TALLAHASSEE – As a legislative panel prepares Friday to take into consideration a plan to activate Florida Nationwide Guard customers to assistance at short-staffed prisons, a recent report by point out analysts displays that the number of inmates is anticipated to steadily climb in the coming years.
The amount of inmates plunged early in the COVID-19 pandemic, in element due to the fact courtroom closures prompted a backlog of circumstances.
The condition ended the 2020-2021 fiscal 12 months with 80,495 inmates, down from 95,626 two many years earlier, in accordance to a report issued very last month by the point out Legal Justice Estimating Conference.
But the report demonstrates that the inmate numbers have commenced to steadily increase and are envisioned to strike 85,682 inmates at the June 30 conclusion of the existing fiscal yr.
The growth is predicted to continue, reaching 93,335 inmates by the conclude of the 2027-2028 fiscal yr, according to the report.
The Joint Legislative Budget Fee on Friday is scheduled to take into consideration a proposal to free of charge up $31.25 million that, at the very least in portion, would be applied to address the fees of activating Nationwide Guard associates to help at prisons due to the fact of a shortage of correctional officers.
Florida has very long grappled with shortages of correctional officers and just lately has taken actions this sort of as increasing fork out to aid employ and keep officers.
The shortages have resulted in officers functioning huge quantities of overtime and supervising various inmates.
