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PrisonsContinued from Page ICohn said. ‘Then it becomes a security nightmare.With an inmate population that’s tripled in 20 years and will likely continue to increase by about 4 percent each year. Cohn said new prison space will be necessary again.“What's been done in the past is catching up with us, Cohn said of changes in the law over the past two decades. ’We've got additional police officers, they’re doing a great job. We have more judges doing a good job. We re the last stop and we don't have any control. We don't arrest and we don't sentence. We take what the other elements of the system give us. We don’t even have the flexibility of when we send them back outIn the meanwhile. Cohn said that without receiving the amount originally requested by the DOC. he couldn't rule out erecting tent cities” to house inmates at certain prison sites and using the state's National Guard to assist with the prisoner overflow. “The potential is there. he said. Virtually every' politician in the '80s . and Ms promised voters he or she * would be tough on crime. The result was longer sentences, a stiffening of penalties, less leeway for alternative sentencing, and more prisoners.The impact is to debatable. While iverall crime is down across the coun-mmmmmmrnmtry. a thriving economy plays a big role in that And many cities continue* to suffer - Indianapolis has broken its homicide record each of the past threeI years.Legislators say they're ready to begin exploring cheaper and more effective ways of handling offenders.* But they’re not sure the public is ready to go along with them.mRep. Scott Mellinger. D-Pendleton, is the former Madison County sheriff. He said it's time to “look at some options and some may not be accept able to the public“Simply locking people up doesn't solve the problem. Mellinger said. “The cost has gotten way out of hand. It's not a matter of wasted revenue. it's simply a matter that it costs more.“And the U.S. locks up more people than any other country in the world but we also have the highest crime rate of any country* in the world. he said. “Something's not workthg Mellinger is ready to support a bevy of alternatives to prison for certain offenders, but he isn’t sure the public is ready.“I think there are some people who are in the middle of this issue who are starting to be convinced that at least we need to put more effort into options to incarceration and into prevention. Mellinger said. The general public hasn't bought into this idea Not everyone agrees. Former DOC Commissioner Christian DeBruyn now heads Correctional Management * a company operating private juvenile facilities in Kokomo and Muncie with more planned.DeBruyn said the more criminals in jail, the less crime there is - a logic the public subscribes to still.T still see outrage from the public when someone who has been released commits another offense while on parole or probation. he said.The catchall phrase ’’community corrections” has come into vogue during this year’s budget sessions. With quiet bipartisan support millions were added to the DOC community correction's budget request while tens of millions were cut from new con-9struction and repairs at existing facilities.
Newspaper Details
Anderson Herald Bulletin
Anderson, Indiana, US
Tue, Apr 20, 1999
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Monroe C.
IN, USA 14 Dec 2020
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