Government and NAPE are exploring options to address overcrowding at HMP.

The current prison population is about 70 inmates greater than full capacity, forcing staff to convert the Pen’s gymnasium into another range.

That’s put added stress on corrections staffing.

A new prison, which is currently under construction, won’t be ready for another three years. That’s left officials to contemplate a number of possible solutions, including assessing the possible use of lock-ups.

NAPE President Jerry Earle says that’s just one of a number of options being explored to “lessen the pressure” as the prison population continues to grow.

“Prison populations are not shrinking; they’re actually increasing,” says Earle. “What can we do?” is the question officials are trying to address. He says like the health care system, they have to look at the social determinants leading to higher incarceration rates, which requires an approach involving “multiple departments.”

In the meantime says Earle, “we have to take the pressure off…because this cannot be sustained until a new HMP three years’ out. That’s physically impossible to do.”

He suggests that the housing federal inmates at HMP is something that may need to be re-examined.

“People don’t realize, some of the inmates there are technically federal inmates, part of an agreement on a national level,” says Earle, “so that may have to be part of the equation here. Even recently, some inmates had to be moved from HMP to another facility.”