Corrections Director Julius Wilson to Update Senators
on Prison Upgrade, Request 2011 Budget

Julius Wilson, Director of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections, will appear before the 28th Legislature Tuesday to request a fiscal year 2011 budget in the amount appropriate to continue work to meet the requirements of two federal consent decrees.

The Bureau of Corrections is an agency undergoing significant change. In the past year, it completed the transition into a stand-alone agency under the direct supervision of the Governor. Since then, Wilson and other BOC officials have been working to implement the federally mandated upgrades.

To that end, Corrections has made tremendous strides, improving the welfare of inmates and boosting security in all the Territory's incarceration facilities. Last year's budget allocation was partially used to increase staffing, repair infrastructure and purchase equipment. 

Wilson will tell legislators that BOC has finished implementing its command structure, filled important leadership positions and completed negotiations with security officers and supervisors. At the same time, the Bureau has developed new security, medical and administrative policies. 

To continue improving the management of the Bureau of Corrections, officials plan to develop a leadership program for training new supervisors. They will also build up their training academy by hiring a full time trainer, partnering with the police academy and fully developing a rigorous curriculum that meets accepted peace officer standards. Other training programs have also been implemented in security assessment and threat recognition.

Wilson will request lawmakers approve a fiscal year 2011 budget of $28,719,826. That amount will allow him to hire additional staff, upgrade training procedures and create more programs and work opportunities for offenders.

Those plans are specifically tailored to continue progress toward meeting the requirements of the federal consent decrees.

BOC's strategic goals remain the same from last year: improve security at all penal institutions, improve and maintain infrastructure in those institutions, provide opportunities for inmates to successfully reenter their communities, and meet all constitutional standards so the consent decrees can finally be put behind the Bureau. 

Those goals must be met in the face of some serious challenges. The Territory's jails and prison have aging infrastructure that needs constant repair. In recent months, guards have been witnessing more detainees who are violent due to their gang affiliations. The inmate population is aging an plagued with chronic disease requiring expensive medical treatment. There is an increasing number of inmates who are found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity or incompetent to stand trial, and who must be sent to expensive forensic institutions. All the while, federal judges managing the consent decrees are demanding faster compliance. 

Costs have also been on the rise because of an increase in demands for security and transport, often between islands, of inmates to court and hospitals.

BOC is attempting to save money by partnering with other government agencies. The Bureau is working to share Internal Affairs investigators with the Virgin Islands Police Department; and working with the University of the Virgin Islands, the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Property and Procurement and the Department of Education on several inmate work programs. Faith volunteers are helping raise funds for a new prison chapel.

Paying guards for overtime remains a major financial concern. The 2011 budget asks for funds that will allow Corrections to hire 50 more officers, adding security in all the Territory's penal facilities while reducing overtime costs.

Corrections officials also plan on petitioning for more federal grants. Last year, federal stimulus grants appropriated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped bring a few new employees on board, and provided money that will allow construction to start in September on a new warehouse.

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