CHARTING NEW COURSE FOR PRISONS

In recent years there have been some common-sense changes made to Nevada's
state prison system, whether it's providing drug treatment for substance
abusers or offering better rehabilitation programs so that inmates don't
return to crime when they're eventually released. Just last week a
front-page story in the New York Times highlighted how Nevada and some
other states are taking a different approach to dealing with a growing
number of juvenile inmates.

The reason for the increase of younger inmates is due to the passage of
laws that have made it easier to convict youths as adults.

Instead of placing teenagers in the same cells with older inmates, the
Nevada Department of Corrections more frequently is housing juvenile
inmates in a unit that is separated from where older inmates are located.
Not only are younger inmates more prone to being beaten or raped by older
inmates, but the thinking also is that if they mix with hardened criminals
they will end up worse than when they came in. And since most of these
young men will one day be released, prison officials believe it makes more
sense to try to reach them early and try rehabilitating them before there
is no hope left of turning their lives around.

To do nothing increases the likelihood that the inmates, once they're
released, will commit the same crimes again or possibly even more violent ones.

During the 1990s Nevada wasn't immune to the tough-on-crime movement that
swept much of the nation, resulting in stiff sentences for criminals. Often
these stricter laws were understandable responses to instances where felons
weren't being dealt with harshly enough in light of the severity of their
crimes.

Obviously many of the criminals are in prison for committing heinous
crimes, and the public isn't going to feel sympathy for their plight.

Still, there are a number of inmates behind bars who have been convicted of
nonviolent acts or may be in prison for drug-related crimes.

The key is ensuring that those who have the potential for rehabilitation
get some assistance. Department of Corrections Director Jackie Crawford is
charting a sensible course that emphasizes discipline, yet also
acknowledges rehabilitation as an important part of the prison's mission .