A NEW TAKE ON PRISONS

The Bredesen administration is giving the Department of Correction the
rehabilitation the system needs.

Jim Cosby, the director of the Tennessee Board of Probation and
Parole, has been named to a newly created post of assistant
commissioner for rehabilitative services. If the administration gives
the new position the seriousness it deserves, Tennessee can help its
prison space problem and help stop the revolving door that keeps
bringing prisoners back behind bars. Tennessee was told four years ago
that 43% of its prisoners were parole or probation violators. They
left only to return. The news shouldn't have surprised a state that
spent only $425,000 a year out of a $400 million budget for
pre-release programs.

The new position will be especially welcome given the latest news:
Crime may be going down in Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville, but
Tennesseans wouldn't know it by their prison population, which grew 5%
last year. Only Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia
experienced more growth in prisons among Southeastern states.

Tennessee has never been reluctant to address growing prison
populations the old-fashion way - with bricks and mortar. Correction
spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson has said the state is on target to meet
demand with 2,000 additional beds. But in addition to building
traditional prisons, the state needs to recognize that most offenders
will return to society once they've served their time. Experts have
long recommended more drug and alcohol programs, preparation for
return to society and classes to develop skills for jobs beyond the
prison walls.

The new assistant commissioner will be watched closely. Tennessee is
long overdue to spend as much attention to overhauling its prison
population as it has rehabilitating its walls.