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| Budget forcing lawmakers to consider prison alternatives |
| By newspressnow.com - Jimmy Myers |
| Published: 08/29/2011 |
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The 2012 General Assembly won’t be called to the state capital for another 19 weeks, but a sentencing reform group is working to address penal issues that will likely come up in the form of House and Senate bills next year. Leaders of the state Senate and House met with government officials in Jefferson City last week to announce a partnership with the nonprofit Pew Center on the States, which will work toward decreasing the number of inmates in state prisons. More than 30,000 prisoners are currently serving time in Missouri penal institutions. The budget for the department of corrections for the 2012 fiscal year is $660 million. The 13-member Missouri Working Group on Sentencing and Corrections, which includes members of the House, Senate, state prosecutors, public defenders and circuit courts, is charged with looking at the prison population as well as state sentencing and corrections policy. They will consult criminal justice stakeholders and develop policy recommendations. State lawmakers will convene in January knowing that revenues are estimated to be around $450 million short. With that in mind, Dr. Joanne Katz, professor of legal studies at Missouri Western State University, said now is the perfect time to examine the system, which deals with generations of children growing up without fathers. Are we punishing them for what they’ve done, she asks, or do we want to help people to not commit another crime? “What we know is prison is very unsuccessful at that goal and it’s a very expensive way to do it,” she said, adding that treatment programs, which are more effective and less expensive, should be considered. Dr. Katz said the public needs to understand the consequences of our present system, and that we need to be “smart of crime” as opposed to concerned about being soft on crime. Dr. Katz, who lives in Kansas City, said police chiefs, prosecutors and judges, will “tell you they know the system is not working. It’s broken, it doesn’t work, it’s senseless. We’re spending all this money and the outcomes are awful.” Dwight Scroggins, Buchanan County prosecuting attorney, might agree with some of what Dr. Katz said regarding prison being successful with rehabilitation. Worse yet is the lack of funding available for those who need treatment and/or guidance outside of prison. “We inadequately fund the majority of programs that help people rehabilitate,” he said. Mr. Scroggins argues that with the 20 years of increased incarceration rates, there has been a correlating drop in crime. However, he said, the state needs to consider funding to address the needs of offenders on rehabilitation and keep track of them outside the prison walls. Read More. |
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