Saturday, December 30, 2006
Editorial: Smart on crime beats tough on crime
Virginia lawmakers are gearing up for more 'tough-on-crime' bills, while better approaches languish.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
It's almost time for lawmakers to return to Richmond, and they have already begun posturing for the title of "toughest on crime." It's a shame directing resources to programs that actually reduce crime and deal with its aftermath doesn't play as well with voters.
Some people like to think stiffer laws are an election-year tradition, but legislators make political hay with such bills annually, and next year will be no exception.
In next year's crop are new ways for Virginians to justify state-sanctioned killing.
When Virginia instituted its death penalty, it was targeted at the worst of the worst, the monsters. But once legislators ratchet up penalties high enough, they can only tack on a lethal injection.
This year there are proposals to make killing a judge, a criminal informant or witness or being an accomplice to murder all eligible for capital punishment.
And if stiff penalties are good, then stiffer must be better. Lawmakers will talk about increased jail time for online predators, looser rules for police to pursue them and more restrictions for convicted sex offenders.
Feel safer?
Locking people up or putting them to death costs the state a lot of money. Meanwhile, services to get at the causes and effects of crime struggle financially.
Many victims of sexual assault, for example, are hard-pressed to find assistance. Some must travel long distances to crisis centers, and Virginia has a shortage of forensic nurse examiners.
Gov. Tim Kaine recently appointed members to a statewide commission on sexual violence to study the issue, but its report will not be available until next year.
Similarly, the state chronically underfunds programs that rehabilitate offenders, reduce domestic violence and assist troubled youths.
The governor this week announced grants for programs to help troubled youths. They total $750,000, enough to fund six programs around the state, one of them in the New River Valley for a transition coordinator to work with children in residential care.
Good for those six communities. The rest of the state will go without.
Study after study shows that investing in such programs reduces crime and saves money in the long run. It's just not as glamorous for grandstanding politicians.
