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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 30

(By Senators Green, Laird, Foster, Unger, Plymale, Barnes, Stollings, Jenkins, Chafin, Minard and Kessler)


Designating March 16, 2009, as "Corrections Day".
Whereas, It is the mission of the West Virginia Division of Corrections to provide a safe, secure and humane correctional system for the public, staff and offenders; and
Whereas, The adult correctional population continues to expand and it is important for agency representatives and policymakers to appreciate the nature and magnitude of the growth; and
Whereas, West Virginia was ranked 34th in the nation in 2007, with an incarceration rate of 333 per 100,000 residents. Between 2000 and 2006, West Virginia had the fastest growing prison population in the nation; and
Whereas, Commitments to the Division of Corrections grew by 21.9 percent in 2007, resulting in 3,449 new inmates. Parole violators comprised a high of 14 percent of all new commitments in 2007; and
Whereas, In 2007, only 4.9 percent of all parole violators were returning due to the commission of a new crime and in 2006 75.9 percent of new admissions were for nonviolent crimes; and
Whereas, As of December 2007, West Virginia's correctional population was almost two and one-half times its size in 1995; and
Whereas, In 2007, property offenders comprised the largest group of inmates confined in the total prison population at 19.2 percent; and
Whereas, Between 2000 and 2004, 37.1 percent of inmates were released on parole compared to 51.5 percent between 2005 and 2007; and
Whereas, Over half of all inmates released in 2007 were granted parole, causing parole grant rates to increase by 9 percent between 2006 and 2007; and
Whereas, West Virginia's correctional population is forecasted to increase at an average annual growth rate of 5.6 percent over the next decade. According to the forecast, the Division of Corrections can expect to receive approximately 430 additional inmates per year; and
Whereas, The correctional population is expected to reach 8,530 inmates in 2012 and 10,304 in 2017; and
Whereas, The information provided in this resolution will assist public officials and agency representatives in planning for the future and developing policies for the management of the West Virginia correctional population as well as providing adequate pay, benefits and a safe workplace for the employees in the correctional system; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate:
That the Senate hereby designates March 16, 2009, as "Corrections Day"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Senate hereby recognizes the exceptional service and commitment of the employees of the Division of Corrections; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the appropriate officials of the Division of Corrections.
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