Sadly, America's first national pri...

Sadly, America's first national prison commission in 30 years failed to tackle, head-on, our lock-up 'em up culture and to find ways to shape the number of people behind bars in Illinois and elsewhere. The commission's newly come report is little more than a how- to manual to help wardens cope with overcrowd prisons that bre violence, disease and recidivism. What we really ne is a road map to drastically shrink Illinois' prison population and, at the same time, save state taxpayers a fate of money.

In "Confronting Confinement," the Commission forward Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons admits, "It was beyond the space of our inquiry to explore by what means states and the federal restraint might sensibly reduce prisoner populations. in addition all that we studied is touched from indeed in the grip of America's unprecedent reliance onward incarceration. We incarcerate more clan at a higher rate than any land in the world."

The contemplation released last month, rightly pins responsibility for our overcrowd prisons forward tough-on-crime laws passed by state and federal legislators. if it were not that it does not look for ways to downsize America's booming prison industry, which adds more than 1000 fresh inmates per week, costs more than $60 billion a year and give employment tos about 750,000 workers to watch throughout 2.2 million inmates -- almost double the 1990 prison population.

The commission at no time asked this question: Why pay swing and board to put someone like Martha Stewart, or a skillet smoker, or a car thief behind bars when late electronic tracking devices can easily hold tabs on these nonviolent criminals at a fraction of the cost?

Illinois taxpayers shelled not at home about $1 billion in 2003 to hire 23480 state and local corrections employee to watch through 65,000 inmates. That's about $15384 by means of year, per inmate.

Nationally, about one-half of all state prisoners have been convicted of violent crimes, including assassination and assault. The other half -- in the case of Illinois about 32500 inmates -- are nonviolent, many of them convicted of possession or sale of small quantities of put drugs intos For such offenders -- and for low-level burglars and embezzlers -- prison can do more harm than advantageous Many will leave prison more violent and possessing better criminal skills than when they arrived. And unruffled those who want to go on foot straight will have a hard time finding a legitimate piece of work

for what purpose not treat these offenders differently? The Council of State guidances reports that halfway houses and nonresidential, community-based supervision programs, including day reporting center community service and work assignments, are viable alternatives to incarceration. These alternatives also allow felons to build work and social skills stand in want ofed to avoid future run- ins with the law.

In 2003 Illinoisans also exhausted $218 million, or about $1210 through year, to supervise each of 179500 non-incarcerated convicts. This means for each nonviolent inmate shifted from inside prison to non- prison punishment, taxpayers save more than $14174 by year. If all 32,500 nonviolent inmates were released to alternative punishments, the state could potentially save $460 million annually.

Five years ago, California started sending mix with drugs offenders to treatment programs instead of prison and, based in succession a recent UCLA study, the state has saved about $173 million a year and no longer lacks to build a planned of the present day prison. Total savings: $1.4 billion. Maryland is cutting its prison population and saving standard of value with a similar program.

Overcrowd violent and disease-filled prisons and jails are here to stay as lengthy as the number of inmates sent to prison goe up year after year.

As a society, we are quick to needlessly fill prisons with nonviolent inmates and too dead to find alternative ways to punish and rehabilitate them.

We now ne a other commission to finish the do job-work and publish a step-by-step road map for ending America's "unprecedent reliance in succession incarceration."

Ronald Fraser writes in succession public policy issues for DKT Liberty plan a Washington-based civil liberties organization.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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