LEGISLATORS EYE PROBATION, TREATMENT TO FREE JAIL SPACE

AUSTIN - Usually, there's a bed for every bad guy. But with 151,000 guests,
this hotel is full.

Lawmakers still want to be tough on crime, but after a decade of expanding
the prison system, the state can't afford to build more. So more lawmakers
want to invest in probation and drug treatment to keep prisons clear of
nonviolent offenders and ensure space is available for violent criminals.

"At every opportunity we are going to try to shift spending from the back
end of the system, which is prison, to the front end - investments in
prevention and treatment," said House Corrections Committee chairman Rep.
Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie. "It is more cost-effective and will better
protect the public."

To make probation reform work, some lawmakers say, the state has to
convince wary judges that former inmates will be well looked after. In
2004, 54 percent of the 24,600 probationers returned to prison were sent
back for "technical violations" - failure to report to a probation officer,
testing positive for drugs or failure to pay court costs.

The Legislative Budget Board reported the number of felons sent back to
prison on probation violation increased 18 percent between 2001 and 2004.
Some attributed that partly to the state's lack of alternatives. Texas has
156,800 felons on probation but only 437 beds in short-term lockup
facilities for probation violations.

Plus, with the maximum probation for a felony set at 10 years, each
probation officer is responsible for an average of 116 cases.

"We put so many on probation for so long, they get no supervision," said
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice
Committee. "We need to shorten time frames and give meaningful supervision
to give the judges an alternative."

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is asking for $28 million to hire
391 probation officers. And lawmakers are proposing bills that would take
felons off the probation rolls if they behave for five years. The state
could trim the number of people returning to prison by investing more in
drug treatment, officials said. The criminal justice department is asking
for $27 million to fund 500 more beds at drug treatment facilities.

Robert Kepple, executive director of the Texas District and County
Attorneys Association, said prosecutors might be skeptical if money is the
chief motive.

"Good, solid rehabilitative programs would be effective if properly
funded," Mr. Kepple said. "But if we are only doing rehabilitation to save
money, then maybe we are missing the point."