State spent $34,000 on flight for prisoners in 2014 - Wed Mar 1st, 2017
OLYMPIA — Washington state’s corrections department has been shuttling prisoners back to the state on airplanes routinely used by Gov. Jay Inslee. The King Air trips have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, according to an investigation by the News Tribune.
Records show the state used its two State Patrol planes nine times to transport 14 inmates from January 2013 to September 2016, the newspaper reported Sunday.
Some of the trips were to move problematic prisoners to out-of-state facilities, while other flights were dedicated to picking up probation violators who left the state.
The most expensive King Air flight was in 2014, when the state paid $34,000 to bring two probation violators back to Washington from Florida.
The planes are used by prisoners who have been deemed high-risk by corrections officials.
David Flynn, who oversees the prisoner flight program, acknowledged that using King Air is “more expensive for us” but said the State Patrol planes are a crucial safety tool.
Some of the trips were to move problematic prisoners to out-of-state facilities, while other flights were dedicated to picking up probation violators who left the state.
The most expensive King Air flight was in 2014, when the state paid $34,000 to bring two probation violators back to Washington from Florida.
The planes are used by prisoners who have been deemed high-risk by corrections officials.
David Flynn, who oversees the prisoner flight program, acknowledged that using King Air is “more expensive for us” but said the State Patrol planes are a crucial safety tool.