I would like to comment on Jay Hoods defense of our incarceration policy in last weeks letters section.
In the last 20 years, the U.S. prison population has tripled. In Washington state, it has increased by a factor of 2.5. The U.S. prison population now exceeds 2 million men, women and children, twice the rate of incarceration of Russia and four times the rate of China.
We represent four percent of the planet with more than 25 percent of its prisoners. The U.S. has a higher percentage of its citizenry in prison than any other country in history, as state and federal legislatures have spent the last 25 years enforcing a war on drugs and getting tough on crime.
In Washington, 22 percent of the prison population is serving time for drug offenses, up from 3 percent in 1980. Last July, after 18 months of DEA investigation, and raids on 17 locations locally, 14 people were arrested for using khat, a drug similar to caffeine.
Citizens initiatives for three strikes and youre out and hard time for armed crime have put petty offenders in prison for life. (Ironically, the same voters that passed these initiatives rejected an increase in sales tax to pay for operating the new county jail.)
The costs associated with arresting suspects, hauling them to court and locking them away typically consumes nearly 70 percent of Snohomish Countys annual general fund. Across the country, prisons are being built at a record pace; Colorado has built a new prison every year for the last 16 years. For the last decade, states have spent more on building new prisons than building new colleges and universities. Petty quips like If you cant do the time, dont do the crime may sound good, but the reality is we must reform our drug and sentencing laws and find alternatives to incarcerating an ever-increasing number of our citizens.
Steven Haynes
Arlington