8/19/2003
Roots of the insta-crisis
Penny wise, pound foolish drug policy -- Sun-Sentinel reports that Florida's sudden surge in inmates imprisoned on drug-related charges follows two years of state budget cuts that have dramatically reduced treatment dollars for drug offenders behind bars.
Miami Herald says it's the largest number of new inmates in any single month in Florida in more than a decade. It, too, quotes corrections stats that say the jump was largely driven by a big jump in the number of people being imprisoned for drug crimes.
Everyone, though, seems to just assume that this is an anomalous spike. What if it's the start of the new incarceration rate?
Miami Herald says it's the largest number of new inmates in any single month in Florida in more than a decade. It, too, quotes corrections stats that say the jump was largely driven by a big jump in the number of people being imprisoned for drug crimes.
Everyone, though, seems to just assume that this is an anomalous spike. What if it's the start of the new incarceration rate?
