ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING CAN CUT BILLS

Counties that enact successful programs
eventually could see crime rates drop, they say, as the uneducated and
the drug-addled get the schooling and counseling they need to become
productive, law-abiding citizens.

"Sure, for most people in County Commission offices, it's about
bottom-line dollars," said Steve Canterbury, the head of the state
Regional Jail Authority. "But it does have many other benefits."

$1 Million In Jail Debt

Harold Mullins is one of the convicts who has received a second chance
from an alternative-sentencing program.

Instead of going to jail for his misdemeanor joyriding conviction,
Mullins, 35, of Logan County is in the middle of a year of required
GED classes, community-service jobs and counseling set up by the Logan
County Day Report Center.

"It's not too bad," he said as he studied for the GED in downtown
Logan. "I'll accomplish something out of it, maybe get a GED."

Logan County has discovered that helping convicts like Mullins can
mean big savings. In the past 16 months, the county estimates it has
shaved about $380,000 from its jail bills by sending Mullins and a few
dozen other nonviolent convicts to the Logan Day Report Center instead
of jail.

The County Commission started the program last year, after it found
itself more than $1 million in debt to the regional jail authority.

"The light went on for us," said Logan County Commission President Art
Kirkendoll. "We said we've got to get out of this debt. We don't want
to be in this position again."

The county's program began with a director, space on the second floor
of a building in downtown Logan and not much else. The director,
Asheley Dingess-Allie, barely had enough money in her budget to pay
herself.

But in a year, she has managed to get a program running. She found
groups willing to give convicts classes and treatment and locals
willing to volunteer their time to tutor the least educated.

Now, she runs a program that helps 48 convicts learn to read, improve
their parenting skills, overcome drug addictions and prepare for
paying jobs.

The program has a long string of small successes. Several of the
convicts in the program have found jobs. One has been offered a
college scholarship because he did so well on his GED.

The county's judges and probation officers say they are convinced that
the program will do far more than save the county money.

"I believe, one day, the day-report center and the services they offer
will be just as much of a part of the criminal justice system as
probation is," said Charles Brown, the county's chief probation officer.

`Smart On Crime'

When the Legislature opened the door to alternative sentencing in
2000, three Northern Panhandle counties were the first to open a
day-reporting center.

The success of the Lee Day Report Center has prompted a growing number
of counties to ask the state for money to start their own. This year,
at least 19 counties have sent in a request, according to the state
Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Many counties apply after county commissioners learn that the daily
cost of day-reporting centers can be as low as $5 a person, or $43.50
less than the daily cost of putting a person in jail.

"That's the main reason we instituted the day-report center," said
Mercer County Commissioner Karen Disibbio, whose county decided to
open a center two years ago. "We were just trying to realize savings."

Some county officials, though, say they did not start up a
day-reporting center just to save money.

Kanawha County commissioners say they decided to start their
alternative-sentencing program to give judges more sentencing options,
reduce recidivism and relieve jail overcrowding.

"We're looking at it here for the right reasons, not just to save a
buck," said Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper.

Regardless, the state's head jailer said he is happy that more
counties want to start day-reporting centers.

"There's a difference between being soft on crime and smart on crime,"
Canterbury of the Regional Jail Authority said. "I think that's what's
finally resonating."