PRISON ALTERNATIVES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED

Arizona politicians are the masters of macho "lock 'em up and throw away the key" tough talk. High-profile elected officials would have us believe they're saving us from the lawbreakers.

It's easy to talk tough when politicians have a dedicated force of armed police officers at their beck and call. The rest of us are stuck with buying a gun, getting a dog and hoping you don't get put on hold if you call 911.

Arizona has 15 state prisons and almost 40,000 inmates. Most convicts are made, not born. Many are products of an array of failed state responsibilities ranging from social services to education. Making prison convicts is one thing Arizona government does well.

According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, its inmate population grew from 29,003 to 39,502 between 1999 and 2008. A 2008 the Council of State Governments Justice Center projected that, by 2017, Arizona's prison population will increase by 17,000 and require an additional $2 billion to $3 billion to run the state's prisons. The report also said from 1997 to 2007, Arizona corrections spending doubled to $817 million. The current budget is just under $1 billion.

According to the Justice Center report, Arizona spent $71 million to incarcerate residents from just one Phoenix ZIP code -- 85009. This 'hood borders the grounds of the state Capitol.

Is it finally time to look at proven alternatives to lengthy prison terms such as intensive parole, probation and treatment for felons with drug and alcohol addictions who were convicted of nonviolent crimes?

A Feb. 23 story in the Houston Chronicle story pointed out that Arizona has already implemented a plan to divert and treat some low-level drug users from prison. Seventy-seven percent of the participants treated reportedly kicked their habit.

Could currently incarcerated inmates whose criminal conduct is based on substance abuse also be paroled and treated for their addictions? It costs $60.35 a day for confinement. That's $22,027 a year. A 2006 report from the Pew Institutes said parole costs $1,275 to $2,750 per year. Throw in the cost of treatment, intensive parole and electronic monitoring and Arizona still saves millions.

How much could Arizona save if it got over its fixation on confinement and got serious about prevention and treatment?

Most inmates get out of prison. Sixty percent of the state's prison inmates come from and return to the Valley. Without treatment and proper supervision, many will re-offend and start the incarceration cycle all over again and again.

With the current move to privatize prisons in Senate Bill 1028 as an answer to state budget woes, the governor and Legislature need to remember you get what you pay for. Inmates with drug and alcohol problems go in. Inmates with the same problems, and maybe even worse, come out. Low-bid private state prisons won't fix anything except the balance sheets.

Arizona needs to get past the idea that it can imprison its way out of a series of long-running failures that got us into this mess in the first place. For too long the corrections system has become the dumping ground for many of our state's failures.

The time has come to fix a broken system and to quit throwing good money after bad, even if it makes the Legislature look good.

Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.