Alternatives to Jail to Ease Crowding

The controversy continues. Trying to do in 60 days what the sheriff had been ordered by a U.S. District Court judge to do seven years ago is as impossible as imagining 2,000 prisoners in a jail with a capacity of 1,191.

It appears, though, that the county criminal justice system has not been concerned only with putting convicted people into jail. The commentary piece (May 5) by the chief probation officer, Michael Schumacher, gave a look-see into the possibilities of keeping people out of the jail but still providing the public with assurance that the criminal is held responsible for his actions.

Alternatives to jail are imperative at this time because new facilities are not expected to be ready for two years. It’s conceivable, at the growing incarceration rates, that these facilities will be full at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. If inmates are now diverted to other institutions, those institutions become overcrowded and the problem continues. So alternatives can be a solution.

The alternatives suggested by Schumacher that the county has been investigating for some time need immediate implementation. It seems like new programs always need to be tested. Success rates are important to the continued use of a plan, but success cannot be tested unless the program is put into action. I hope that these alternatives do not need a long test period before acceptance.

There are many ways convicted people can be diverted from serving their sentences in the jail. Nearby communities have devised ways of using inmates in the community when budgets have been cut and services must be curtailed. Inmates have been proposed to staff a fire station in Norco, and Corona has used prisoners in their public works department. Orange County highways and beaches can always use cleanup crews. Nonprofit agencies can always use an extra hand.

Research studies have suggested that there will be an increase in the development and use of alternatives in the corrections system by the year 2000. Considering how long it usually takes to get ideas into motion, the end of the century is not so far away.

LORRAINE LAMBERT

Huntington Beach