The Cost of Throwing Away The Key

You’ve heard that the state may have to cut the supervision of 12,000 felons to save money…

Read this from listener Dick Hooper:

Dave…

…you may remember I was a probation and parole officer…..back in “the good old days”, probation was the norm….only really dangerous people were sent to prison and almost everyone was put on probation.

If you were unwilling or unable to comply with community supervision, your probation was revoked and you got sent to prison. When you were released, you were on a very tight parole supervision.

The result was a small prison system and a large community supervision system with resources to help ex-offenders get their lives together.

I, for one, thought this was a very successful system.

Somewhere in the 80s, it was decided by the powers that be that this system left too much discretion to judges, so the indeterminate sentencing laws were passed to make sentences “uniform”. That and all the monthly “tough on crime” bill caused huge increases in the prison population and the consequent building of many more prisons.

He goes on to say we could afford this while the economy was booming, but now the costs have become enormous.

I remember the “Three Strikes” campaigns sold us on the line that it would save money to keep recidivists locked up… but based on Dick’s experience, this sounds like one more example of glib campaign statements tripped up by reality.

You can’t lock up everyone, and when they get out, ex offenders need a support system and a structure. We need more work release programs, half way houses and work and education assistance. We need a return to a probation based sentencing system.

The alternative is increased crime rates and an entire underclass of convicted criminals with no resources, no where to go and no way to support themselves. Enhanced community safety?…I don’t think so….