Currently, the United States is experiencing record low crime rates, however some counties continue to jail people at growing rates.  Over the last five years counties that have increased their jail populations the most have not necessarily witnessed the biggest decreases in crime.

       Despite the availability of less restrictive and much less costly options such as electronic monitoring, day reporting and community service, 91% of people held under the supervision of jails are held in facilties.  Those populations comprise mostly people who have not committed a violent offense.  In 2002, 74.6% of people held in jails had committed a nonviolent offense such as a property, drug, or public-disorder offense.  Only 3% of people held in jail reported a probation or parole violation as their most serious offense.

      Community supervision has been shown to reduce the chance that a person will participate in criminal activity in the future and has the added benefit of being more cost-effective than incarceration.  Research from RAND and the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP), have both issued reports revealing the public safety and cost benefits of providing treatment over incarceration.

      * In its 1997 study, RAND Corporation, one of the nation's leading research corporations, estimated that treating cocaine users reduces serious crime 15 times more effectively than incarceration.

      * Tha Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration (ADAA) found that in Maryland both ADAA-Funded and non-funded treatment programs reduce substance abuse, crime, and homelessness, while increasing employment.

      * WSIPP conducted a cost-benefit analysis revealing that drug treatment in the community is the most beneficial in terms of costs as well as crime reduction.  

      * A 2003 WSIPP study found that every dollar invested in prison in Washington State for a convicted drug user produced .37 cents in crime reduction benefits.  However, the 2006 study revealed that drug courts, drug treatment in prison, and drug treatment in the community with intensive court supervision yielded much better public safety results for the cost producing over $18.00 in crime reduction benefits.

      Diverting nonviolent offenders, particularly drug offenders, into community programs would relieve the stress on overcrowded facilities, save money, and provide space for people charged with more serious violent crimes.  By allowing people convicted of nonviolent offenses to return to the community under intensive supervision, they are less likely to commit crime in the future and more likely to return to work, family, and community obligations.

"In most cases, county jails should be reserved for higher risk offenders who have been sentenced or are being held for violations of supervision conditions, while their lower risk counterparts should be supervised within the community at a substantial savings to the taxpayer. 

If elected your District Judge, I will make it my goal to reduce our in-county bed needs, saving the taxpayers money, while in the process make more existing beds available for rental and ensure the safety of our community"