LET'S BE EFFECTIVE, NOT SOFT, ON CRIME

By now it should be clear: To cut crime and its costs, Wisconsin must
radically restructure the way it deals with convicted criminals. Punishment
alone isn't enough.

Yes, society demands strict punishment for brutal crimes. And yes, some
criminals are incorrigible: Time and money spent trying to rehabilitate
them will be wasted. But for the vast majority of inmates, better and more
effective prison counseling, job training and other programs will more
effectively help them turn away from crime than an extra few years in
isolation. And as detailed in reporter Phil Brinkman's series, "Conning
Ourselves," closer supervision and treatment after their release will
better help ensure community safety.

To get started on this ambitious overhaul, Wisconsin should:

* Restructure the state corrections system to focus more on preventing
crime in addition to punishing criminals. Probation and parole officers
should work in neighborhoods where offenders live, closely tracking
offenders' habits and intervening as soon as problems arise.

* Recruit employers to hire more former inmates. Many offenders have poor
work histories but those under close supervision will have a compelling
incentive to show up on time and ready to work.

* Support more pilot programs seeking to help returning prisoners
re-integrate into society. For example, the state should expand a
successful program in Dane County that supervises offenders and fills their
time with counseling, job searches and other activities. Dane County agents
begin working with offenders before they're released, setting up a plan for
their reintegration into the community. Treatment programs, such as drug
and alcohol counseling and anger management classes, are consolidated.

* Expand the use of community-based confinement in jail, halfway houses and
other closely monitored locations. While some people in these alternative
programs will manage to commit new crimes, policymakers should be careful
not to condemn a whole program on that basis. Most people arrested are not
under any form of correctional supervision at the time they committed their
crime.

* Keep more people out of prison altogether. For minor crimes, probation is
suitably burdensome to the offender and more cost-effective than prison.
Officials monitor offenders electronically and use drug tests and other
methods to keep them straight. More importantly, probation allows offenders
to keep ties to their families and employers -- maintaining connections and
social controls that are proven deterrents to criminal behavior.

Nobody wants to live next door to a felon. We may not welcome the return of
ex-criminals to our midst, but for our own safety as well as the offenders'
sake, we must accept them. Many churches and charities have been quietly
helping former inmates find apartments and jobs, get into treatment and
reconnect with families and other support. By joining them or supporting
their work, you too can help make your community safer.

\ Here are some ways to get involved:

* Project Reentry, 1202 Williamson St., provides day-to-day assistance to
returning prisoners. The office is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; for
information, call 608-268-0482.

* Madison-area Urban Ministry has begun a mentoring program for children of
incarcerated parents, runs returning prisoner simulations and offers
"Circles of Support" to help offenders return to the community. To learn
more or volunteer, call 608-256-0906.

* The United Way of Dane County also has just begun a task force that seeks
to connect former inmates with employers and jobs. To learn about that and
other volunteer opportunities to work with returning offenders and their
families, call 211, the charity's clearinghouse for donations and
volunteers, or 608-246-4357.