Washington State Prisons

Keeping the Community Safe

All prisons have a fundamental responsibility to protect the public by separating offenders from the community. They also enhance public safety by providing offenders with programs that are proven to reduce the likelihood of committing new crimes after release from confinement. Such programs include education, job-skills training, chemical-dependency and mental-health treatment. Providing these programs is important in the overall effort to reduce crime because only about three percent of incarcerated offenders will never be released from prison.

Capacity Demands

The Washington Department of Corrections confines nearly 16,000 offenders in 15 prisons of varying size and mission across the state. To ensure that the in-state offender population does not exceed prison capacity, the Department also rents space in three out-of-state prisons, as well as in some county jails.

Cost of Confinement

The average annual cost per offender ranges from about $20,000 for minimum-custody inmates to almost $50,000 for those who are elderly or require special medical care.

Prison or Jail?

People sentenced to more than one year of confinement normally serve time in a state prison. Those sentenced to fewer than 12 months and a day serve time in jails, which are operated by counties. The prisons’ mandate is to confine offenders for the duration of sentences specified by the courts.

After an Offender is Sentenced

Male offenders, with the exception of offenders under sentence of death, first go to the reception diagnostic center at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton. Female offenders are sent to the reception diagnostic center at the Washington Correctional Center for Women in Gig Harbor. The offenders spend from four to six weeks at the reception centers, where they receive medical examinations, testing and psychological evaluations.

Offender Classification

An offender’s behavior is a significant factor in determining what level of security they require. Based on assessments, they are placed in the least-restrictive custody level that will provide for the safety of the public, staff and other offenders.

Prison Classification

Washington prison custody levels include minimum, medium, close and maximum. Privileges and opportunities for offenders are the least in maximum and the greatest in minimum. Under the Department’s Step Down Program, special units are being established at Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Monroe Correctional Complex and Washington State Penitentiary to focus on transitioning maximum-security offenders to lower-security classifications.

A Plan for Reentry

While at the reception centers, an individualized re-entry plan will be developed for each offender. These plans will follow the offender throughout his or her period of confinement and supervision in the community. The plans will identify programs offenders need in order to reduce their likelihood of re-offense.

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