LOCKS OR LEEWAY

North Carolina faces a costly crunch in prison space, and
strengthening the probation system could help.

As is the case with so many issues facing the General Assembly these
days, lawmakers have the numbers on the burden that prisons put on
taxpayers, but no easy answers as to what to do about it.

One number is $150 million, which is what would be needed this year
for the state to build enough prison space to house inmates who are
expected to be part of an unfortunate surge in prison populations
over the next decade.

At a time when state government is having to cut back, getting that
money isn't realistic. Some legislators venture the idea of
"double-bunking" more inmates, but prison officials are the first to
cite the dangers in that, because it tends to create trouble among
inmates already in close quarters. There currently are about 40,000
inmates in 79 prisons in North Carolina. Other lawmakers are
advocating for more alternative programs, from intense at-home
supervision to probation to earlier parole.

That could run up against the state's structured sentencing
guidelines that result in more jail time. Such suggestions also
sometimes draw criticism as being "bleeding heart" ideas that let the
bad guys get away with crimes. Nobody wants that. But with the nation
and the state facing incredible economic pressures, this may be a
time when the debating lines that separate "get tough" politicians
from those who believe too many offenders are taking up prison space
could be moved a little.

And it may be time to re-examine structured sentencing.

In North Carolina, increasing probation in sentences and putting more
people on parole would be an additional challenge, because of the
disorganization if not chaos found in a probation system (reported by
The News & Observer) that has failed to adequately supervise people,
with sometimes deadly consequences. If Governor Perdue's correction
secretary, Alvin Keller, is able to correct that situation, it should
help ease the prison crunch by seeing to it that the folks on
probation don't do things that send them back to jail. There is a
nationwide problem here, as shown by the prestigious Pew Center on
the States, which examines big issues.

A Pew report found there are more than 5 million people in the United
States on probation and parole.

It adds, however, that by investing more in supervising these people,
states can save money in the long run because the probationers and
parolees won't return to prison, a key reason why prison populations
keep rising. Let's hope that as Perdue and members of the General
Assembly mull the challenge of a recession-driven state budget with a
multibillion-dollar hole in it, they will not simply slice and dice
programs that help criminals through alternative sentences or help
them break the drug habits that helped put them in prison in the first place.

Such programs are not just compassionate. They are investments that
can pay dividends in saving the taxpayers money in the long term.