Invest in Society, Not Prisons

Invest in Society, Not Prisons
as printed in the Burlington Free Press on Feb. 27, 2006


I went to prison four times. Willingly. It was part of my ongoing research on Vermont’s prisons and jails, an area that I focus on in the Vermont House of Representatives.

The way I see it, the best way to learn about the correctional system is to listen to people who spend their days in the field. So I interviewed 53 correctional officers, parole officers, inmates, victims' advocates, and managers in the Department of Corrections (DOC). And I got an earful. One of the common themes I heard was that correctional officers felt that they were too swamped trying to meet day-to-day needs that the correctional aspect of their work was sidelined.

Those I interviewed agree on what the main problem is: There are too many people in our jails and prisons for our correctional system to handle.

Over the last ten years, while crime rates have dropped, prison rates in Vermont have doubled. Experts widely agree that there is no cause and effect relationship between the two. Instead – according to repeated testimony by inmates, correctional officers, probation officers, community advocates, and DOC staff – prisons and jails have become an alternative to community care. Drug addicts? Send them to jail. Mental health problems? Send them to jail. High school drop-outs? They’ll end up in jail.

So who is in prison? A disproportionate number people with mental health, drug, and alcohol problems, and victims of trauma and abuse. Not receiving the treatment and care they needed when they lived in our Vermont towns, they wound up in prison, an environment that usually worsens their problems.

Their problems have become our problems. In just 15 years, spending on corrections has ballooned from four percent of our state’s budget to ten percent. That leaves fewer dollars for education, mental health, substance abuse prevention, foster care, and other programs that would reduce the number of crimes and associated prison costs.

Fifteen years ago, for every dollar we spent on corrections, we spent two dollars on higher education. Now, for each corrections dollar, higher education gets 80 cents.

What happened to our priorities? Why have we let prisons grow so big? Why have we spent so few dollars on the programs that we know strengthen society? Why aren’t we providing alternatives to the kind of behavior that we know leads to crime?

We need prisons to protect society from violent repeat-offenders. But we know that prison is not a cure-all for society’s ills. We can and must end our costly addiction to incarceration, which leads to prison overcrowding. Instead, we should invest in programs that not only help the most vulnerable in our society, but will also ultimately protect us from crime.

Rep. Jason P. Lorber (D-Burlington) is author of “53 Voices on Corrections in Vermont,” which can be found online at www.friendsofjason.org.

Vermonters Oppose Pres. Bush's Illegal Spying

Stop Illegal Spying on Vermonters, Say VT Legislators

Montpelier, VT – January 31, 2006 – Over 100 Vermont legislators today called on President Bush to stop spying on Americans without a warrant. In a letter signed by 104 members and sent to the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, a tri-partisan coalition of legislators declared their opposition to the federal government’s domestic counterterrorism spying program. Signers include include Speaker Symington, Senate President Peter Welch, and five Republicans.

As Vermonters prepare to listen to the President’s State of the Union speech tonight, signers believe that Vermonters’- and all Americans’- constitutional right to privacy is in danger.

“Strong homeland security is critical, but it certainly does not require the government spying on innocent Vermonters who simply disagree with the Bush administration,” said Sen. Matt Dunne (D-Windsor), who drafted the letter and initiated the letter-signing campaign, along with Rep. Jason P. Lorber (D-Burlington) and Rep. Ginny Milkey (D-Brattleboro). “The administration has gone too far and it is time for Vermont to speak out against these actions.”

“We must protect our citizens and our constitution at the same time,” said Rep. Lorber. “There is no need to pit one against the other. We can do both.”

The letter notes:

“The dangers of terrorists may well require the use of covert efforts to identify and bring to justice those that wish to do us harm. However, effective public safety does not necessitate that we disregard our traditional and constitutional right of privacy that prohibits the government from searching our homes or monitoring our phone calls or e-mail messages without a court’s approval.”

Citing historical actions taken by Vermont leaders faced with similar challenges in the past, the letter references Matthew Lyons’ fight against the Sedition Acts early in the nation’s history and Sen. Ralph Flanders’ brave stand against Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

As to why the request was sent to the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisory Council letter continues:

“As the voice of homeland security in Vermont, you are in the strongest position to oppose, on behalf of the state of Vermont, this disregard for Vermonters' basic rights. We hope that you will do so swiftly and strongly. With your help, we believe Vermont, under the banner of "Freedom and Unity," can once again lead the charge to stop the Federal Government's flagrant disregard for our fundamental civil liberties.”
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