Treatment promoted as way to deter crime

BOISE – Idaho needs more treatment facilities to fight the state’s increasing number of gangs, sex offenders, methamphetamine users and prisoners, but the facilities are just one piece of a complicated puzzle, a corrections official told lawmakers Monday.

“There is no one silver bullet,” said Brent Reinke, director of the state Department of Juvenile Corrections. “There’s no one quick fix to any one of these areas.”

But members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee liked the idea of building more treatment facilities. That is one of the strategies the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission endorsed.

“I’m just trying to make a point and get it out as much as we possibly can that we need to look toward treatment facilities so that we can stop some of this recidivism and maybe stop some of our juvenile offenders from becoming members of the adult corrections community,” said Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston.

Rep. Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell, emphasized the importance of treatment for young offenders.

“I’m not sure that treatment is really as effective as it could be,” Bolz said. “It seems like we ought to start at a much earlier time period, before they get to the system.”

Reinke said the juvenile department operates differently from adult corrections because it entails extensive treatment for young offenders. But he added that the state needs more treatment options across the board, for criminal offenders of all ages.

“The need is significant for treatment services,” Reinke said. “That’s one of the many facets that we need to get a handle on.”

Along with expanded treatment facilities, strategies recommended by the commission include long-term monitoring of high-risk sex offenders, parenting classes for families affected by meth use, incresing the number of probation and pre-sentence staff members, and creating gang education and awareness programs.

“You’ll find that in all four of these topics, community education is critical,” Reinke said.

Formed last year by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, the Criminal Justice Commission comprises 23 people, including members of the three branches of government and members of the public.