AG Six says budget cuts threaten public safety with sex offenders

? Attorney General Steve Six on Thursday said recent budget cuts “will increase the likelihood of sexually violent predators re-entering society.”

Six called on the Legislature to appropriate $270,000 to restore a contract for forensic psychologists who evaluate inmates to determine if they should be considered for parole or continue to be confined under the state’s sexually violent predator program.

“If these psychologists are not available to perform risk assessments of these violent offenders, then neither our office, nor the Parole Board will have the most recent information as to whether we should be pursuing commitment,” Six said in a letter.

Six said the contract between the state and Correct Care Solutions, which provides the evaluation services, expired April 1.

Legislators return April 28 to start the wrap-up session and write a budget for the next fiscal year. Over the past year, the state, mired in recession, has cut $1 billion from what was once a $6.4 billion budget. Still, estimates indicate the state faces another $400 million revenue shortfall.

Six said cuts to public safety have gone too far. “Public safety is not a political bargaining chip,” he said.