It's hard to find the good side of the budget stalemate in Harrisburg. Either way, people in Pennsylvania will have to deal with higher taxes or big cuts in state services. However, if you're looking for a silver lining, the fiscal crisis might force lawmakers to rethink some bad ideas that have been extremely costly to taxpayers. The latest example? Some unlikely elected officials are starting to make noises that it's time to radically reform our criminal justice system.
That's the word from State Senator Stewart Greenleaf, a Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee. According to an article in Sunday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the high cost of incarceration might force some much needed changes.
Recent spikes in prison spending caught the attention of lawmakers, such as Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery County, who wrote the state's mandatory drug sentencing laws in the 1990s.
"We're almost spending more on prisons than higher education. Pretty soon we will be," he said.
A check of last year's budget revealed that happened when Pennsylvania taxpayers anted up $1.66 billion for the state prisons, compared to $1.59 billion for higher education, or about $33,000 per prisoner per year, compared to $4,000 per college student per year.
Greenleaf has chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for nearly two decades. He said the policies he and his colleagues championed — mandatory minimum sentences, limits on parole, more prison time for drug and nonviolent offenders — largely are responsible for a prison population spike with no accompanying decline in crime.
"We're almost spending more on prisons than higher education. Pretty soon we will be," he said.
A check of last year's budget revealed that happened when Pennsylvania taxpayers anted up $1.66 billion for the state prisons, compared to $1.59 billion for higher education, or about $33,000 per prisoner per year, compared to $4,000 per college student per year.
Greenleaf has chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for nearly two decades. He said the policies he and his colleagues championed — mandatory minimum sentences, limits on parole, more prison time for drug and nonviolent offenders — largely are responsible for a prison population spike with no accompanying decline in crime.
So, what needs to happen? There are a number of reforms that could lower the costs of the criminal justice.
First, it's time to drop the idea that being tough on crime in the right fit for every situation. We need to stop locking up nonviolent drug offenders and divert as many people as possible to alternative sentencing programs. That doesn't mean we should be freeing violent criminals, but incarceration should be the last resort.
However, there are some costs associated with putting fewer people behind bars. If we're going to divert people away from prison, we'll also need to beef up our parole and probation system. As the article points out, Michigan has had some success with this approach. It costs much less to monitor an offender on house arrest, but that'll require some investment in probation officers and related technology.
Speaking of diverting offenders, another major issue is the large number of prisoners who are mentally ill. Right now, the prison system in Pennsylvania is the largest provider of mental health services in the state. Think about that. We're essentially warehousing people who should be getting treatment, not punishment.
Until these things change, we'll be spending billions of dollars on a system that just doesn't work.
I know. Let's let out these "nonviolent drug offenders" who only sold a little meth. They're just waiting for their chance to be fine citizens and to get a college degree: http://www.kyw1060.com/Massive-Area-Drug-Ring-Busted/5068287— CleanupPhilly- It's a real shame. The US has the highest prison population in the world. I believe that we past Russia last year!— Byron
- I have a solution: Police have horrible aim. Bullets cost $0.50. I'm willing to pay $0.50 per prisoner to get police that can hit what they aim at.— woulfe
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