Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jan 2001
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2001 The Hartford Courant
Contact:  http://www.hartfordcourant.com/
Forum: http://chat.courant.com/scripts/webx.exe
Author: Dwight F. Blint

STUDY: EXPAND PRISONS, DRUG TREATMENT

A state panel is recommending the expansion of existing prisons and 
the construction of a 500-bed drug-treatment and pre-release facility 
as the cornerstone of its plan to accommodate the state's growing 
prison population.

The governor's prison and jail overcrowding commission, which 
released its report Tuesday, also proposes expanding mental-health 
programs, increasing the number of parole and probation officers and 
giving judges more discretion in sentencing drug-dependent, 
non-violent offenders.

The panel's suggestions contradict some significant proposals of 
another state committee examining prison overcrowding. The 
legislative program review and investigations committee late last 
year called for the state to turn away from construction and instead 
rely on community-based programs and shorter prison stays to ease 
overcrowding.

Department of Correction Commissioner John J. Armstrong leads the 
prison and jail overcrowding commission. That panel includes Arthur 
L. Spada, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety; Chief 
State's Attorney John M. Bailey; and Lt. Gov. Jodi Rell. The 
legislative program review and investigations committee is an arm of 
the state legislature made up of staff members.

Christina Polce, a spokeswoman for the Department of Correction, 
attributed the differences in the recommendations to the overcrowding 
commission's aim to provide alternatives to incarceration and give 
judges discretion while holding criminals responsible for their 
crimes.

"We don't want to seem soft on crime," said Polce.

Polce said the 500-bed facility would hold inmates in need of drug 
treatment for her agency, for the judicial branch and for the 
departments of parole and probation. State officials estimate that 
about 80 percent of inmates need drug treatment.

The report does not make a recommendation on where the facility would be built.

The center could also help to resolve some of the racial disparity in 
the state's prison system, a long-held concern of lawmakers and 
civil-rights advocates.

About 70 percent of the state's inmates are black or Hispanic, while 
those groups make up approximately 20 percent of the overall state 
population. Many of those inmates were arrested as a result of 
aggressive drug-enforcement efforts in urban areas. Many drug-related 
crimes have mandatory minimum sentences.

Polce said that building the facility proposed by the commission on 
overcrowding and giving judges more discretion could provide an 
alternative to placing drug-dependant offenders in prison.

"We're trying to serve the needs of the legislature and address the 
concerns they have brought up," said Polce, adding that the committee 
would be working to develop legislative support for its plan.

The report lists prison expansion as its first recommendation. The 
state has been seeking to add 1,600 prison beds to a system that 
holds about 16,700 inmates in 20 facilities. Some municipalities that 
host prisons have expressed interest in having the state expand the 
facilities in their towns.

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said he's on board with the 
report's recommendations.

"I thinks that it's a very balanced proposal," Lawlor said.

Lawlor, chairman of the legislative's judiciary committee, said more 
effort should be made to put non-violent offenders into treatment 
programs, reserving expensive prison beds for violent criminals. He 
said that shift in emphasis is happening around the country.

Lawlor said he also supports efforts to lower the caseloads for 
parole and probation officers and to slowly move inmates back into 
the community.

"One day you're in prison, and the next day you're out the door," 
Lawlor said. "There's not enough preparation in getting them out the 
door," he said. He predicted that the result of more pre-release 
treatment would be reduced recidivism rates.
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