Bush: Drug Program Cuts Don't Drive Up Prison Admissions (Fla.)

[Nambe]

TALLAHASSEE (AP)

Officials in Gov. Jeb Bush's administration moved aggressively Tuesday to knock down speculation that cuts in drug treatment funding contributed to a spike in the prison admissions, saying anomalies in a few counties are instead to blame.

State prison officials were astonished this summer to see a dramatic jump in the number of new inmates, and the Legislature last week passed an emergency $65 million appropriation to add new bed space.

The increase came a year and a half after an economic downturn forced budget cuts, including cuts for drug treatment programs for prisoners and criminals on probation or other nonprison supervision programs.

The governor, the head of the prison system and the state's top drug abuse official joined together Tuesday in saying they were convinced the budget cuts couldn't have fueled the rise in prison admissions. They were responding to media reports suggesting that drug-addicted criminals who didn't get treatment were being released and returning to their drug habits only to be arrested again. -