Criminal street gangs.

08LSO-0215.L1

FISCAL NOTE

The fiscal impact to the Department of Corrections is indeterminable due to an unknown number of cases.  However, the potential impact could be significant.

Source of Expenditure Increase:

The creation of a new criminal offense punishable by probation or incarceration creates a potential cost for that supervision or incarceration.  Each year of incarceration, per inmate, will cost the State, in current dollars, approximately $32,600 for the cost of incarceration and approximately $10,845 for medical costs.  The cost for traditional supervision of a probationer is approximately $1,420 per year, while the cost of supervision for a probationer under the intensive supervision program is approximately $7,520 per year.  Enhanced sentencing penalties have the potential to keep more people in prison longer.  Denial of probation, mandatory minimum sentences, and increased maximum penalties will increase the costs of incarceration.

Assumptions:

There are no current measures that would allow for an accurate prediction of the number of individuals sentenced pursuant to the proposed legislation.  Currently, approximately 5% of the male Wyoming Department of Correction’s inmate population has some known gang relationship.  While conservative in light of the broader criteria established in the statutory definition, enhanced sentencing penalties as contemplated in the proposed legislation to 5%, or more, of the inmate population could have a significant impact on prison operations.

Prepared by:   Brian Farmer, Dept. of Corrections    Phone:   777-5983

The fiscal impact to the judicial system is indeterminable due to an unknown number of cases.

Prepared by:   Holly Hansen, Supreme Court Phone:   777-7678