Be smart in using prisons

'If you build it, they will come" might be as true for prisons as it is for baseball.

But indiscriminately warehousing criminal offenders is an inefficient use of public resources, at best.

Which is why I was tickled when the Public Interest Institute published a brief this week calling for the kind of common-sense corrections strategies that some conservatives often dismiss as being too easy on our lawbreakers.

In that brief, Marc Levin, Director of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, recommends expanding Iowa's drug court system, mandating probation and treatment for first-time drug-possession offenses and creating short-term beds for folks guilty of technical parole or probation violations.

He also thinks we should release geriatric prisoners instead of paying for them to live out their old age behind bars.

Medical care for elderly inmates is costly, and inmates over 60 rarely re-offend, he writes. Iowa is one of only 14 states without a geriatric release law.

The bottom line: Don't build more prison beds. Be smarter about how we use the beds we have.

"Further increases in imprisonment will not necessarily enhance public safety," he wrote.

Hallelujah.

Then I noticed the disclaimer at the bottom of the brief: the views expressed aren't necessarily those of the Public Interest Institute.

Institute spokeswoman Amy Frantz told me they published the brief for its Iowa connection. She didn't know if the Mount Pleasant-based policy group would take an official position on the issue.

They should.

Iowa's prison population has slowly declined in the past two fiscal years and state correction officials say that's partly because of community-based initiatives like drug courts, substance abuse treatment, education, housing and employment services.

But the state's prisons are still overcrowded -- 13 percent over capacity on Tuesday -- and the numbers are projected to rise again as more offenders are sentenced under tougher standards.

Community corrections programs can be cheaper, more effective ways to deal with offenders and keep our neighborhoods safe.

It's not a Loopy Left position to say we should get the biggest bang for the $350-plus million bucks we spend on corrections each year.

You don't need a bleeding heart to support evidence-based approaches to corrections.

You just need to use your head.

Jennifer Hemmingsen's column appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact the writer at (319) 339-3154 or jennifer.hemmingsen@gazcomm.com