009-10. Closing the center in Rifle, which has 192 beds, would save an estimated $606,021 in operating expenses, plus the state would receive revenue from the sale of the property.
Link: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/27/prisons-plan-inmate-moves-double-bunking/