PRISON EXPERT LISTS WAYS TO REDUCE FEMALE INMATES

MONTGOMERY - The Alabama prison system could save nearly $3 million a year
and safely reduce its female inmate population by at least 400 through
greater use of community-based work and treatment programs, a nationally
known prison expert says.

Tim Roche of Washington, in a report filed Tuesday in a federal court suit
on behalf of inmates at Tutwiler Prison for Women, said most women in
Alabama prisons are serving relatively short sentences for non-violent
crimes, making them prime candidates for effective and safe placement in
community programs.

With Alabama facing "a state budget crisis of historic proportions" and
state officials talking about budget cuts that could force the release of up
to 7,000 convicts, community corrections programs could provide "affordable
and long-term solutions to prison overcrowding ... without an increased risk
to public safety," Roche said.

"Alabama has the makings of a high quality network of needed services in the
form of its community corrections programs," Roche said. There are community
corrections programs in 21 of the state's 67 counties.

Roche, who has testified as an expert on crowding issues in prison lawsuits
in several states, also has worked for the Justice Department's National
Institute of Corrections. His report was filed for plaintiffs in a suit by
the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights.

Roche said he realizes Alabama has reduced the number of female inmates this
year by paroling more than 300 and sending another 300 to a private prison
in Louisiana. But he said state prison facilities for women still are
operating at more than 170 percent of capacity.

Prison spokesman Brian Corbett said there were 701 inmates at Tutwiler's
main campus Tuesday and another 232 at an adjoining annex that previously
operated as a work-release center. The facilities were designed for 545,
Corbett said.

Prison officials haven't received a copy of Roche's report, but "we believe
we have made progress through the use of parole, community corrections and
out-of-state beds in reducing the population at Tutwiler as we stated in our
plan submitted in federal court," Corbett said. "Those measures have also
helped us meet court requirements by moving inmates out of county jails in a
more timely fashion."

There were 1,675 state convicts in county jails around the state in December
who had waited longer than 30 days for transfers into state prisons, but as
of last week that number was down to three convicts, Corbett said.

Roche said money spent on housing inmates out of state could be better spent
on expanding community services in Alabama.

He recommended:

Increasing the capacity of community corrections programs and the
availability of community-based drug rehabilitation programs.

Forming partnerships between the Department of Corrections and community
corrections programs to supervise and monitor women in the prison system's
Supervised Intensive Restitution program.

Converting a former work-release center at Tutwiler back to a work-release
center and putting more women on work release.

He said the return to crime of those released from prison could be lessened
by increasing community-based drug treatment, job training, housing
assistance, mental health counseling, adult mentoring and faith-based
support services.