Pubdate: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2003 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) SWELLING COUNTY JAILS Runaway growth in the number of people in jails helps to explain why many Wisconsin counties have had so much trouble balancing their books. For the sake of a county's fiscal health, officials must become more cost-conscious about punishment. Over the decade that ended last year, the Journal Sentinel has reported, the ranks of county jail inmates in Wisconsin almost doubled - an increase not accounted for by either population or crime trends. The state's population grew by only 10% during the decade, and crime actually dropped by 20%. The average daily county jail population neared 13,600 last year, up from 7,100 in 1992. Stiffer laws explain the increase. Counties take drunken driving more seriously than they once did, for instance. The same goes for domestic violence. Tougher laws in those areas were appropriate. But officials in search of more cost-effective alternatives in some cases should inventory the reasons people go to jail. The experts agree that the driving force behind the national explosion in both jail and prison populations is the war on drugs, which relies too heavily on expensive incarceration. A cheaper alternative for non-violent drug users is mandatory treatment, which beats lockups in lowering recidivism, according to research by the Rand Corp. MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope) is pushing for a state law that would automatically divert non-violent drug offenders into treatment. The organization is working with lawmakers to introduce such a bill, which deserves a good reception in the Legislature in light of the state's and counties' fiscal woes. The Milwaukee County Community Justice Day Reporting Center is a worthy alternative that perhaps deserves to expand or to be emulated elsewhere. Rather than stewing behind bars, a non-violent offender can visit the center, under a strict set of rules, for drug and alcohol counseling, anger management courses, general education, job training and other services. County jails basically hold two sorts of people - criminal defendants awaiting bail hearings or trials and convicted defendants serving light sentences. Courts can tamp down the numbers in the first category by processing new arrestees faster. Milwaukee County's intake court, for example, runs on weekends - a practice that may be worth copying elsewhere. County officials owe it to taxpayers to aggressively search for ways to rein in runaway jail costs. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh