State financial shortfalls lead to parole violators serving less
By Kevin Johnson
USA TODAY
The financial crisis is forcing probation and parole agencies to reduce or drop prison time for thousands of offenders who violate conditions of their release.
The changes, adopted by at least five states last year and under consideration in several others, worry some criminal justice analysts who warn loosening the rules might lead to more crime.
“This needs to be done very, very carefully,” says Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He sees the need for savings, he says, “but at what cost?”
Probation and parole violators account for up to two-thirds of prison admissions each year in some states. The cost of locking them up for technical violations, such as drug-test failures or missed meetings with officers, is straining local budgets.
“Although some violators must be returned to prison to protect public safety, states are looking at how they can get people out of prison without risking public safety,” says Alison Lawrence of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Budget shortfalls have “created an opportunity for greater considerations of alternatives to prison,” says Ryan King of the Sentencing Project, a group that promotes prison alternatives. Nationally, 5.1 million people are on probation or parole, he says. Since 1990, state corrections spending has increased by an average 7.5% each year.
Among the policy changes:
*Kansas is allowing probation and parole officers to decide whether those who violate early release conditions for non-violent offenses should go back to prison.
“The response to every violation doesn’t have to be a revocation of parole or probation,” Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz says. The initiative has helped cut probation revocations by more than 20%.
*Tennessee Department of Corrections Commissioner George Little wants accelerated releases for probation and parole violators who are sent back to prison and complete drug-abuse and other counseling programs. The program would cut their prison time from about 17 months to three months.
*Arizona lawmakers approved a 2008 measure that lets thousands of probationers end their terms early. The program accelerates the “good time” they can apply against their sentences, reducing the chances they could be sent to prison for condition violations.
Even supporters say the changes present some risks.
“You don’t want to have another Willie Horton situation,” Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal says of the convicted murderer who committed crimes while on weekend furlough in Massachusetts. “You hope for no bad headlines.”
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