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from the September 09, 1993 edition Many Prisons, No Reform Make Too Many Criminals
David Holmstrom, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BOSTON— AS crime rates in the United States soared during the last 15
years, federal and state responses hinged on building more prisons
and mandating harsher penalties for criminals. ``The policies we tried in the last decade and a half have left
most Americans in just as much fear as before at double the cost,''
says James Austin, vice president of the National Council on Crime
and Delinquency (NCCD) in San Francisco. To address the fear, and underlying causes of crime, the NCCD
today released a report advocating a major shift in crime-fighting
priorities: Place the emphasis on long-term incarceration of repeat
felons, but use proven alternative sentencing for the greater
number of lesser criminals. Mr. Austin, the author of the report, and a former corrections
official in Illinois, calls for a freeze on public spending at
current levels for all correctional operations. The report also calls for prohibiting new sentencing legislation
unless it carries a fiscal impact statement, and asks that the
funds from ineffective prison and enforcement programs be used in
health, educational, and antidrug programs.
No extra money needed ``What's different about our plan is that we say we don't need
any more money, in fact we'll save money with this program,''
Austin says. ``Let's make sure we have enough prison space to
handle the really dangerous people, but not overpunish the others
and waste billions of dollars. It's very difficult to make people
better quickly or easily, so we say, cut the losses on the prison
system and put the funds into preventive programs.'' Rep. John Conyers (D) of Michigan says the proposed 10-year
program ``redefines what effective crime prevention must be about - education, health care, economic opportunity, [and] programs for
communities. It strengthens the hands of all true crime fighters,
not only the police.'' Federal studies indicate that most criminal activity is done by
young men between the ages of 15 and 24. Yet the average age of US
prisoners is 28. ``Prisons are full of adults who are moving beyond
careers as criminals,'' Austin says. ``To lower the crime rate,
reduce the probability that young males will commit crime.'' Critics say the NCCD must challenge a public perception that all
criminals deserve incarceration. Even though no more than 20 to 25
percent of 1.2 million US prisoners are considered dangerous career
criminals, many states have severe sentences for possession of one
gram of cocaine.
Public support for plan ``Do you really think that crime-ridden New York, Miami, and
Washington, D.C., will be inclined toward wholesale reform of their
systems,'' says Roberto Rivera, director of research and
development for Justice Fellowship in Reston, Va., ``if they don't
have the assurance the kid who kills with an Uzi will be put away
for a long time?'' A 1992 Harris poll indicated the public outlook on the
pervasiveness of crime. The poll listed crime reduction as the top
most unlikely US problem to be solved. ``As much as I respect
NCCD,'' says Mr. Rivera, ``I think they are politically naive. I
agree with abolishing mandatory minimum sentences in most cases,
but the public is not going to be sold on the utility of this
alternative vision of punishing the nonviolent guy in the
community, unless the really bad guys are put away.''
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