By J. Michael Brown
USA TODAY
FRANKFORT Ky. — Kentucky led the country last year in the rate of inmate growth, our population swelling 12% over the previous year. But we are far from alone; jail overcrowding is a national phenomenon.
In his initial State of the Commonwealth address, Gov. Steve Beshear warned of the impending economic distress that would inevitably strain the budget, and he identified the escalating costs of our prison system as a problem requiring immediate attention. Legislative and executive branches quickly responded.
Legislation passed this year offers a far-reaching solution to the most common problem plaguing our criminal justice system: substance abuse, which affects more than 70% of our prison population. The law offers offenders treatment before they ever go to trial; if they successfully complete the program, they may never incur a felony charge, keeping them from going deeper into the system.
Additionally, the Legislature, armed with finely tuned budget calculations, enhanced credits toward an inmate’s sentence, a concept well rooted in our justice system to encourage rehabilitation and good conduct. Along with credits for completion of education and substance-abuse programs, lawmakers granted credit for time spent on parole, commonly referred to as “street time.”
The provision has yielded the projected budget relief without any aberration in the rate of recidivism or violent crime. Kentucky’s recidivism rate is lower than the national average -- about 35% -- but fewer than 9% return for a new conviction; the majority who do return do so for a technical violation. Nonetheless, lawmakers this year exempted violent and sex offenders from receiving the credit, while those who have absconded or are returned to prison for new felonies remain ineligible.
There will always be a need to incapacitate the most serious felons for long periods of time, possibly forever. But for the vast majority of inmates who eventually leave, the most significant public safety policy is to prepare them so they don’t return.
If insanity is indeed repeating the same behavior while expecting different results, then continuing to allow our prison population to spiral out of control without scrutiny or demonstrated public benefit would be at best irresponsible, and possibly insane.
J. Michael Brown is secretary of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
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