Bucher and Van Hollen tough on taxpayers

After he reads it, Dane County Supervisor David Blaska should forward the new study about Wisconsin's prison population to Paul Bucher and J.B. Van Hollen, the two Republican candidates for Attorney General. The study outlines how Wisconsin can save about $43 million a year by treating substance abusers instead of just throwing them in jail.

When Kathleen Falk entered the race for Attorney General they both immediately dismissed her as soft on crime because she has been at the forefront of providing jail alternatives. They claim she is going to release violent criminals onto the streets, when nothing is farther from the truth. She wants to treat non-violent substance abusers, which will save taxpayers money. The chest-thumping 'me tough on crime' stance that they have both adopted is really tough on taxpayers, not crime.

Wisconsin's prison population has doubled since 1995, not because our state is more dangerous, but because politicians want to say they are doing things to stop crime. They increase sentences for crimes every time they turn around and all of this showboating is costing taxpayers more every year. In 1993 our state spent about $278 million on the state's corrections budget. Last year, we spent over $1 billion.

Money well spent? Probably not since over half of our new prisoners are serving time for substance-abuse of some sort. We could save about $20,000 each year per prisoner if we put them through a substance abuse treatment program instead of jail. We would also gain extra savings down the road since people going through treatment programs are a lot less likely to end up in trouble again compared to those sent to jail.

Kathleen Falk is way ahead of the curve both on effectively dealing with crime and saving money for Wisconsin taxpayers. Something the residents of Wisconsin will be very interested in during the race for Attorney General.