"The only way it can be done is they're going to have to cut people loose that shouldn't be cut loose," he told the (Harrisburg) Patriot-News.
Michael Potteiger, chairman of the state parole board, which is independent from the Corrections Department, said the board doesn't make decisions based on prison populations.
"We're not changing any criteria for a person to be paroled," Potteiger said. "Getting people who've already been paroled out the door sooner isn't a safety risk."
Officials cite clogs in the system, such as the delay of several months in confirming two parole board members. During that period, the number of inmates grew from 51,356 in July to a record 51,638 in December.
Wetzel said he could fix other clogs in the system, getting people who are eligible into interviews sooner and afterward getting them quickly out the door.
That, he said, would allow officials to bring back nearly 1,000 inmates housed in Virginia and eventually reduce the population enough to allow the closing of housing units.
Pinto, however, said the system is "overcrowded in every institution."
"There's absolutely no way he's going to close housing units," he said. "It's all based on projections, and the department has never been good at projections."
In order to save money, he said, officials have to get overtime under control or trim fat in what he called a "top-heavy" department.
"This is the reality of it: We are already at bare-minimum staffing," he said.
Potteiger said the system had grown much more efficient over the last few years.
The board now interviews inmates several months before their minimum release dates, so they can leave closer to that time if paroled.
After parole is granted, it sometimes takes time for inmates' home plans to be evaluated and approved by agents in the field, he said.
Potteiger pointed out that the three-year recidivism rate was now 42 percent, a reduction of 6 percent over the last five years.
In addition, those who violate technical provisions of parole are managed with sanctions and special treatment centers so fewer go back to prison.
Wetzel said that with every decrease of 200 to 250 inmates, he can close one of the system's modular housing units, allowing guards to be sent elsewhere.
He said that would help reduce the overtime Pinto cited, which costs the prison budget more than $60 million a year.
"If we're going to fundamentally change how we're spending money in corrections, this is what we've got to do," Wetzel said.
