Rand Study on Probation

The two articles about the Rand Corp. study of probation (Times, Feb. 3) are disturbing. The study reports that 65% of the men convicted of felonies and placed on probation were arrested again, with 75% of those arrested charged with serious crimes. Joan Petersilia, director of the study, cautions that misreading the report could bring down an unjustified storm of criticism agaisnt probation. I believe The Times article does precisely what Petersilia warns against.

The article quotes the Rand study, “probation appears to be heading toward an impasse, if not a total breakdown,” adding this interpretation, “unless substantially more funds for probation--not for building prisons--and a “clear mandate” for probation to make the best use of the resources they have. Obviously, there are serious differences between Petersilia’s interpretation of her own study and those in the article.

It stands to reason that probation officers with caseloads of 300 or more offenders cannot supervise them adequately. But that does not mean that probation should be abolished. Rather, Petersilia points out, their findigs “actually indict the attitudes and policies that have placed unrealistic and overwhelming demands on probation agencies.”

The article does mention that the study recommends alternative penalties for a middle group of felons who are neither very low-risk offenders nor the serious offenders who should be imprisoned. It cites the pilot projects for intensive supervision recommended by the study. And it acknowledges that “The only present alternative--building more prisons--is expensive.”

Perhaps we do not fully realize just how expensive building prisons actually is. Between the prison-construction bond issues passed in 1982 and 1984 and the additional $300 million legislatively authorized for still more prisons through lease-purchase arrangements with private industry, California now has one billion, ninety-five million dollars available for prison construction. Interest and financing charges will almost double that cost to the taxpayers.

Gov. George Deukmejian’s proposed budget includes $2.353 billion for adult and youth corrections. That means our prisons will cost every man, woman, and child in California $98 just for one year’s operation. When the new prisons are completed, additional billions of tax dollars will be needed to operate them.

MAYGENE GIARI

Pasadena