Prisons Eat Up Tax Dollars

Rehabilitation Failures Lead To Repeat Crimes: Is Public Truly Better
Protected?

TEAM APPROACH NECESSARY

A consultant hired to evaluate Sarasota, Fla.'s criminal justice system
found that over the past six years, a group of 473 people accounted for
9,343 arrests in the county. This was an average of 20 arrests per person,
suggesting that the system is broken, particularly when you consider the
number of crimes committed by the same individuals between arrests. To me,
this means that unless something is done for or with this subset of
individuals, there will be an unending upward spiral of crimes in our
communities.

Many of these individuals are homeless and involved with drugs and alcohol.
Some undoubtedly have varying degrees of mental and psychiatric problems
that require specially trained supervision and/or expensive medications. We
have not yet found a successful solution to wrap around these people, even
though such organizations such as the Salvation Army and some faith-based
organizations have made some inroads.

I think that concept of a team approach that involves the criminal justice
system, i.e., police, public defenders, judges, jail and prison wardens,
parole officers, combined with such groups as mentioned above could make a
real difference if realistic goals are set in place.

Ernie Pellegrino

Middleton