Sept. 10 Daily News editorial

This deep recession is forcing a number of states to rethink “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” crime-fighting policies. Faced with declining revenues, states no longer can build prisons fast enough to accommodate expanding inmate populations. Many state lawmakers are taking a hard look at popular mandatory-sentencing laws.

Oregon lawmakers risked voter wrath earlier this year by delaying full implementation of Measure 57 for 30 months. The measure, which was approved by 61 percent of voters last fall, increases prison time for repeat property and drug crimes. The Oregon Legislature simply could not find the money needed to house the more than 1,000 Measure 57 offenders who would be imprisoned over the next several years.

Some state lawmakers and corrections officials think such choices are all for the better, according to Los Angeles Times writer Nicholas Riccardi. They believe these tough economic times could bring about more sensible crime-fighting policies.

“The (tight) budget has actually helped us,” Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan’s Corrections Department, which reshaped its parole board this year to speed up releases. “When you’re not having budget troubles,” Marlan told Riccardi, “that’s when we implemented many of these lengthy drug sentences and zero-tolerance policies (that) really didn’t work.”

Marlan is right about the failure of those draconian policies. The “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” approach to combating crime hasn’t worked — not in Oregon, not here in Washington, not anywhere in the nation. And it’s costing a ton of money. It’s time we allowed judges the discretion to impose reasonable sentences tailored to the particulars of the cases that come before them. It’s also time to explore more alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders.

Washington has taken some important steps toward a more sensible corrections policy in recent years. In 2003, state lawmakers made changes in the 1989 minimum sentencing laws for drug crimes that played a big part in almost tripling Washington’s prison population over the past two decades. Legislation was enacted to reduce prison time and expand drug treatment options for nonviolent, first-time offenders. In 2007, the Legislature approved a $30 million plan to reduce recidivism by strengthening rehabilitation efforts. The plan involves providing inmates with literacy education, job training and drug treatment.

These actions preceded the economic meltdown and may have helped Washington corrections officials avoid some very difficult choices with regard to corrections in this tight budget cycle. California, which has done little to moderate its growing prison population over the past decade, finds itself with few good options. California may have to turn loose as many as 40,000 inmates early to balance its budget. Clearly, public safety is best served by crime-fighting policies that are both sensible and affordable.