Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 13, 1993 TAG: 9312130066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Woodward is director of the Division of Criminal Justice in Colorado, where parole was abolished in 1979 - and re-established six years later. Legislators found that without parole, it was too difficult to keep tabs on inmates after they served their sentences and were released.
"The problem with abolishing parole is you lose your ability to keep track of the inmates and the ability to keep them in treatment if they have alcohol and drug problems," Woodward said.
In Virginia, a state commission already was studying parole and sentencing reform even before Gov.-elect George Allen made a promise to abolish parole a central issue in his campaign.
The commission, which is scheduled to make its recommendations to the General Assembly by January 1995, has begun calling on experts to talk about parole experiences in other states.
"My gut impression is that they will find some states with some real disenchanting experiences," said Rhonda Reeves, a spokeswoman for the Council of State Governments in Louisville, Ky.
Reeves said her organization has received "an enormous amount of inquiries" about parole systems. The council plans to conduct a national study, but has not yet started it.
Officials from Florida and North Carolina warned Virginia's commission that it is painfully expensive to build more prisons to keep criminals behind bars longer.
Other states, including Colorado, have learned the same lesson.
Woodward said that when Colorado brought parole back in 1985, officials believed something else had to be done to get tough on crime. So sentences were doubled for many offenses, and "that's when the prison population really shot up," Woodward said.
The longer sentences did nothing to slow the crime rate or erase the public perception that the state was too soft on criminals, he said.
"The state did a survey before increasing the sentences asking if judges were too soft on crime. Seventy percent said yes. Then after the sentences were increased, the same question was asked again. Seventy-three percent said yes," Woodward said.
Maine also abolished parole in 1976, although parole is still in effect for inmates sentenced before that year. Legislation to reinstate parole is introduced periodically but is routinely defeated.
Peter Tilton, director of Maine's Division of Probation and Parole, said abolishing parole "was a serious mistake."
"The prison population has increased significantly, and there is no supervision when the inmates are finally released," he said. "It doesn't add to public safety. You're better off having them get out with close supervision than just get out, period."
Woodward agreed. "What you get for holding them longer is people who don't know how to operate in the real world," he said.
Allen and his supporters argue that most violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, so it would be cheaper to keep them in prison longer the first time and save the costs of arresting them and trying them again.
by CNB