OVERCROWDED JAILS A GROWING PROBLEM IN W.VA.

WHEELING - Conditions are so crowded in West Virginia's correctional
facilities that judges are looking for alternatives to incarceration.

Marshall County Circuit Court Judge John T. Madden said sending someone to
jail isn't always appropriate.

"Programs for whatever their problem may be aren't always available to them
in the jails because of crowding or because they aren't offered, and they
will have more opportunity to get the treatment they need elsewhere,"
Madden said.

Day Report Centers, probation and house-arrest are some alternatives.

Madden said the Day Report Centers often are a good sentencing choice in
drug-or alcohol-related and domestic cases. The centers allow offenders to
continue working and supporting themselves and their families while being
rehabilitated.

The centers, which recently were established statewide, offer counseling on
drug abuse, alcohol abuse, anger management and violence, as well as acting
as behavior monitoring facilities.

Those assigned to the Day Report Centers are required to report to the
facilities at intervals designated by the sentencing judge. They may be
required to report daily or weekly, depending on the severity of their
crime and their individual circumstances.

Such centers have a positive effect on rehabilitation, said Steve
Canterbury, director of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facilities
Authority.

"It gets those who could serve their time elsewhere out of the prisons and
frees up that space," Canterbury said.

However, not all judges embrace the concept.

Marshall County Circuit Court Judge Mark A. Karl said he believes those who
need institutionalized rehabilitation should be sentenced to a correctional
facility.

Both the jail authority and the state Division of Corrections are trying to
address overcrowding. Two new regional jail facilities are under
construction to replace crumbling county jails and additional cells have
been built at existing facilities. The agencies also are using more
advanced methods of calculating and monitoring population and recidivism
within their walls.

"It's common knowledge throughout the state that the jails and prisons are
overcrowded," Steven Fox of the state Division of Corrections. "The primary
problem is we don't have enough facilities."

The Northern Regional, which was built to house 200 inmates, averages 215
on weekdays and 220 on weekends. When the number slips over 220, people
have to sleep on the floor.

The Southern Regional Jail in Beckley, which was built to hold 300,
averages 375 to 380 inmates.

While building more facilities may seem like an easy solution, Fox said it
takes an average of five years to build a new facility. It also costs
millions of dollars to finance such a project, making it a slow and often
unrealistic remedy.