Published September 1993 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Crime Fighting In West Virginia
Two spokes in the nation's criminal justice wheel--inextricably linked --were on display in West Virginia recently when ground was broken for the new Raleigh County Federal Prison and when the final bolt was installed on the steel super-structure for the new FBI facility in Harrison County. I was on hand for both ceremonies, and I took pride in seeing two of my initiatives for our state moving forward toward completion. Both projects will mean a safer future for the citizens in our state and across the nation. The Raleigh County Federal prison, which will house 1,152 medium-security beds and 384 minimum security beds, is being built with $80 million in federal funding that I added to an appropriations bill. When completed, the new prison will provide an estimated 325 jobs and an annual economic impact of $22 million in payroll and local purchases. In spite of the positive impact that this federal prison will make on the economy of southern West Virginia, no one can rejoice that our society is being forced to build more and more prisons to house more and more criminals and law-breakers. But until our society finds a way to bring the escalating crime rate under control, facilities like the new federal prison in Beckley will be essential to ensure the security and safety of millions of Americans. Essential, too, will be facilities like the FBI's new automated Fingerprint Identification Division, which is on its way to completion in Harrison County and which will bring with it an estimated 2,500 jobs and an annual payroll of $75 million. The new FBI facility, for which I have added more than $400 million to federal appropriations bills, will provide police with a rapidfire, electronic method of checking fingerprints of suspected law-breakers. With this state-of-the-art capability, our Jaw enforcement personnel will enjoy a new level of identification and tracking that will help to more easily place dangerous criminals behind bars. West Virginia is poised to make a unique contribution to our nation's criminal justice system, and I look forward to completion of both the FBI facility and Raleigh County's new federal prison. September 22, 1993