Pubdate: Sun, 03 Dec 2006 Source: Times, The (Gainesville, GA) Copyright: 2006 Gainesville Times Contact: http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2701 Author: Stephen Gurr, The Times IS GEORGIA'S PRISON POPULATION GROWING? Statistics Show 1 In 15 Adults In Georgia Is Under Correctional Supervision Much has changed in Georgia's prison system since Terry Barnard was a freshman state lawmaker in 1994. Back then, the state had about 24,000 prisoners and a corrections budget of $400 million. But in the wake of stiff crime bills, mandatory sentences and a general public approval of getting tough on crime, that budget has ballooned to almost $1 billion. There are now more than 53,000 inmates in Georgia's prison system, with another 166,000 on probation or parole. A U.S. Department of Justice report released this week revealed that, as of December 2005, one in every 32 adult Americans is under some form of correctional supervision. But in Georgia, that number now is one in 15. "It doesn't sound very good," allowed Barnard, R-Glennville, chairman of the House State Institutions and Property Committee. "I wish that number was much lower. It is a sad commentary that so many people are locked away in Georgia. But they didn't get there for any other reason than they broke the law and a judge and jury made the decision that they needed to spend some time away." Georgia, with the ninth-largest population in the United States, now ranks fifth in prison population, passing Michigan last year. State corrections officials balked when the Justice Department report claimed Georgia had seen a 4 percent decrease in prisoners in the past year. Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Yolanda Thompson said that figure was incorrect. "During fiscal year 2006, we had a major increase in prison population, by 9.4 percent," she said. "Our population has steadily increased over the past 18 years, and continues to increase." Bureau of Justice Statistics spokesman Stu Smith said he was unaware of the discrepancy. "We get our numbers from state officials," he said. Kara Gotsch, director of advocacy for the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project, says Georgia's high incarceration rate is creating problems for the African-American communities from which many of the inmates come. More than 60 percent of Georgia prisoners are black, a statistic that Gotsch calls "staggering," considering that blacks make up only 28 percent of the state's population. With many of its men locked up, "the collateral consequences of incarceration has an impact on communities," Gotsch said. "These black men are missing, and it has a direct impact on the children in these neighborhoods." Gotsch blames the U.S. prison boom on the war on drugs and mandatory minimum sentences that have effectively taken discretion out of the hands of judges. She says the high rate of recidivism -- about two-thirds of all prisoners will re-offend within three years of their release -- is an indication of a justice system that fails to provide adequate support after imprisonment and bars opportunities for convicted felons. "There's a black mark put on anyone leaving the prison system," she said. "Many of them can't find jobs; they can't find housing. The cards are stacked against them." And the number of those out on probation is growing. In Hall County, there are about 2,000 felony probationers, according to Kim O'Neil, manager of the county's state probation office. O'Neil has a staff of 10 probation officers to handle that caseload. "We see the bulk of those each month," she said. "At the end of the month we are slammed. The parking lot is full. We stay busy." Women, too, are contributing to the inmate population growth. While traditionally a small part of the prison population, the number of female inmates has increased by 2.6 percent nationally since 2005, according to the Justice Department. In Georgia, the female prisoner population grew by more than 28 percent in the past year, from 2,763 to 3,553. And the demographics of the female population is changing as it grows, Thompson said. In October 2005, 49.2 percent of female prisoners were white. Today, the majority of women in Georgia prisons are white -- 53.5 percent. "You see how meth is impacting the system," Thompson said, referring to a drug that is consumed more by whites than blacks. "Part of what is driving the increase of women in the prison system is the methamphetamine epidemic. And more women across the board are committing more serious offenses." Barnard believes citizens are in favor of the billion-dollar corrections budget that has come as the result of tough crime bills. "When you get tough like that, it's going to cost," he said. "But to this day, I have not had a constituent call me and say we're spending too much on corrections." Gotsch, of the Sentencing Project, believes the public would favor alternatives to prison for nonviolent offenders and thinks the government should re-assess what constitutes a felony. "If someone possesses drugs because they're a drug user, that's not a criminal justice issue, that's a public health issue," she said. Barnard said lawmakers are open to sentencing alternatives for some nonviolent offenses, but said it's wrong to dismiss drug offenses as victimless crimes. "You can't take them as not being serious," he said. Ultimately, he said, the citizens of Georgia dictate the policy, and for now at least, that policy is one of "locking people up and keeping them locked up for a good long time," Barnard said. "There may come a time when that changes, but what I hear is we've got to continue to do more to make sure that we're safe," Barnard said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek