JAIL IS ONLY ONE WAY TO TREAT A CRIMINAL AND NOT ALWAYS BEST

Some politicians try to appear tough on crime by talking about how
many criminals they would send to jail. John Carriker, district
attorney of New Hanover and Pender counties, took a different tack in
remarks to the Community Growth Planning Core Team last week.

I called him Monday to go over his comments. Basically, he said the
state spends too little fighting crime but too much housing inmates.
He said the state doesn't devote as large a portion of its annual
budget to criminal justice as other states. But it spends more per
prisoner than many do, he said. We spend $25,000 a year to incarcerate
an adult and $50,000 for a juvenile.

New Hanover County, he said, sent the state's third-largest number of
convicts to prison for drug offenses in 2001. Many were guilty of
other offenses too, but that's a lot of drug convictions.

One reason may be that there are lots of cops here. The county jail
has a capacity of 209 beds, although it usually houses far more
inmates than that. But there are 620 sworn law enforcement officers in
the county.

That sounded like a lot until he began ticking off agencies Monday: city
police, sheriff's department, N.C. Highway Patrol, police forces in the
beach towns, hospital police, campus police, port police, airport
police, Department of Motor Vehicles, State Bureau of Investigation.
Lots of folks with the power to arrest.

So what are the alternatives to jail or prison? Terry Gootee, judicial
district manager of the Division of Community Corrections, helped me
with that one. His people handle probation and parole issues.

Drug Court is one alternative. That's for long-term drug users who
want to change their lives. They have to go before a judge every two
weeks to tell how they're getting along, and they're monitored closely
with drug tests. Some offenders are ordered to check in daily with the
Day Reporting Center at Coastal Horizons Center. Those with jobs may
check in by phone. Jobless offenders are assigned to classes to get a
high school equivalency diploma, learn household budgeting or master
anger management.

Mr. Gootee's division structures restitution payments and monitors
whether they're being made.

Intensive probation steps up monitoring, with officers having contact
with the offender at least five times a week.

Under electronic house arrest, ankle bracelets reveal offenders'
whereabouts. They can go to their jobs, but they must stay home
otherwise, unless granted permission to go somewhere such as grocery
shopping. Officers verify presence at work and elsewhere with phone
calls and surprise visits.

These are ways to keep offenders with their families and at their
jobs. They're cheaper alternatives than prison, and I believe they're
more likely to help an offender turn his life around. All involve drug
testing. Finally, Mr. Carriker said the best way to keep people out of
prison is to reach them when they're young.

After-school programs keep troubled youngsters busy during the
afternoon hours, when they're on their own and prone to temptation.
Mentoring programs such as Big Buddy are effective at keeping kids out
of the court system, he said.

So it's a shame the Big Buddy program has 150 young people on a
waiting list. The program is run by Family Services of the Lower Cape
Fear. Program Director Kate Weir said about 50 young people ages 6 to
19 are in the program.

(Ms. Weir's husband, Rob, is assistant features editor at the
Star-News.) Volunteers commit to spending four hours a week with a
child. They're matched up by considering interests and preferences.
Ms. Weir said retirees make great volunteers. They have the time, and
they tend to be consistent and dedicated. For information about the
program, call her at 343-8787.

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