MAXIMUM SECURITY SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR WORST INMATES

STATE DEPARTMENT OF Corrections chief Gary Maynard is right to consider
reducing the number of prisoners being held in maximum-security institutions.

South Carolina's practice of housing nonviolent convicts among more violent
ones is both wasteful and detrimental to efforts to rehabilitate inmates.

The state wastes about $6 million a year housing low-risk inmates in
high-security prisons. About 4,300 -- or 20 percent -- of the inmates in
maximum-security prisons should be in less-costly medium-or
minimum-security facilities.

In a recent story in The State, staff writer Clif LeBlanc pointed out that
it costs South Carolina $2,375 more per prisoner each year to place inmates
classified as minimum-security risks in the state's nine maximum-security
prisons. On a typical day in February, 871 minimum-risk inmates were in
maximum-security prisons. Projected over a year, that would cost taxpayers
$2 million more than it should.

It costs about $1,070 more per inmate per year to keep medium-security-risk
prisoners in maximum-security prisons. The state had 3,484 medium-security
inmates in maximum-security prisons on a typical day last month. Annually,
that amounts to $3.7 million.

That suggests the state's ill-conceived system of housing inmates costs
taxpayers $5.7 million a year. That figure stands out during these lean times.

While many prison systems separate inmates based on their security risk,
South Carolina does not. For almost five years, our state has intermingled
minimum- and medium-security inmates with maximum-security inmates.

Mr. Maynard said the reason lower-risk inmates are housed with
higher-security inmates is because services they need -- such as
drug-treatment programs, schools for young offenders, some medical services
and the largest prison industries programs -- are located there.

Former corrections director Mike Moore instituted the current
classification system in 1997. Mr. Moore was hired to crack down on inmates
and toughen policies. His classification system was unusual because of the
number of inmates he moved to maximum facilities.

Mr. Maynard wisely wants to change the system. National prison consultants
are studying the classification problem in South Carolina and across the
nation. A report should be completed in about six months.

A little more than half of South Carolina's 21,000 inmates are in
maximum-security prisons. Mr. Maynard said the standard should be to keep
about a third in each of the three security levels. Although Mr. Maynard
said it will take about a year to change things in South Carolina, we hope
it can happen sooner.

As long as this system is in place, precious dollars continue to be wasted
and nonviolent inmates continue to be exposed to a more violent element.

Mr. Maynard might be criticized by some for wanting to make the change.
However, his reasoning for changing this system is sound.

He should move forward. Not only will dollars be saved, but lower-risk
inmates will have a better chance of being rehabilitated and prepared to
move back into society. Considering that the large majority of inmates in
our prisons will one day end up back in our communities, that makes a lot
of sense to us.