Early release: seeing corrections costs in context

February 10, 2010 | By Guest Columnist | oregonlive.com

Tara Lawrence

It's taken a long time to arrive at any kind of truth in sentencing in Oregon. The state has capped earned time for most prison inmates at 20percent since 1989. That was the year in which a commission led by former Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers determined that 20percent earned time was the best number to encourage good behavior by inmates and ensure public safety.

While the Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance agrees with the Myers commission, Attorney General John Kroger, the Oregon District Attorney's Association, the Oregon Police Chief's Association and the Oregon Sheriff's Association are all on record urging the Legislature to adopt a federal early-release standard that would limit Oregon's criminals to receiving a maximum 15percent off their prison sentences.

Kroger points out in a letter he recently sent to state legislators that increasing earned time reduces the deterrent effect of prison and undermines the credibility of Oregon's criminal justice system, which is why he supports reducing earned time to 15percent.

Oregon does not send criminals to prison for petty offenses. According to Oregon's Criminal Justice Commission, only 23percent of Oregon felony convictions result in any kind of prison sentence. So it follows that 77percent of felony convictions in Oregon result in probation or a suspended sentence, not prison time. The felons who Oregon does send to prison are among the most dangerous, violent criminals, sex offenders, repeat property criminals and drug dealers. It makes little sense to grant these dangerous criminals early release to save less than half of a percent of our state budget, especially when you consider the enormous financial and emotional losses suffered by crime victims each year.

According to a National Association of State Budget Officers report on state spending, Oregon spends only 3.3 percent of total state expenditures on corrections. That's average when compared to other states. If our state spending on corrections is average, then the claim that our corrections spending is out of control is flat-out laughable.

It's also misleading to tell Oregonians that we spend more on corrections than higher education. Oregon spends 11.5 percent of total state expenditures on higher education. That's above average nationally. Oregon's general fund does provide a bit more support to corrections than higher education, but that makes sense considering that higher education receives a large amount of other funds and grants simply not available to corrections.

Oregon's corrections costs are average. Our incarceration rate is well below the national average and has held steady for years. Factually, corrections in Oregon is under control in terms of spending and incarceration rates. But if Oregon does not keep dangerous criminals off the streets, our crimes rates will quickly become out of control. Just ask Lane County, which has one of the highest crime rates in the nation, largely because of a lack of will to appropriately fund the local jail and law enforcement.
 
Tara Lawrence is executive director and general counsel of the Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance.