There Has to Be a Better Way

Abstract

How soon our nation's prisons will explode no one knows, but they can not be expected to absorb many more inmates than are now jammed inside the prison walls. Alternatives to incarceration, which sprang up in a wave of enthusiasm a decade ago, will succeed in reducing the prison popu lation only if they are fully institutionalized. Our belief in alternatives must be revived, and that belief made solid and effective by careful plan ning. The goals of correction need not be uncertain, the services provided in community alternatives need not be nominal, the standards for correc tional field workers can be defined, and the adequate funding of com munity facilities can be ensured—if we mobilize to prevent the desperate situation in our prisons from becoming more desperate. We badly need the confidence to use and develop further our community resources for persons who have demonstrated that they need help.