Pubdate: Wed, 02 Jan 2008
Source: Post-Crescent, The (Appleton,  WI)
Copyright: 2008 The Post-Crescent
Contact: http://www.postcrescent.com/contact/forms/editor-letter.shtml
Website: http://www.postcrescent.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1443
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

REGIONAL JAIL MAY NOT BE ANSWER TO OVERCROWDING

Jail overcrowding has been simmering for a while in  Outagamie,
Winnebago and Calumet counties.

Soon, officials from the three counties will launch a  study on the
feasibility of building a regional jail. A  special committee will
assess surrounding counties and  their jail needs, along with
analyzing the cost of  building a regional facility.

Already we know that Outagamie County's 550-bed jail is  nearing
capacity, Winnebago County is projecting a full  jail in the next
three to four years, and Calumet is  currently housing inmates in
other counties because its  jail is overcrowded. It's clear something
needs to be  done.

But is building another prison really the answer?

Creating drug courts and rehabilitation centers are  alternatives that
may end up saving money and result in  less violent criminals in the
long run.

Increased drug offenses explain part of the swelling in  prisons
throughout the country. According to the U.S.  Department of Justice
Bureau of Statistics, 2.2 million  prisoners were housed in federal,
state and local jails  at the end of 2006. These numbers represent an
average  annual growth of 3.4 percent since 1995.

Violent crime made up about half of the sentences --and  those
prisoners need to be incarcerated. But the ones  who are arrested for
minor drug possession could go  through a drug court, such as the one
that opened in  Winnebago County in 2006.

Intended for non-violent drug offenders, the emphasis  is on
rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Drug courts have proven to reduce incarceration rates  and address
crimes such as burglary that are often tied  to drugs and treat
offenders before they reach violent  levels.

While they may attempt to rehabilitate prisoners, jails  often release
inmates with more violent tendencies than  they came in with.

Maybe building another jail is inevitable. Still, we  hope that when
county officials delve into the jail  feasibility study, they also
will look at alternatives  to a new jail to fix the overcrowding problem.
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