Cell Block
How to save $$$ on prisons.
Eighteen years ago the Texas Legislature attacked the problem of overcrowded prisons by embarking on a $2 billion expansion binge that created the largest penal system in the country (163,000 prisoners under state control) and increased the state's annual operating costs for incarcerating felons tenfold. Yet lawmakers learned from a recent report that within five years, Texas will need another 15,000 beds if current sentencing and release trends continue. In a state where local prosecutors and judges pride themselves—especially at election time—on meting out long sentences, a harsh economic law is at work: When it comes to prisons, the supply creates its own demand.
With the tab for operating the state prison system now running at $1.4 billion a year, fiscal conservatives in both parties are showing extraordinary interest in alternatives to incarceration that were once dismissed as liberal notions. As Republican senator Robert T. Duncan of Lubbock puts it, "We need to challenge ourselves to think differently and recognize there are smarter ways to deal with the crime problem than spending money." Instead of building new prisons, lawmakers hope to free up the equivalent of 15,000 new beds with three new approaches.
•Revise parole policies. In Ann Richards' last full year as governor, the parole rate was 28 percent. Under George W. Bush, the rate has dropped as low as 16.7 percent, a shrinkage some legislators attribute to Bush's desire to avoid a Willie Horton-type incident that could have adversely affected his presidential bid. Lawmakers would like to see the rate at 25 percent or slightly higher. Another parole problem is that people who commit technical parole violations—like leaving home thirty minutes earlier than allowed to go to work (an actual case)—often get thrown back in prison. The obvious solution is an intermediate sanction that doesn't require taking up prison beds.
•Treat nondangerous mentally ill offenders in local facilities. Duncan credits Lubbock County sheriff David Gutierrez with pioneering a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies and the local offices of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to keep mentally ill offenders out of prison. When police officers arrest someone who shows symptoms of mental illness, they summon MHMR officials. If the crime occurred because the accused failed to take psychiatric medications, mental health professionals intervene to send him to a facility where he can get support in taking medicine that will control his behavior. Prosecutors must agree to this treatment for the offender to avoid prison. Not only does the mentally ill person get treatment, but the State of Texas does not have to spend $14,129 a year for his incarceration. And the state won't have to pay for expensive mental illness drugs; in the outside world, patients may qualify for federally funded Medicaid.
•Send drug users to rehab, not state jail. Too many prison beds are occupied by offenders who commit petty crimes to support a drug habit. Dallas state district judge John Creuzot supervises state jail drug offenders through a twelve- to eighteen-month treatment program with promising results. Since January 1998, Creuzot has "graduated" 110 former addicts, and 92 percent have remained law abiding. Once a week, a public defender, a prosecutor, and counselors meet with Creuzot and the arrested addict in DIVERT Court (Dallas Initiative for Diversion and Expedited Rehabilitation and Treatment) to discuss everything from employment to education to living situations. Daily therapy sessions and at least one urine test a week are required. Creuzot believes his court has reduced crime. "We're interested in addicts who are likely committing other crimes," he explains.
Eighteen years ago the Texas Legislature attacked the problem of overcrowded prisons by embarking on a $2 billion expansion binge that created the largest penal system in the country (163,000 prisoners under state control) and increased the state's annual operating costs for incarcerating felons tenfold. Yet lawmakers learned from a recent report that within five years, Texas will need another 15,000 beds if current sentencing and release trends continue. In a state where local prosecutors and judges pride themselves—especially at election time—on meting out long sentences, a harsh economic law is at work: When it comes to prisons, the supply creates its own demand.
With the tab for operating the state prison system now running at $1.4 billion a year, fiscal conservatives in both parties are showing extraordinary interest in alternatives to incarceration that were once dismissed as liberal notions. As Republican senator Robert T. Duncan of Lubbock puts it, "We need to challenge ourselves to think differently and recognize there are smarter ways to deal with the crime problem than spending money." Instead of building new prisons, lawmakers hope to free up the equivalent of 15,000 new beds with three new approaches.
•Revise parole policies. In Ann Richards' last full year as governor, the parole rate was 28 percent. Under George W. Bush, the rate has dropped as low as 16.7 percent, a shrinkage some legislators attribute to Bush's desire to avoid a Willie Horton-type incident that could have adversely affected his presidential bid. Lawmakers would like to see the rate at 25 percent or slightly higher. Another parole problem is that people who commit technical parole violations—like leaving home thirty minutes earlier than allowed to go to work (an actual case)—often get thrown back in prison. The obvious solution is an intermediate sanction that doesn't require taking up prison beds.
•Treat nondangerous mentally ill offenders in local facilities. Duncan credits Lubbock County sheriff David Gutierrez with pioneering a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies and the local offices of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to keep mentally ill offenders out of prison. When police officers arrest someone who shows symptoms of mental illness, they summon MHMR officials. If the crime occurred because the accused failed to take psychiatric medications, mental health professionals intervene to send him to a facility where he can get support in taking medicine that will control his behavior. Prosecutors must agree to this treatment for the offender to avoid prison. Not only does the mentally ill person get treatment, but the State of Texas does not have to spend $14,129 a year for his incarceration. And the state won't have to pay for expensive mental illness drugs; in the outside world, patients may qualify for federally funded Medicaid.
•Send drug users to rehab, not state jail. Too many prison beds are occupied by offenders who commit petty crimes to support a drug habit. Dallas state district judge John Creuzot supervises state jail drug offenders through a twelve- to eighteen-month treatment program with promising results. Since January 1998, Creuzot has "graduated" 110 former addicts, and 92 percent have remained law abiding. Once a week, a public defender, a prosecutor, and counselors meet with Creuzot and the arrested addict in DIVERT Court (Dallas Initiative for Diversion and Expedited Rehabilitation and Treatment) to discuss everything from employment to education to living situations. Daily therapy sessions and at least one urine test a week are required. Creuzot believes his court has reduced crime. "We're interested in addicts who are likely committing other crimes," he explains.
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