by TChris

As politically popular as it has been for legislators to "get tough on crime" by increasing maximum sentences, imposing mandatory minimums, creating "three strikes" laws, and generally encouraging incarceration as the first and best solution to crime, there are consequences to soaring prison populations. Some of the consequences are financial, as states with faltering economies try to pay for new prison beds. But when states ignore the financial problems and simply jam more inmates into existing spaces, crisis is inevitable.

That is the lesson learned in Arizona, where a panel studying a standoff with prisoners criticized the "chronic underfunding," inadequate training, and staff shortages at state prisons.

Many of the problems that contributed to a 15-day prison hostage situation resulted from "years worth of bad decisions by the Department of Corrections at all levels," investigators said in a draft review obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

While the panel made several recommendations, many of which require increased funding, it would be wise to consider whether the prison environment could be improved by releasing to community supervision those inmates who don't need to be in prison. Many inmates who serve time for drug or other nonviolent offenses are consuming scarce correctional resources that would be better devoted to those who, for society's protection, actually need to be behind bars.