RICHMOND -
State lawmakers are looking for any possible way to conserve money.
Drawing down the number of state prisons is one option, but would it impact public safety?
In a meeting with the Virginia State Crime Commission Wednesday, former gubernatorial candidate Mark Earley proposed taking funding away from correctional facilities, and using it instead on programs to cut down the rate of recidivism.
"We've done a great job of getting criminals off the street," explained Earley. "What we haven't done a good job of, all across the U.S., is getting criminals ready to come back out on to the street."
The former attorney general also contends that investing time and money transitioning offenders will make the community safer in the long run.
Virginia currently houses 67,000 criminals. Of that group, about 13,000 will be released back into society every year.
Despite the fact that the state budget for correctional operations has quadrupled since 1988, to $1.25 billion annually, Virginia has been unable to make a dent in the percentage of repeat offenders.
Earley now serves as president of the Prison Fellowship organization. He's pushing for a program that would provide inmates with a volunteer mentor to help in the search for work, housing, and acclimation back into the free world.
"The average inmate in prison makes about 3 choices a day," added Earley. "The average citizen out of prison makes about 4,000 choices a day."
Perhaps no one at Wednesday's meeting understood the daunting dask of coming back from prison as well as Patrick Nolan, Earley's cohort, who spent more than 2 years in federal custody for accepting an illicit campaign contribution as a California lawmaker.
Nolan wants to see the creation of community centers, geared toward improving drug addiction and mental health, rather than the funding and creation of additional prisons.
"If you take and lock up an addict, but don't do anything about the addiction, they're still an addict when they come out," declared Nolan.
He estimates the plan could save the state dozens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars.
The challenge for Earley and Nolan will be convincing commission members that the proposal is both fiscally logical, and fair, to Virginia taxpayers.
"We shouldn't ever put a person in a better position because they committed a crime, and give them access to even more services than a normal person who followed the law doesn't get," remarked Republican Delegate Rob Bell, who sits on the commission.
Bell also conceded the measures may very well save the state money down the road, but Richmond needs immediate budget relief for its $1.5 billion deficit.
Drawing down the number of state prisons is one option, but would it impact public safety?
In a meeting with the Virginia State Crime Commission Wednesday, former gubernatorial candidate Mark Earley proposed taking funding away from correctional facilities, and using it instead on programs to cut down the rate of recidivism.
"We've done a great job of getting criminals off the street," explained Earley. "What we haven't done a good job of, all across the U.S., is getting criminals ready to come back out on to the street."
The former attorney general also contends that investing time and money transitioning offenders will make the community safer in the long run.
Virginia currently houses 67,000 criminals. Of that group, about 13,000 will be released back into society every year.
Despite the fact that the state budget for correctional operations has quadrupled since 1988, to $1.25 billion annually, Virginia has been unable to make a dent in the percentage of repeat offenders.
Earley now serves as president of the Prison Fellowship organization. He's pushing for a program that would provide inmates with a volunteer mentor to help in the search for work, housing, and acclimation back into the free world.
"The average inmate in prison makes about 3 choices a day," added Earley. "The average citizen out of prison makes about 4,000 choices a day."
Perhaps no one at Wednesday's meeting understood the daunting dask of coming back from prison as well as Patrick Nolan, Earley's cohort, who spent more than 2 years in federal custody for accepting an illicit campaign contribution as a California lawmaker.
Nolan wants to see the creation of community centers, geared toward improving drug addiction and mental health, rather than the funding and creation of additional prisons.
"If you take and lock up an addict, but don't do anything about the addiction, they're still an addict when they come out," declared Nolan.
He estimates the plan could save the state dozens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars.
The challenge for Earley and Nolan will be convincing commission members that the proposal is both fiscally logical, and fair, to Virginia taxpayers.
"We shouldn't ever put a person in a better position because they committed a crime, and give them access to even more services than a normal person who followed the law doesn't get," remarked Republican Delegate Rob Bell, who sits on the commission.
Bell also conceded the measures may very well save the state money down the road, but Richmond needs immediate budget relief for its $1.5 billion deficit.
