EDITORIAL: TROUBLED PRISON STRATEGY

To solve the crime problem, Wisconsin has thrown money at prisons. That
strategy has helped dig the state into its current fiscal hole - and,
what's worse, without noticeably thwarting crime.

Lawmakers must scrap that ruinous policy in favor of a less costly, more
effective approach to crime-fighting. The change must include new tactics
in the war on drugs - a big reason that inmate ranks have ballooned. An
alliance of Milwaukee churches dubbed MICAH (Milwaukee Innercity
Congregations Allied for Hope) has gotten friendly senators to introduce a
bill mandating drug treatment, rather than jail, for defendants convicted
of non-violent drug possession. That proposal deserves adoption.

True, during Wisconsin's prison-building explosion of the 1990s, crime did
slacken here, but it slowed more spectacularly in states that expanded
their prisons less spectacularly. For instance, during the '90s, Wisconsin
ranked second among the states in prison expansion but 36th in crime
reduction; New York, in contrast, clocked in at 43rd in prison expansion
but first in crime reduction. As a rule, states that led in prison
expansion - and imprisonment - lagged far behind in crime reduction.
Conclusion: The drop in crime does not demonstrably flow from the rise in
incarceration.

The Legislature must strive to get a better return on Wisconsin's huge
investment in crime-fighting. The new strategy must lessen the state's
overreliance on expensive prisons.

The MICAH proposal would help to accomplish that end. It apes propositions
adopted by voters in Arizona and California. The research arm of the
Arizona Supreme Court estimates that the initiative saved that state a net
$6.7 million in 1999 - $7.7 million not spent on prisons minus $1 million
spent for supervision and treatment of drug offenders.

What's more, treatment - even when involuntary, according to the research -
holds the promise of greater savings in the long haul. Cutting back on drug
use cuts back on crime to feed that use.

The Legislature must take other steps, too. It foolishly passed truth in
sentencing without adopting the companion criminal code to keep the new
sentences from getting out of hand - which is precisely what's happening.
The Legislature should adopt the proposed code.

Lawmakers never consciously set out on a prison-building spree. It just
kept toughening laws, without anticipating the consequences - more prison
congestion, which then forced lawmakers to build more prisons. The
Legislature needs to set up a procedure in which prison construction
becomes a forethought, not an afterthought. The state should require that a
prison-impact statement accompany any crime bill. Lawmakers ought to know
beforehand how many cells, if any, a proposal would require the state to add.

A commission to monitor sentences is in order. So is an expansion of
alternatives to prison, such as group homes and house arrests.

Prisons play a key role in the crime fight. They keep dangerous people off
the streets; in many cases, prison is the right punishment. But this state
has relied too heavily on that expensive tool. Wisconsin's huge investment
in prisons has yielded paltry returns in crime reduction. The state must
switch to a more balanced crime-fighting strategy.