PRISON PARADE

The latest annual U.S. prison population figures should raise eyebrows when
we get to the line in the national anthem, "the land of the free." At the
end of 2002, 2,166,260 people were held in federal and state prisons, a record.

That's despite a steady drop in the nation's crime rate. The U.S. last year
remained a leader among industrialized nations for putting people behind
bars. The record number represents an acceleration in the rate of growth
for federal and state prison populations as well. The growth rate in 2001
was 1.1 percent.

It jumped to 2.6 percent last year, according to the compiler of the annual
report, the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Not surprisingly, the number of inmates in federal prisons rose 4.2
percent, compared with 2.4 percent for state prisons.

Congress has stubbornly refused to reform drug laws that fill up costly
prison space with non-violent drug offenders.

At the end of last year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was larger than any
state system, with 163,528 inmates. North Carolina shipped more than its
share of residents to prison in 2002, too. The state housed and fed 550
more inmates at year's end than it did in December 2001.

The figures have a societal cost larger than just the average $20,000 a
year taxpayers spend per inmate.

The financial dimension looms large for the states, especially, in view of
revenue pain in most capitals. Expensive prison construction soaks up more
taxes.

Unnecessary imprisonment means families unnecessarily broken up, with
families of inmates frequently relying on government help.

States are doing a better job than Congress of reforming laws that jail
non-violent criminals, but there is room for improvement at both levels.
Alternatives to prison lost favor during the get-tough 1990s, but need to
be revived.

The nation, and North Carolina, should be interested in diverting residents
from prison whenever possible.

There's also a dire need for programs that douse a major fuel for crime,
substance abuse. Freeing Americans from drugs and alcohol could free a lot
of prison beds.