PRISON FOR VIOLENT CRIMINALS ONLY

In the early '90s, I chaired the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency
and Corrections. In that role, prior to serving in the Legislature, I
learned a lot about our state's prisons and jails, and our correctional system.

A few years ago I was tasked with the responsibility of addressing some of
the prison overcrowding issues and criminal sentencing laws in West
Virginia. Over the past interim we conducted extensive study of our
sentencing, our prisons and our new community corrections programs.

We learned that the regional jail costs for most counties in West Virginia
continue to escalate at an alarming rate. At the current time, counties pay
$45 per day for each offender housed in the regional jails. We are also
faced with increasing the amount of state dollars spent on housing
prisoners in our prison system.

According to a report released by the W.Va. Division of Criminal Justice
Services and The George Washington University Institute on Crime, Justice
and Corrections, the prison population in West Virginia more than doubled
in size from 2,110 inmates in 1993 to 4,544 in 2002.

The report also states that if current trends continue unchanged, the
inmate population will grow to 5,853 by the end of 2007 and 6,774 by the
end of 2012. I believe it is time for us to take a hard look at the types
of offenders being sentenced to serve time in our regional jails and prisons.

I am not advocating that we go soft on crime, but that we make sure there
is bed space in our correctional system for those who commit violent
offenses or those who are repeat offenders. The Legislature began to
address this problem during the 2000 legislative session when it passed the
Community Corrections Act, which allows us to punish and treat non-violent
offenders in the community.

A good example of such a community corrections program is the Lee Day
Report Center in the northern panhandle, which serves Brooke, Hancock,
Marshall and Ohio counties. The day-report center is a cost effective
program that provides intensive supervision services and treatment at a
minimal cost to the counties and state.

The cost to treat offenders at the day-report center is $5 per day per
offender, while the cost to house offenders in the regional jails is $45
per day per offender; and it costs $49-$60 per day to house an offender in
state prison depending upon the type of correctional facility in which they
are housed.

The savings to counties and the state budget is substantial. One day-report
center, averaging 400-600 offenders per year, can generate annual savings
of $6 million-9 million. Although these figures are impressive, the opening
of additional day-report centers is in jeopardy due to a lack of funding.

Even though the Legislature imposed new fees to fund community corrections
programs, it is going to take time for the fees to accumulate enough monies
to fund multiple day-report centers or other types of community corrections
throughout the state. The Legislature needs to continue its support of
community corrections programs by putting $1 million into the State
Community Corrections Fund this year.

Locally, our region also can play a role in reducing the cost of housing
inmates. Work is under way in north-central West Virginia to establish a
day report center similar to the one established in the Northern Panhandle.

The facility will track the status of nonviolent offenders and provide
valuable training and counseling to them. This proactive rehabilitative
approach can make a difference in an individual's life.

I urge representatives in our region to try to adopt a program that will
accomplish these objectives. I urge the public to learn more about this
issue and to offer input to our elected county officials to improve the
chances of success of this program. Gov. Wise's cabinet secretary who is
responsible for corrections recently said we should look at housing inmates
in this light.

We should house those in our state prisons whom we are afraid of, but not
necessarily all of those whom we are angry at. I think there is some truth
that lies with that statement.

A state that housed slightly more than 2,000 inmates in 1993 and that is
headed toward housing almost 7,000 inmates 20 years later needs to
seriously re-evaluate its policies and its laws -- particularly given the
fact that its population over those 20 ye ars has and appears to be
remaining constant, and its revenues are declining.

Sen. michael oliverio represents the 13th District in West Virginia. This
commentary should be considered another point of view and not necessarily
the opinion or editorial policy of The Dominion Post.