Report Offers Ways To Ease Prison Woes Electronic Monitoring, Substance Treatment, Faster Paroles Could Help The Growing Burden

Idaho could save money and cut its prison population by using more electronic monitoring, treating prison inmates for substance abuse and speeding up parole, a new state report says.

The report, “Alternatives to Incarceration, Opportunities and Costs,” has been nearly a year in the works. The state Office of Performance Evaluations, at the Legislature’s request, studied Idaho’s prison system and looked at alternative punishments in Idaho, Montana, Utah and Nevada.

A legislative committee delved into the report for hours Tuesday, before agreeing to refer it to the judiciary committees of both the House and Senate - placing the report’s recommendations squarely on the Legislature’s agenda. The Legislature convenes Jan. 12.

Gov. Phil Batt, in a written response to the report, said, “Any constructive discussion on cost-saving alternatives is welcomed,” and called the issue one “that affects all of Idaho.”

The state’s skyrocketing prison population led Batt earlier this year to declare himself a “committee of one” and conduct his own study of the problem. Batt then developed proposals to drop felony sanctions for some minor offenses, run more offenders through Idaho’s boot-camp program, and speed up parole procedures.

More than three-quarters of Idaho’s prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes. Nearly a quarter of the inmates are behind bars for drunken driving, drug possession, writing bad checks or driving without a license.

Batt said in his response to the new report that he’ll bring his proposals to the Legislature in January. “I am grateful for the shared interest the Legislature has shown in solving this problem.”

Correction Director Jim Spalding, whose department took issue with some of the report’s recommendations, cautioned against too much optimism, suggesting that the success of sentencing alternatives is not overwhelming.

“Sixty-one percent of the people who come into our system are the result of the failure of some sentencing alternative,” Spalding told the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee. He specifically cited probation and parole violators.

Olivia Craven, executive director of the Commission on Pardons and Parole, said half the inmates paroled by the commission now violate conditions of their release, up from 25 percent just a few years ago.

“We have a different kind of criminal now,” Craven said, urging lawmakers to invest more money in programs that “prepare them for the basics of living and to change their criminal behavior.”

The report’s recommendations include:

Put some nonviolent prisoners who don’t pose a threat to the community on electronic monitoring at home rather than behind bars. Idaho currently uses electronic monitoring only for probationers and parolees.

Expand the use of electronic monitoring for those on probation and parole. It’s currently used only in a small portion of the state. The Correction Department supports this recommendation, and already has submitted a budget request for expansion.

Achieve long-term savings by providing substance abuse treatment to offenders. The report found that even if just 4 percent of treated offenders are turned around, the department recovers the full cost of the treatment program by avoiding future expensive incarceration.

Reduce delays in parole procedures.

Improve data systems to allow better tracking of prisoners and programs.

Increase the fee offenders are charged for probation or parole from $30 a month to $35.

The Office of Performance Evaluations estimated its recommendations would save the state at least $715,000 a year and said the state also may qualify for additional federal funds to pursue some of the recommendations.

Although Idaho’s prison population has more than doubled in the past seven years, inmate growth has slowed during the past six months. Still, every Idaho prison is over capacity and hundreds of Idaho inmates are now housed out of state or backed up in county jails.

The state also is finalizing plans for construction of its first large private prison.

Spalding said all the alternatives still fail to attack the underlying philosophy in Idaho that criminals must be punished and punished severely.

“You still have sentencing issues that keep people in for a long period of time,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Saving money Idaho’s Office of Performance Evaluations estimated its recommendations would save the state at least $715,000 a year.