Colorado Confidential on Morgan Carroll's Town Meeting

CCJRC thanks Colorado Confidential for reporting on this event. Erin Rosa :: Correcting Corrections, Part 1 Is crime decreasing because the state is incarcerating people? What are the most effective ways to prevent crime and repeat offenders? Those are a few of the questions a panel of experts hoped to answer last night, in a town hall forum dealing with the subject of corrections. The event was hosted by Rep. Morgan Carroll, an Aurora Democrat and vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Attendees included executive directors for the Department of Corrections (DOC) and Department of Public Safety, Attorney General John Suthers, and a representative with the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). It's arguably the top budget crisis in Colorado. In 1977, approximately 89 citizens per 100,000 were incarcerated, and now the number has grown significantly. It's estimated that 438 out 100,000 were incarcerated in 2004, and the DOC is routinely being pushed to the breaking point. "It's a fixed ratio and the ratio itself is growing at a pretty staggering pace," said Rep. Carroll, before introducing the speakers. But while panelists agreed that there was a problem, they disagreed on the ways to fix it. Ari Zavaras, DOC Executive Director Zavaras, who headed the DOC under former-Gov. Roy Romer, stressed a theme of public safety. "If we don't take some steps, if we don't try to address a little bit of what's happening within the Department of Corrections, we are basically going to be the state budget before too much longer," he said, before commenting that the Ritter administration was dedicated to fixing the problem. Zavaras said the DOC should take advantage of modern technology to monitor and individuals in the community and also lauded the Governor's push for a crime commission to examine corrections issues. "The state went through some difficult times. People in the department over time have had to make some difficult decisions as to resources, and some things were cut within that department that really hurt and contributed to the recidivism rate we're now seeing," Zavaras explained. Two arms that were adversely affected were programs to modify inmate behavior and the state's parole system, which is dealing with arduously high case loads. "When they're so many cases, and they see somebody getting even close to the line as far as problems go, they're going to revoke them back. They're going to send them back to prison," said Zavaras. Peter Weir, Department of Public Safety Executive Director Weir, a self-described "life long Republican" and former judge, started by saying that there were two groups of offenders in the DOC: those who were sentenced under mandatory minimum sentences without a judge's discretion, and those who worked their way in there. "That last thing that I wanted to do as a judge, and my colleagues wanted to do, was to sentence people with addiction problems to DOC, but they are there because they literally worked there way into the department of corrections," Weir said. Weir also lauded Gov. Ritter's plan to do things differently, and further explained the creation of the Colorado Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission, which is set to be approved this year by the legislature. According to Wier, the commission has three objectives: to look at preventative measures for offenders so they don't return to corrections, to look at alternatives to incarceration such as mental-health and substance-abuse programs, and to examine the state's sentencing structure which hasn't been reviewed since 1973. CHRISTIE DONNER (CCJRC)

Donner started by speaking on the impact and limitations of the corrections in Colorado. She also stressed a preference for alternative measures and services outside of the criminal justice system. "Please, if anyone ever...whether it's a politician or a professional or anyone...says to you that the answer to reducing crime in our communities is simply to 'get tough,' please tell them to answer that," she said. Getting tough can also mean focusing on health care and education Donner said, while noting that such services have been defunded to support corrections. She also commented that when services are offered, they are only available after incarceration and not before, making prevention very difficult. "Most of the dollars that are invested in substance abuse and mental health are tied to the criminal justice system. So you have to get busted in order to access services," said Donner. Another aspect that was touched upon was the the simple fact that most inmates who go to prison will be released eventually. That means individuals who are looking for income and shelter. "People are coming out and they are not prepared. They are not able to find jobs, they are not able to find housing," said Donner. "They can't afford all of the expectations in terms of fines, fees, costs, [urinary analyses], classes, ankle monitors, all these things." Attorney General John Suthers Suthers stuck with a theme of public safety, but he also spoke about how he would support the new criminal justice commision in different ways. Suthers then commented on prison populations rising dramatically due to the doubling of many state sentences in the 1980s and the implementation of mandatory minimum sentences. Suthers also said he supports giving more discretion to judges, and that released inmates are less likely to return to prison if they stay out of trouble during their first year in society. That is another reason why the Attorney General said he approves of educating inmates.

Colorado Confidential