Pubdate: Sun, 28 Apr 2002
Source: Tribune Review (PA)
Copyright: 2002 Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://triblive.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/460
Author: Lawrence Sanata

JUSTICE OFFICIALS DEBATE SYSTEM

Criminal justice officials in Butler County are at odds over whether too 
many nonviolent offenders are being sentenced to the county's overcrowded 
prison.

Public Defender Richard Goldinger has become especially vocal in 
complaining that people with no record of violence are locked up too often.

But District Attorney Tim McCune said it sometimes is difficult to 
distinguish between violent and nonviolent offenders, between who is 
dangerous and who is not.

"More people are killed by DUI offenders in this county than by bullets. So 
who's dangerous?" he asked.

Last week, Butler County had 301 prisoners, including those in the prison, 
prison annex and prisons in other counties and those under house arrest and 
electronic monitoring, according to a weekly tally. About 30 of those were 
in the county prison solely for charges of driving under the influence. 
That does not include those held for charges in addition to DUI. About 50 
were being held for probation violations.

"I just don't believe in having nonviolent people behind bars," Goldinger 
said. He said the county needs to consider alternatives to prison, such as 
electronic monitoring and work release programs. A recent study of the 
county court system by U.S. Justice Department consultants cited "grossly 
inadequate" alternatives to imprisonment.

Goldinger also said judges require so many hearings that defendants are put 
at extra risk of being jailed for failing to appear.

McCune said that regardless of whether offenders have problems with drugs 
or alcohol, people found guilty of committing crimes must pay for their 
actions.

"We can't excuse their crimes because they have substance abuse problems 
and mental health problems," he said. "Now, if we can help somebody with 
their substance abuse problem, that's a plus."

McCune said he does not think too many nonviolent prisoners are being held 
in the prison.

Prison Warden Richard Gigliotti agreed. Unfortunately, he said, the number 
of nonviolent prisoners held in the prison reflects a growing heroin 
problem in the county.

"Of the cycles that we have gone through, this current heroin epidemic has 
brought on significantly more problems," the warden said.

On the other hand, he said, "I can tell you firsthand that we have 
literally saved the lives of some of these nonviolent people, simply by 
getting them off the street."

He said inmates have told him that if they were not put in prison, they 
likely would have overdosed and died.

Heroin users also are committing burglaries and robberies to get money for 
drugs, he said.

"They're doing whatever they can to get this heroin. - These people do need 
to be taken off the street," the warden said. "The law-abiding public needs 
a break from these people."

While treatment and counseling programs are offered at the prison, there 
are times when there are simply too many inmates wanting help and too few 
counselors, he said.

Common Pleas Judge Thomas Doerr said he is sympathetic to the issues 
Goldinger raises, but said judges must follow guidelines set by the 
Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, established in 1978. For example, 
there is a mandatory 30-day jail sentence for a second-time DUI offender, 
he said.

Doerr, the county's president judge, said he is working with the county's 
Human Services Department to develop a policy to evaluate offenders and 
provide more effective services for those with drug, alcohol and mental 
health problems.

It is more cost-effective for the courts and county to address the 
underlying problems that cause people to commit crimes, because people are 
"clogging up" the prison, he said.

About 600 people charged with criminal offenses last year were in need of 
drug counseling, Doerr said, but only about 200 received counseling from 
the county because of the demands on county services.

Since the late 1990s, Doerr said, the county's juvenile court has been 
successful in changing its approach to offenders.

"We have attempted to change focus and not look at the crime but the 
individual child and what contributed to the problems that led to arrest," 
Doerr said. That has been cost-effective and reduced the rate of repeat 
offenders, he said.

Doerr said he understands that 10 years ago, about 10 percent of prison 
inmates had a history of mental health treatment. Today, more than half the 
inmates have a history of mental health treatment, he said.

"I attribute this to a breakdown in the health care system," the president 
judge said.

Doerr said he hopes to develop drug- and alcohol-treatment programs that 
extend beyond the typical 10 to 14 days.

The county also needs to develop alternatives to incarceration when the law 
permits, he said. For example, he said state law allows house arrest with 
electronic monitoring for certain drug and alcohol offenses, if it is 
coordinated with drug and alcohol treatment.

Gary Elliott, the county's chief adult probation officer, said about 100 
people a month who ordinarily would end up in prison are accepted into 
programs that keep them out of prison.

Those include pretrial release and bond supervision programs, as well as 
the use of electronic monitoring, in which people wear an electronic sensor 
so probation officers can track them.

But, he said, the county's adult probation office simply does not have 
enough money or staff to expand those programs.

He said he does not think too many nonviolent prisoners are held in prison.

"I think (the county courts) tend to be more toward the lenient side in 
their sentencing," he said. "I think we could have a lot more people in 
jail if we were a harder county."
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