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shouldn’t be only solution
A report in yesterday’s The (Raleigh) News & Observer found that despite the recent construction of several large prisons in North Carolina, including the 1,500-bed maximum/medium security prison near Tabor City that will open in 2008, there will be 6,400 more inmates than beds by 2016.
That should come as no surprise. Even though North Carolina has tried to enact tougher structured sentencing standards, it’s easy to see right here in Columbus County that repeat offenders get turned back on the streets on a regular, if not routine, basis.
Certainly, the state has to look at alternative sentencing, such as house arrest, for some offenders. Prisons are expensive. One 1,000-bed maximum security prison today costs an estimated $63 million to build. Then there’s staffing, medical, food and other annual costs.
There’s no denying that many ne’er-do-wells on the streets today should be in prison. One reason there are so many break-ins, domestic violence incidents, thefts and other crimes lies in the fact that there is little deterrent or threat of punishment when the law is broken. Criminals know just how far to push the limits of the law. Innocent victims pay the price.
Do we want to live in a society where we have to put bars on our windows?
The answer is obvious, which logically translates into the need for more prisons to keep criminals from breaking the law and breaking into our homes.
In the long run, however, the country as a whole needs to address how it’s going to deal with illegal drug use and trafficking. Needless to say, drugs are a major factor in many crimes and help account for the greater need for prisons.
The so-called “War on drugs” isn’t working, but legalizing drugs would cause great harm as well.
There are no easy answers, except to build more prisons.
It seems that our society should demand a better solution than that.