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| More jail-alternative policies |
| By dailyiowan.com |
| Published: 09/28/2011 |
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About a half million dollars has been saved by alleviating jail overcrowding and bettering the community — and there's plenty of room for improvement. With the persistent problems of overcrowding and cash-strapped governments, reforms to the jail system need to be considered sooner rather than later. Positive strides have been made in recent years to improve the Johnson County correctional system. Local officials must take the lessons learned and apply them to as many policies as they can. The recent efforts by Johnson County to divert mentally ill inmates to clinical settings is a logical step in the right direction, and it has led to the aforementioned benefits. The primary goal of the jail-alternative program is to provide a better environment for those who are mentally ill and cure the root of the problem rather than neglecting it. Jailing the mentally ill while ignoring their needs can worsen their symptoms, so jailing these individuals only to let them out after their sentence is often counterintuitive — but it has also led to considerable monetary savings. Since the beginning of the program, savings of nearly $500,000 have been realized, even after accounting for costs. Read More. |
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