Rehabilitation, Not Jails, Is the Answer
* Superior Court Judge James L. Smith exhibits the typical tunnel vision of those members of the justice system who continue to insist that more and more jails will solve the ever-increasing crime problem (“We’re in Trouble When Lawbreakers Thumb Noses at Courts,” Aug. 15). It has been proven that tough sentences do not prevent criminals from committing crimes.
Until society is willing to try a new approach by treating drug addiction as a medical problem, teaching job skills to the disadvantaged and educating the uneducated, we will need an increasing number of so-called “correctional facilities.”
For the $20,000 spent on one prisoner for one year, five individuals could be trained and taught to make a contribution to society instead of a reappearance in Judge Smith’s courtroom.
DOROTHY CHAPMAN
San Clemente
* I must respectfully disagree with Judge James L. Smith’s complaints about the lack of jail space in Orange County. Building more jails will not solve our problems with crime. We need a more imaginative approach.
We could free up a lot of space in our jails, for example, if we decriminalized drug use, and offered more treatment facilities for those who want to be cured of their drug addiction.
Further, we need to resurrect the idea of teen posts for young people in all our neighborhoods to direct their energies in positive directions. The money we spend to keep an individual in jail could be better spent on rehabilitation through counseling and education in alternative community programs.
Our jails do not protect society. They simply serve as a breeding ground for future criminal activity.
RUTH SHAPIN
Orange
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