Incarceration facilities, throughout the state, are overcrowded. Certainly, there are some violators of the law that need to be put away for extended periods of time, but there are others that could be compelled to conform to the requirements of society without overcrowding our prisons and jails. Requiring violators to pay for their own education, treatment and meaningful community service programs puts the burden of the violation where it rightly belongs.

Serious evaluation needs to occur regarding who is being incarcerated, for what reasons and for how long. More incarceration facilities equate more staff to oversee prisoners, larger departments to administer programs and less money in public coffers. Prison and jail time should be reserved for those who have demonstrated an unwillingness to conform. A punished offender is not as valuable to society as a rehabilitated offender. Rehabilitation should be the number one policy consideration in the criminal law.