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| Breaking cycle of criminality a laudable goal |
| By leadertelegram.com |
| Published: 08/22/2011 |
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'Lock 'em up and throw away the key," is a popular sentiment when it comes to lawbreakers. And, truth be told, there are some people whose crimes are so heinous that they deserve never to walk freely again. However, most of those who make their way into our criminal justice system don't fall into that category. They're college students who are mortified the next morning by the drunken excesses that landed them in jail. They're people with untreated drug problems who commit petty crimes. For these and many others, a first encounter with the justice system can either be a brief detour that leads back to a law-abiding, productive life or an off-ramp into a life of more crime and desperation. The latter route carries great personal costs - for victims, offenders and their families - but it is costly in financial terms too: The Wisconsin Department of Corrections spends $1 billion annually, mostly on locking people up, not counting the millions spent on offenders by municipalities and counties. Too often, the justice system ignores the varied needs of different offenders. Fortunately, those with a stake in the system in Eau Claire County are working to take a more collaborative approach that, if successful, will save money, improve lives and above all slow the revolving jailhouse door. The players in Eau Claire County - judges, prosecutors, public defenders, jailers, and law enforcement and other agencies - have sought and received a grant from the federally funded National Institute of Corrections to implement what is called an evidence-based decision making process. The grant, which will be worth several hundred thousand dollars in technical support and consulting, was received by only three communities nationwide; in Eau Claire, it will help institute a system in which evidence - gathered through surveys and other tools at each step of the process - is used to make better decisions about what should be done with offenders. Low-risk individuals - for example, those whose criminal history and family situations indicate they are unlikely to get in trouble again - will be diverted from the system early, preventing them from clogging courts and jails (and potentially picking up criminal traits from those they might be jailed with). Limited resources, including incarceration and treatment, can thus be focused on medium- and high-risk lawbreakers. Read More. |
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