CROWDED PRISONS CAUSE FOR CONCERN

The population of the nation's state and federal prisons rose to a record
1.47 million last year, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported last
week.

But the rate of growth continues to slow, suggesting that fewer new inmates
are entering prison and those who are there are serving longer sentences
and failing to win early release.

The population of Wisconsin prisons is also rising. According to Wisconsin
Corrections Department Field Supervisor Don Vogt, who oversees probation
and parole in Manitowoc and Calumet counties:

-- Admission to the Wisconsin state prison system was just under 4,000 in
June 1990. Last year, it was around 13,000.

-- The average age at admission into the state prison system is going up.
In 1990, it was 28.5. At the end of 2003, it was 31. The older age at
admission could be attributed to more alternative sentencing tried in
younger inmates, Vogt said.

-- The average sentence increased from 75 months in 1990 to 92 months in
December 2003.

Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge Darryl Deets said prison overcrowding
is talked about among the judges, but doesn't affect sentences. If someone
is a threat to society, it is difficult to consider how much it is going to
cost to protect the public, he said.

"The public doesn't want me to say, 'I am going to let this person go
because the prison doesn't have space,'" Deets said. "My primary focus is
to protect the public."

Vogt described Manitowoc County judges as "very responsible" and "right on
the money with their sentencing." The sentence also has to deter other
people from committing the same types of crimes, he said.

He has a personal frustration with the politics governing state prisons,
and the budget cuts plaguing all state departments.

"Overcrowding is a problem," he said.

The system is generally divided into correctional institutions and
community services like probation and parole. When financial cuts are made,
treatment and rehabilitation usually take the hit because you can't scrimp
on security, Vogt said.

He said overcrowded prisons will continue to be a problem until more people
are working in Wisconsin, bringing more tax dollars into the system.

Alternatives

According to Deets, the primary alternative to putting a criminal in prison
is giving them time in the county jail, with certain conditions. The main
advantage to jail time over prison time, is the person can continue to hold
down a job in the community, and continue to have contact with the community.

"When you keep them local, the focus is on rehabilitation," Deets said.

Jail time is usually ordered for less serious offenses in which the need to
protect the public is not as great. Usually the person had committed a
property crime, rather than a crime of violence, he added. Whether the
person is a repeat offender or a first-time offender is also considered in
sentencing, he said.

"If we locked everyone up, we wouldn't be able to build enough prisons and
we wouldn't be able to afford them," Vogt said.

Gov. Jim Doyle has an initiative to halt shipping of Wisconsin prisoners to
other states, a method designed to ease crowding in state prisons.
Currently there are 400 inmates out of the state, compared to the 5,000
inmates out of state when Doyle took office in January 2003.

Also the number of out-of-state prison sites has been reduced from 17 to
one, in Minnesota, according to a report issued by the state.

The Manitowoc County Jail is currently home to 42 state prisoners.

According to Larry Welnicke, jail administrator, Manitowoc is one of 12
counties holding state prisoners. However, the state is phasing out the
contracts and Manitowoc is expected to lose income from that program in 2006.

New prison facilities in Lisbon, Stanley, and Chippewa Valley have eased
the state's need to rent beds, Welnicke said.

State prisoners are generally held at the Manitowoc County Jail for about
two months.

Tara Meissner: (920) 686-2137 or tmeissner@htrnews.com

Prison inmate demographics

There currently are 160 state prison inmates from Manitowoc County.

-- Sex: Male 155; Female 5

-- Race: White 137; Black 11; American Indian 6; Asian 6

-- Serving for crimes of violence 105; Non-violent 55

-- Ages: (15-9) 3; (20-24) 36; (25-29) 30; (30-34) 30; (35-39) 18; (40-44)
15; (45-49) 17; (50-54) 7; (55-59) 1; (60-64) 0; (65-69) 1; (70-74) 1;
(75-79) 0; (80-24) 1

Source: Wisconsin Department of Probation and Patrol dated Nov. 10, 2004