Editorial

WEC playing key role in reducing prison population

Friday, November 7, 2008

Nebraska's prison system is moving in the right direction, and McCook's Work Ethic Camp is an important reason.

The prison population is declining after hitting 140 percent of capacity a few years ago, and still stands at 138 percent, according to Nebraska Department of Corrections officials.

But officials are hopeful we won't have to build another new prison -- like the $73 million facility the state built in Tecumseh after changing the rules in the middle of the game, taking it away from McCook.

Now more non-violent offenders and probationers are being sent to McCook, where they have a chance to learn the life skills to stay out of prison after their release.

The Work Ethic Camp, which now accepts prisoners nearly ready for release, reached its official capacity of 100 for almost the first time this week, on its way to an expected population of 130, reflecting levels of the state prison system as a whole.

Such overcrowding came about as a result of the public's desire to keep drugs off the street and punish those who provide them.

But the pendulum swung too far, filling prisons over capacity with nonviolent offenders more appropriately sent to drug treatment programs rather than being thrown into a population of killers and hard-core crooks.

Now the pendulum has swung back toward the center, with 33 percent more of the drug offenders entering a drug treatment program overseen by the state.

We should not allow the pendulum to swing too far the other way, of course, and must continue to hold those who break the law accountable for their actions.

Programs like the Work Ethic Camp, where offenders and inmates pending parole are offered courses in GED, parenting, victim awareness, cognitive restructuring and employment skills in addition to drug and alcohol treatment, are a much more effective -- and even more economical -- solution than simply releasing prisoners to sink or swim.

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