AN ANTI-CRIME PLAN THAT BELONGS BEHIND BARS

It's tough running as a tough-on-crime candidate in a state that's among
the nation's toughest on crime.

The perennial need to up the ante can lead to such nonsense as "The Death
Penalty Enhancement Act" (see former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore's 2005
legislative package). When Virginia is surpassed only by Texas in
executions over the past quarter century, there's not a lot to enhance.

The same thinking led GOP attorney general-hopeful Steve Baril to complain
that Virginia's not locking up enough nonviolent offenders. Even though
Virginia has the 13th highest incarceration rate in the nation, those
convicted of stealing and drug offenses too often avoid jail time, he said.

And just what would it cost the commonwealth to start locking up all those
extra prisoners?

Not surprisingly, Baril had no idea. Didn't he expect anyone to ask? Or
does he regard the expense as unworthy of consideration?

The omission reflects fundamental misunderstanding of the
truth-in-sentencing reform spearheaded by then-governor, now-U.S. Sen.
George Allen a decade ago. The unassailable logic of that reform was to
bring time-served in line with the sentences being meted out.

The goal also was to keep violent criminals behind bars for dramatically
longer periods of time. To afford it, the state needed to divert many
nonviolent criminals into less-expensive programs closer to home. That's
been accomplished with what most people, on balance, would say is
commendable success.

If anything, critics complain that the state still spends too much money
incarcerating nonviolent offenders.

And why didn't the state just lock up everyone? First, it's unclear what
that would accomplish. Given the shortage of rehabilitative programs in
prisons, a long sentence can be a prescription for a doomed life.

Second, the public purse is not boundless. When Florida did parole and
sentencing reform, lawmakers decided to be tough on everyone and locked up
purse snatchers, weapons violators, drug users. Within a few years, the
situation was a mess.

Prisons were overcrowded. Violent offenders were exiting through a
revolving door. The budget was draining resources from schools, colleges
and mental health clinics. Federal officials were threatening to take charge.

Virginia learned from Florida's mistake. Baril hasn't. He needs to do some
homework before trotting out such a lame idea as a serious policy proposal.

Still, give him some sympathy. It's not easy to think up new ways of being
tough on crime when generations of clever politicians beat you to the punch.