Corrections Funding Needs To Focus On Supervision
BY NATE TAYLOR
NateTaylor@coloradoan.com
A national report examining America's criminal corrections system suggests the tough economic times present an opportunity to expand supervision programs that don't involve offenders being locked up.
Larimer County officials agree and say further strides need to be made in those programs to help manage budgets and rehabilitate offenders, but also said those efforts have already been a focus in the county and in Colorado in recent years.
The national report, titled "1 in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections" and conducted by the Pew Center on the States in Washington, D.C., concluded that in Colorado 1 in 29 people are under the supervision of the corrections system compared to 1 in 31 people across the nation.
Of those people under supervision, a majority is observed by parole or probation programs, but prisons receive far more state funding.
According to a Colorado Probation Services report for 2008, 75 percent of the corrections population was in parole, probation or community corrections programs, yet 82 percent of state funding goes toward prisons.
Both the Pew Center on the States and Larimer County officials think more resources needs to go to-ward supervision that doesn't involve prison.
2 comments:
Not only should more resources go to probation (and more offenders), but we need shorter probation lengths and ways for probationers to earn their way off supervision early through good behavior.
This works even better when judges use progressive sanctions models instead of just revoking for every piddling violation.
Probation revocations are a big driver of incarceration increases and reducing them IMO is among the "low hanging fruit" the de-incarceration advocates too often ignore.
I'll suggest something that would really save money in the prisons = no toilet paper at all. Install bathroom bidet sprayers in all the toilets and all they'll need is a towel to dry off. It's cleaner, cheaper (yes for those who just have to object to everything water is cheaper than toilet paper!), it's better for the environment and it has health benefits like lessening hemorrhoids which would save even more money. After they try it, like most people, they will like it. As Dr. Oz said on Oprah: "if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn't wipe it off with paper, would you? You'd wash it off" This is a logical, doable and simple way to save allot of money and actually improve the prisoners living standards. But of course like all new ideas people will find countless silly and inane objections, that is the way of things. Theses sprayers are available at www.bathroomsprayers.com I installed mine myself, easy.
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