PROGRAMS SEEK TO LOWER JAIL NUMBERS

With the number of prison inmates in North Carolina on the rise, two
programs in Orange County focus on keeping offenders out of jail.

In North Carolina, the prison population rose by 5.2 percent last
year. Structured sentencing, which went into effect in 1994, might
have something to do with the increase, according to court officials.

Orange County has two programs that focus on finding alternatives to
incarceration -- Sentencing Services and the Community Resource Court.

Sentencing Services is a statewide, locally administered program that
recommends "more than probation but less than prison" said Joyce Kuhn,
director of the Orange County program.

The program provides information to judges at sentencings to assist
them in identifying the most effective correctional resources
available. Most of the offenders who receive alternative sentences
have committed property or drug crimes.

"With more serious crimes, (the judges') hands are tied," Kuhn
said.

Structured sentencing, which went into effect in October 1994,
mandates minimum jail time for certain, more serious crimes.

Kuhn attributed the rising jail population to structured sentencing,
under which judges choose sentences for offenders from within a range
of months, depending on the type of crime and the number of prior
convictions.

Assistant District Attorney James Woodall agreed. "There are always a
lot of people in jail," he said. "(But) structured sentencing requires
that (offenders) stay in prison for limited terms."

Woodall also said he believes Sentencing Services, more than any
similar program, helps to keep numbers down in Orange County.

Established in 1983 by the N.C. legislature, Sentencing Services
requires that offenders work to provide restitution to victims and
society for their crimes.

Offenders must serve a period of supervised probation, during which
they must be employed, pay court costs and undergo therapy.

In Orange County, 50 to 60 offenders a year go through the Sentencing
Services program.

Kuhn said the program is far less expensive than sending the offenders
to jail. "It costs $26,000 a year to send someone to prison," she
said. "One person going through the program costs $4,000."

Cost is an important issue as overcrowding becomes more and more of a
problem.

The number of people in U.S. prisons and jails surpassed 2 million
last year for the first time, according to government reports.

The federal prison population grew by 5.7 percent, while the overall
growth rate of state prisons was just under 1 percent nationally.

Another program to keep incarceration numbers down is the Community
Resource Court, which is designed to prevent incarceration for
offenders with mental health issues.

"(The program) is an effort to divert certain folks from an
incarceration path," said public defender Timothy Cole.

"The court system needs more than the traditional options (for certain
offenders)."

According to Cole, 50 percent of the program's participants
successfully complete the program.

Participation in the program is voluntary. Participants agree to
accept whatever treatment recommendation is given instead of a fine or
jail sentence.

Although many participants would not face incarceration without the
program, some offenders would face jail time, according to Marie
Lamoureaux, program director.

Although the state's prison population is rising, programs such as
these are helping to hold down incarceration rates.