CREATIVE APPROACHES BRING SAFETY, SAVINGS

Our judicial system is sound in principle but flawed in practice. A
rigid approach is undermining the system's fairness and effectiveness
and eroding trust of the police and courts.

The "law and order" bandwagon has stretched our justice system to the
breaking point and has ruined countless lives. Prison population has
quadrupled since 1980. The U.S. incarceration rate, 481 per 100,000
people, is matched worldwide only by Russia.

Centre County's inadequate jail is unjust to inmates and their
families. Most inmates have drug and alcohol problems, but the
facility's inadequate space and the practice of housing prisoners in
Clinton County prevents adequate treatment. Imprisoning women in
Clinton County excludes work release. The Centre County jail lacks the
facilities to adequately supervise and segregate the mentally ill;
shrinking programs for the mentally ill increasingly means imprisoning
those whose illness leads to such minor charges as trespassing, theft
and disorderly conduct. A treatment waiting list at the Warren state
hospital exacerbates the problem.

We must examine coolly and factually which policies really work and
which are just free-riding on larger trends. What achieves the goal
within available resources, causing the least friction with other
priorities? And how fairly does it work? Unfairness damages the
justice system as well as individuals because it erodes the public
trust.

One policy that clearly does not work is mandatory sentencing. That
deprives judges of the necessary discretion to tailor punishment to
fit the individual and leads to excessive incarceration for minor
offenses when alternative programs could be more effective.

These laws are always a political response to a worst-case scenario.
Harsh mandatory drug laws were the 1980s' horrified response to the
eruption of crack cocaine. Fifteen years later, 59 percent of the
people in federal prison were there on drug charges. Jailing users and
minor dealers doesn't dry up the drug trade; drug lords have an ample
supply of replacement workers and customers.

Most judges nationwide, including those in Centre County, vehemently
oppose mandatory sentencing laws. They agree that the incarceration
required by these laws often ruins the lives and families of offenders
who are not otherwise a menace to society. The economic and societal
cost is immeasurable.

Capital punishment, though it may be a deterrent, is often
administered unfairly. There is significant evidence of racial and
geographic disparities in the prosecution of capital punishment cases.
Inadequate legal representation for the poor results in too many
innocent people being condemned to death. A moratorium must be placed
on capital punishment until adequate safeguards are in place so
innocent people are not executed.

What works fairly to achieve the goals of justice? Fortunately, in
Centre County there are some promising programs.

CCERT, Centre County Education and Resistance Training and ALERT, for
adolescents, are alternatives to incarceration and fines for minor
offenders and parole violators. These programs teach responsibility
and positive behavior. Their premise is that individuals want to do
the right thing, but often lack the skills to do so. Similarly,
batterers' intervention programs are court-ordered as part of domestic
violence sentencing to give individuals skills to prevent future
violence. These programs allow offenders to maintain jobs and avoid
family disruption, and allow the county to reduce jail costs.

In response to the downtown "riots," a town-and-gown approach merged
the university's cooperation and the community's active involvement in
maintaining a presence on the streets to dispel violence. Letters from
the State College police chief to students and their parents increased
awareness of the issues. Police increased their presence through horse
patrols, providing an unexpected public relations bonus. The
university and community continue to be involved in a partnership to
explore issues of alcohol abuse in the community.

These flexible and creative methods of ensuring justice are highly
efficient, both economically and socially.

How do we fix the justice system? Think outside the box.