LET'S WORK AT NOT BUILDING PRISONS

Iowa has a choice: Undertake its biggest prison-building spree in
history, or look for alternatives that reduce the need for more prisons.

That choice must be made soon. The Legislature is considering a
recommendation from Gov. Chet Culver to build a new state penitentiary
and a new women's prison at a cost of $200 million. A legislative
committee proposed that, plus a $25 million expansion of the prison at
Newton. State corrections officials say the Men's Reformatory in
Anamosa is next in line for replacement. And, if the steady growth in
prison population continues as projected, the state could face
building as many as three more prisons in the next decade.

There are alternatives to some, if not all, of this prison building,
and it is time for the state to take them seriously.

1. Reduce prison sentences. The Legislature has contributed to prison
crowding by mandating stiff sentences and reducing early parole. Even
modest increases in sentences have a major impact on prison
populations. There is no documented link between longer sentences and
changes in criminal behavior. Yet lawmakers have resisted
recommendations to reform sentencing.

2. Assure convicts a successful transition upon release. Parolees who
get help after prison with mental and physical health care, employment
and counseling are more likely to succeed. Without that safety net,
however, they are more likely to violate parole, commit new crimes and
return to prison.

3. Divert more offenders from prison. There is growing evidence that
offenders with drug and alcohol problems or mental illnesses can be
steered to productive, crime-free lives by completing far less costly
programs in their own communities, where they have the support of
family and friends.

Commendably, Governor Culver has recommended the Legislature spend $43
million to help parolees re-enter society and to divert people from
prison in the first place. He recommended investing in re-entry
programs for those leaving prison and expanding community-based
programs that serve as alternatives to prison. The Legislature should
act on those recommendations.

Court and corrections officials have learned from experience that
locking people up for long periods and then dumping them on the street
does not make communities safer. Nor does prison by itself transform
people into law-abiding citizens. There are more effective ways to do
both. Among the most promising examples are drug courts, described in
the companion essay, which now operate in 10 Iowa counties.

Drug courts give a second chance to defendants who turn to crime
because of drug and alcohol addictions. These defendants avoid prison
if they complete a period of intensive supervision by the court and
probation officers. Iowa's drug courts have a growing record of
success. The courts have stepped outside the usual
put-people-in-prison box to work with a broad spectrum of
social-services agencies, public and private. The primary aim, rather
than punishing people who make mistakes, is to help address the
problems that lead to bad decisions. The drug-court model should be
expanded to other categories of crime - such as domestic abuse or
drunken driving.

Although drug courts have wide support among court and corrections
officials, funding is spread among several state agencies and relies
in part on federal dollars that would be eliminated in President
Bush's 2009 federal budget. The Iowa Legislature should make sure the
money is there to continue the program and expand it to all 99 counties.

Drug courts are just one example of how Iowa can divert people from
prison, reform criminals and make communities safer. Before the
Legislature agrees to build more prisons, it should make sure the
state has done everything possible to create alternatives for people
who don't need to be there.