Pubdate: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 Date: 12/29/2000 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Author: Con Vaitsas It isn't just our jails that are in crisis but society as well. We have all been led to believe that lengthy prison sentences are the best form of punishment for every sort of wrongdoing including the non-violent drug crimes. More than half our prisoners are there because of drugs. Surely there is a better alternative than sending drug offenders straight to prison where they mix with hard-edged criminals and may be tempted to commit more serious crimes on their release. Then, of course, there is the unwritten law that many young prisoners face, that of being raped by others continuously and/or being bashed. We should also be aware that more than 80 per cent of people in prison for murder actually killed someone they knew: a spouse, sibling, child, neighbour or friend. It's not the complete stranger you have to be careful of. Spending almost $500 million a year on prisoners seems dumb. The money should be put towards more police on the streets, and drug treatment programs to prevent people going to jail. Con Vaitsas, Ashbury