County group looks at changing criminal behavior

By DAVID RYAN
Napa Valley Register

A group of 17 officials from throughout the county’s criminal justice system are set to embark on a planning process that will likely radically transform the county corrections system.

The Napa County Board of Supervisors this week voted unanimously to send the group on a planning process that will work out the nuts and bolts issues of offering more services to change criminal behavior — and change who gets sent to jail and for how long.

One thing is for sure, said Assistant County CEO Britt Ferguson, the status quo doesn’t work well because the system jails some inmates who would be better off with services outside the jail and others go free when jail is the best option.

“What we have potentially now is a mismatch,” he said. “The bottom line is we would be using what research actually shows is the best course of action for certain offenders.”

A March report by a criminal justice county consultant cited research that shows punishment alone doesn’t reduce the rate at which some groups of criminals re-offend, called recidivism.

“There is a right way to do this business,” Consultant Mark Carey said at the time. “If you think that punishment is reducing recidivism, it’s not.”

Instead, the county could use programs to address life skills, mental health issues and drug and alcohol programs that would specifically target groups of offenders, plus separate low-risk offenders from high-risk ones.

The result would not be a net increase in criminals being set free, but a change in how the county manages its future criminal population.

What’s called evidence-based practices would change the structure of how the jail is run, from a place largely built upon traditional beliefs about criminals and punishment, to a place that would be aided by day center that would put some offenders through various programs that scientific studies show can change criminal behavior.

“If you look at what research shows makes the most sense ... in terms of keeping the community safe and in terms of how you deal with different offenders, what’s happened over the years is decisions have been made that research shows is not effective,” Ferguson said.

With the programs provided by some kind of day center, the thinking is recidivism would be reduced and the crime rate would drop — and with less crime the community would be safer than it is now.

There is a downside to all of this: money.

“It’s going to cost more money than we’re spending now,” Ferguson said. “There’s no other way to do it. (But) money is not the only consideration here because we’re thinking about what makes the most sense in terms of community safety. To enhance community safety, there’s no cost neutral way to do that.”

To afford the potential millions in costs it might take to remodel the jail and establish a new center for programs, the county is embarking on a strategic plan to organize its finances along priorities. Already, the county faces multi-million annual deficits in its road maintenance budget and a recent report indicated it will cost more than $3 million to maintain the current level of county fire service in the future.

Ferguson indicated that the county might leave behind some of its current spending to focus on other areas, but the Board of Supervisors would have to approve any change. For now, the 17-member criminal justice group is slated to take up to a year before it puts specific plans before the supervisors.

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