Felon-release parity for Pierce County?

THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Last updated: December 23rd, 2007 01:24 AM (PST)

The county – particularly the Tacoma-Lakewood area – have long been the state’s leading dumping ground for ex-cons. In the past, the Pierce County routinely wound up with more released felons than it sent to state prisons.

The result: A gradual but relentless buildup of the criminal population – and the highest violent crime rate in Washington.

Thanks to recent laws championed by Pierce County legislators, the state appears to be reforming.

One measure was the product of a task force led by Sens. Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, and Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood. Enacted this year, it aimed to prevent ex-cons from re-offending by providing both services and penalties.

For example, supervised housing and mentoring for higher-risk offenders. In the past, the state often released them with little assistance or supervision. Without structure, they frequently relapsed.

As an alternative, the state has launched four pilot projects in which nonprofit groups are providing housing for ex-offenders for up to a year. One of those projects – run by the Tacoma-based Citizens for Responsible Justice – will accommodate 70 former inmates released to Pierce County.

This isn’t supposed to be just another spigot pouring felons into the county. It replaces a voucher program in which prisoners were dropped off with $40 in their pockets and subsidies for one to three months of rent. Lacking structure in their lives or a clue about how the world had changed since their arrests, they frequently returned to crime.

In contrast, the new program will provide felons with advice and supervision to help them focus on getting jobs, honoring the conditions of their release and connecting to the services they need to rejoin society.

That may not succeed with many of them, but it’s got to be better than abandoning them to flophouses and the sidewalk scene.

The key question isn’t the creation of a new housing program for offenders; it’s the number of offenders being dumped in Pierce County who should instead be dumped back where they were originally convicted. Under the law, the Department of Corrections must send ex-cons back to their homes unless there are compelling reasons not to – if, say, supportive relatives live elsewhere.

On this score, the numbers look promising. In recent months, reports from Corrections indicate that Pierce County hasn’t been importing any more criminals than it’s exporting.

If that keeps up, the county might just start seeing the department as a partner, not a perp.

Originally published: December 23rd, 2007 01:24 AM (PST)