I don't want to muck up THR anymore so I'm posting this here instead. But there has been lots of discussion about this very topic.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/12/02/news/state/42-panel.txtPanel : Many in prison don't belong
By The Associated Press
HELENA - Montana could save millions of dollars a year by moving some convicted felons, including lower-level sex offenders, out of prisons and into treatment programs that have proved successful, a panel of experts told lawmakers.
The suggestion was among those offered during a meeting Thursday of the Corrections Advisory Council, which is looking to reduce prison overcrowding in the state.
Shawn Abbott, who runs a treatment program in Great Falls for sex offenders, said many people behind bars are young men who had sex with girlfriends who were underage at the time.
"We stigmatize them badly by labeling them sex offenders and forcing them to register with law enforcement for the rest of their lives," she told the council. "We need to be able to tailor our treatment of them," she said.
Many of those offenders are classified as Level 1 sex offenders, said Mike Scolatti, a psychologist from Missoula who works with the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
"In general, I don't think Level 1 offenders deserve to be in prison," he said. "These guys aren't predators."
Of the 608 sex offenders in prison in Montana, 137 are Level 1, he said. Their treatment costs $49,000 a year each, or $6.7 million annually.
"If the courts sentenced half those 137 Level 1 men to outpatient treatment, the state would save $3,381,000 a year," Scolatti said.
About 100 other inmates have completed their sex-offender treatment and are just waiting to complete their sentences, he said.
"If we leave those guys sitting in prison for another year, it costs the state another $5 million," he said, adding that the additional prison time does the offender no good.
"The vast majority of these guys aren't sexual predators," he said, noting very low recidivism rates. "Less than 1 percent of them are. Contrary to popular belief, we're getting some very good results from treatment."
Daniel N. Abrahamson, director of legal affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, said the state could also save millions by treating drug addicts instead of imprisoning them.
Under Proposition 36 in California, about 35,000 drug users chose voluntary treatment over prison, he told the council in a conference call from a vacation in Mexico.
"One study showed that for every $1 spent on treatment, taxpayers have saved $2.50," Abrahamson said.
He said outpatient treatment costs about $3,300 a year, compared with the $34,000 cost of a year in prison.
Gary Kempker also briefed the council Thursday on a study of Montana's jails done this year by the National Institute of Corrections.
"In some jails, we saw 70 percent of the inmates were pretrial. They were waiting for trials for six months to a year," Kempker said.
"And other jurisdictions had 30 percent of their jail populations serving sentences for municipal misdemeanors," he said. "Those struck us as meriting further study."
Cascade County Sheriff David Castle volunteered his facility for a pilot study, noting that the jail population in Great Falls was reduced over the past year by acting on some of Kempker's recommendations.
Copyright © 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Published on Saturday, December 02, 2006.
Last modified on 12/2/2006 at 12:59 am
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
