A CORRECTIONS CONUNDRUM

Did candidate Jim Doyle paint himself into a cell on the prison budget?
Offhand, and considering that it is the area where state spending grew
fastest in the 1990s, corrections looms as a prime candidate for cuts when
the new governor tries to close a Grand Canyon-like gap in the state's
overall budget. But Doyle's campaign promises may make paring corrections
impossible.

For one thing, Doyle has pledged to bring home some of the 3,500 Wisconsin
prisoners now held out of state - a laudable goal. The hitch, however, is
that keeping them in other states is cheaper.

For another, Doyle, who is stepping down as attorney general, has frowned
on the idea of reducing the prison rolls by putting inmates into cheaper
community alternatives. That stance deserves rethinking.

Maintaining the present course means the cost of corrections will continue
to soar. The out-of-state charge to Wisconsin is rising, and the number of
inmates keeps growing. Notably, corrections chief Jon Litscher says the
budget for the current year is running short by $22 million - partly due to
a faster-than-anticipated growth in inmate ranks.

Yes, prisons play a central role in keeping streets safe. But excessive
reliance on steel bars may hurt that cause by siphoning funds away from
complementary efforts to support it - such as good schools and drug
treatment programs.

Federal data show that prisons aren't everything in the crime fight. As a
rule in the 1990s, states that led in prison expansion lagged behind the
nation as a whole in crime reduction. Wisconsin was a case in point,
ranking second among the states in expansion of inmate rolls but a distant
36th in reduction of violent crimes.

High recidivism rates suggest that the current way of doing things - a
lengthy stint in prison with little rehabilitation, then release into the
community with little supervision - isn't working well. This state must
come up with more effective ways to keep streets safe, and Doyle should
lead the way.

The new governor should direct the as-yet-unnamed corrections secretary to
study the prison rolls, to rank the dangerousness of inmates and to
identify candidates for intensive monitoring outside prison walls. The
regimen for such convicts should include mandatory drug treatment and job
training programs where appropriate.

Doyle should bring home the out-of-state inmates. Rethinking corrections
would make that step feasible.