EDITORIAL: NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS DON'T ALWAYS NEED JAIL

In these hand-to-mouth days of governmental fiscal preservation, a chance
to spend less and spend wisely is welcome.

Better yet are those rare convergences when government can exercise that
pennywise prudency while making informed and enlightened social policy
decisions.

We have one of those opportunities in a bill sponsored by state Sen. Carol
Roessler, R-Oshkosh. If passed and signed into law, Roessler's proposal
would help nonviolent drug and alcohol offenders get needed help instead of
sending them to the state's prisons and jails, where treatment is likely
less effective.

According to Roessler and other proponents, the bill doesn't just free more
jail and prison space for Wisconsin inmates - too many of whom are exported
to other states to serve their sentences. It also puts those offenders in
situations that can help them adjust and cope with real-life situation
better than the cells of our penal institutions. And it gives judges more
latitude in selecting the appropriate direction for the defendants who come
before them.

If a judge decides that a drug or alcohol offender would be better served
by treatment than by incarceration, the offender will be sent to an
oversight committee - comprised of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement
officials and substance abuse program administrators - who will assign
proper treatment.

While we're reluctant to add another layer of responsibility on those
offices, we are hopeful that a workable mechanism can be established for
sharing the casework for these offenders. The bottom line for such a
mechanism, obviously, is that recidivism is reduced, and lives are improved.

Saving money - Roessler claims keeping more state inmates in-state can
recoup up to $7,000 per inmate annually - is a worthy cause anytime, but
especially in these deficit-laden days. Still, a program that doesn't make
substantive and sustainable improvements in our judicial processes, and the
lives of people who need help, could cost us more in the long run.

Roessler's proposal, while not perfect, has a good chance to both help our
fiscal picture and help our fellow citizens.