CLASS 4 FELONY OFFENDERS: ARE ALTERNATIVE. first-time offenders. and subsequently in assessing their suitability for alternative sanction programs. The Miami-Dade County Juvenile Delinquency Alternative. and first time violent misdemeanor offenders, first time. programs and services. Alternative sentencing: Programs are better than prison, jail, experts say"Nobody wanted anything to do with me," said Speller with a wide smile. They were done with me. They were sick and tired of my mess."Prosecutors recommended a 1. Speller, who along with her then- boyfriend operated an illicit business re- selling stolen electronics out of their public housing apartment."We had gotten to the point where people were placing orders with us. They would call and ask if we had any 2. Speller said. When they were caught stealing televisions at a big- box appliance store, police found a cache of stolen goods in their apartment, she said. Speller first heard about Youth Challenge during a prayer group meeting in Norfolk's city jail three years ago. She applied to the alternative sentencing program based in Newport News, not knowing whether she would be accepted."The judge said, 'I was planning to give you five years today. I don't know why I'm letting you do this, but something tells me I should give you a chance, that you want to change,'" said Speller, of Hampton. So instead of five years in prison, she was sent to Youth Challenge, which despite its name is a 1. Speller said she now has a relationship with God. Last year she got married and is now finishing a degree at Thomas Nelson Community College."I'm a whole new person," said Speller, who works on the Youth Challenge staff in Newport News. Studies show that alternative sentencing programs are much more effective than prisons and jail at preventing recidivism, and much less expensive to operate. So why aren't such programs used more often? At nearly 3. 0,0. Virginia's prison population has grown by about 5,0. Virginia Department of Corrections statistics. Prison population numbers are, however, finally starting to decline across the country, and there's a growing acceptance of alternate methods of sentencing for non- violent offenders, experts said. In 2. 01. 0, the national prison population declined 0. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in December 2. It was the first decline in the national prison population since 1. Similarly, Virginia's prison population dipped 3. For the past 1. 0 years Virginia has encouraged judges to consider alternative sentencing. And a governor's task force is studying alternative sentencing strategies. Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan said the City Farm — a minimum security jail on the banks of the James River where non- violent offenders serve two years or less — could be closed and about half of the city's jail population could be diverted to alternative programs without public safety being compromised. Significantly cutting the jail population, closing the City Farm and starting an alternative program would save the city millions, Morgan said."We should find a way to not have to incarcerate people," he said. The alternatives. Several criminal justice experts agree that a "perfect storm" is brewing for opportunities to expand alternative sentencing."The answer is right in front of them," said Troy Collier, the Youth Challenge director, sitting in an office filled with hand- me- down furniture. Collier said Youth Challenge rehabilitates people and saves money. Collier said judges like to sentence people to his intensive, "change- the- heart" through faith type program. Youth Challenge serves more than 1. Across Virginia, about 1. Roughly 2,0. 00 to 3,0. Hampton Roads region, based on population estimates. Collier said Youth Challenge could expand its services if the local and state governments started realizing how much money they would save by diverting dollars from jails and prisons to alternative programs. Morgan said he noticed a shift in public perceptions about five or six years ago, when it became apparent that building more prisons was costly and not serving society. The one way I can get everyone's attention on this issue is when we start talking about cost," he said."We lock a prostitute up for 9. She gets out and she's still an addict," he said. The money we spent locking her up we just flushed down the drain. We do very little to address the root causes of why people commit crimes.".
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