PROGRAMS STEM TIDE AT STATE'S PRISON

By Jan. 1, 2000, Missouri's prison population will be 33,500 inmates, according to the latest estimates. That is approximately equivalent to locking up the entire population of Cape Girardeau in prisons scattered around the state.

State officials acknowledge that prisons and probation programs have been Missouri's leading growth industry. Evidence can be found in every section of the state where correctional facilities are being built at a breakneck pace. One of the new prisons will be constructed at Charleston in Southeast Missouri.

Much of the spurt in the corrections industry can be traced to legislative action in 1994. That was the year the General Assembly responded to a public outcry for stiffer and longer sentences as a way to combat increasing crime statistics. In addition, officials say, law enforcement agencies stepped up crime-fighting efforts, resulting in more arrests and leading to more convictions.

The get-tough-on-crime approach appears to be having an effect, not just in Missouri, but across the nation. Recent statistics show decreases in major crimes, which is good news.

And while the boom in prisons has contributed significantly to the state's economy through construction spending and hundreds of new jobs, the fact remains that Missouri continues to face a crunch in an effort to meet demands for prison space.

The estimate of a prison population equal to the population of Cape Girardeau in just a couple of years could have been even worse. If every convicted felon got sentenced to spend time behind bars -- thanks to truth-in-sentencing and mandated prison terms dictated by the 1994 law -- the state simply wouldn't be able to keep up with the tide of inmates, which currently enter the prison system at a rate of about five each day. In addition, another 15 convicts are placed on probation each day.

The Department of Corrections has anticipated the problems that would occur if more and more inmates show up at prisons that can't keep up with demand. It has started three programs aimed at dealing with new convicts without letting them off the hook, but also without placing every convict behind bars. Some of the programs address convicts who are involved in drugs, offering treatment and rehabilitation as a first choice rather than prison. Another program targets convicts on probation in an effort to curtail repeat offenses.

In a way, the programs represent an official acknowledgement that stiff, mandatory sentencing is overwhelming the state's prison system. Overall, the new programs could ease the problem without spending millions of dollars of building and running new prisons.