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for convicted drug dealers from S25,000 to $250,000.
Overcrowded Prisons The problem of overcrowding in both state prisons and local jails is getting rose, he said in a July 1 law enforcement plan, and will not get better even with the increased state prison capacity expected by November 1982. The cost of new prison construction is $40,000 to $50,000 per bed, and despite the expenditure of $52 million on new facilities by next November, the state will expect to be short of space, according to his report. Shortages in state prison space have led to overcrowding in local jails, he said. He said one obvious solution to the problem is to increase the number of prisons constructed. “This alternative, although immensely expensive, must be carefully considered,” he said.
But he said special consideration should be given to constructiong regional prison farms for low and mediumrisk prisoners. He cited a program in Georgia that has had success with such an approach and added that “alternatives to conventional incarceration” are needed because of the high cost of constructing and maintaining conventional prisons.
He also proposed two changes to the state constitution—one that would allow the Commonwealth to appeal in criminal cases, and
fne that would give law nforcement officers the power to arrest, without a warrant, persons who commit assault misdemeanors outside the officer’s presence.
Transportation Problcam
In the area of transportation, Mr. Robb has said one of the state’s most pressing needs is to find a way to deal with declining revenues for state highways. Since motorists are now conserving gasoline by using more fuel efficient cars, highway revenues from the state gasoline tax are declining, leaving less money for
84.7%