Florida may soon be mapping out blueprints for a brand new state prison and inmate hospital in Homestead, with consultants pitching the locale as the prime spot for the expansion of the state's correctional facilities. In a report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, an audit by KPMG suggests that without constructing at least one new prison, the Florida state prison system could be facing significant shortcomings.
The proposal is to be presented before a House panel on Friday, and the firm's expansive plan necessitates three new prisons over two decades and lays out the need for hundreds of additional hospital beds to accommodate the anticipated growth of the inmate population, with these details confirmed by a post on X from the Miami Herald. Following an evaluation of labor availability and land in the state, KPMG identified two locations in Homestead where existing correctional facilities are already within a relatively short drive of potential sites for a 4,800-bed facility. However, there's no missing the potential conflicts, for one proposed location is a stone's throw from protected conservation lands in Polk County, and then in Bradford County, staffing woes have already politicized prison operations there.
The more specific site recommendations in Homestead are detailed further in the analysis; One suggested area sits about 10 miles from Dade Correctional Institution and a second option just two miles north. There's also a nearby parcel directly south of Dade and Homestead Correctional Institutions that the auditors think could fit the bill for a new 600-bed hospital for inmates, and this particular tract of land is already under the Department of Corrections' jurisdiction, according to the consultants' report.
Of course, the decision to forge ahead with the construction of a new prison ultimately falls to state lawmakers and Governor Ron DeSantis who has the final call on the state budget, which currently does not earmark funds for creating a new facility—though funds for maintaining the existing ones make an appearance. This whole affair puts forward the question not just of infrastructure but of justice's future shape in the Sunshine State and whether lawmakers will move on this session's recommendation, which is required as per the audit firm, if any legs are to grow on this development plan before legislative sessions wind down in March.
