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Editorial: Try new approach to property crime

Thu., March 26, 2015

Decades of being “tough on crime” have proved to be tough on taxpayers. But the principles of smart justice are gaining traction locally and statewide.

The city and county of Spokane are teaming up on evidence-based approaches that combine treatment, counseling and supervision to stem the rate of reoffending. It’s either that or face the huge cost of building a new jail.

The Legislature is considering the same approach on property crimes. In 1984, the Legislature established tough sentencing guidelines, and some 30 years later Washington has the highest property crime rate in the nation.

That obviously didn’t work, but what would? The question for public officials took on more urgency as they faced huge prison expansion costs. So they decided to find out what made the state stand out.

The Justice Center of the Council of State Governments, formed by a governor-created task force, found that Washington was the only state that didn’t supervise property crime offenders once they’re released from prison. Basically, they’re given $40 and a good-luck handshake. But it hasn’t been fortuitous for them or future property crime victims.

Of the 16,171 people arrested for felony property crimes in 2013, two-thirds had prior felonies on their record. What Washington’s approach failed to consider is that 95 percent of felons locked up for this offense are eventually released.

In other states, corrections officers check up on them, face to face. They monitor employment status. They evaluate the underlying factors that led to a life of crime in the first place, and steer the recently released into the appropriate counseling and treatment programs.

Under SB 5755, which passed early this month, the state would hire supervision officers and pay for beefed up pretrial services aimed at steering property crime offenders into anti-recidivism programs. The $90 million needed for that (through the 2021 fiscal year) would be paid for with the $124 million in averted operating and capital costs at prisons.

The sentencing grid would be rewritten to allow for alternative programs and to shorten prison time for some offenders. Those who commit residential burglaries or burglaries that involve an assault or use of a deadly weapon would still face long stretches.

The Justice Center put together a similar report for Idaho last year, and the Legislature responded with an updated parole system and more rehabilitation services. The state hopes to save $288 million over the next five years.

Some law enforcement officials have concerns that emptying the prisons will mean filling local jails, but the bill was amended to forestall such a cost shift. Plus, the measure has a sunset clause, so if the promised benefits and cost savings don’t materialize, the experiment can be abandoned.

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee took testimony on a companion bill, and the state prosecutors association said the state should give it a try. The governor enthusiastically supports it.

The House should pass the bill, because the status quo is victimizing the state.