Letter: Alternatives to jail time lacking
In the new Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank, one correction officer mans this entire pod. (March 22, 2013) Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
Your editorial "Turning point for Suffolk jail" [June 10] is unfortunately a bit misleading. Your recommendations on alternatives to incarceration are on point, but our governmental bureaucracy is in chaos. Every entity of government service is on the verge of collapse because of lack of appropriate personnel and courageous leadership.
The probation department does not have enough officers to supervise those already in its care, never mind take on greater numbers for monitored home arrest. It is definitely a waste of taxpayer dollars to incarcerate drug addicts at $250 a day without treatment. We are setting them up for failure. However, we need more beds for long-term rehabilitation. Insurance companies are destroying any real quality addiction treatment.
Our district attorney, our sheriff and a growing number of judges are thinking outside the box and are open to alternative sentencing for nonviolent criminals, especially those needing substance-abuse treatment. However, the resources are not there.
Instead of closing the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Yaphank, we should consider using it as a rehabilitation center for addiction, primarily for those already involved in the criminal justice system. If they fail at treatment, they would not have far to travel for incarceration.
Our leaders must take off their blinders and see the turning point we are at, not just for the Suffolk County jail, but for all human services. We can't destroy the few resources still left to serve the most vulnerable among us.
The Rev. Francis Pizzarelli, Port Jefferson
Editor's note: The writer is the founder of Hope House Ministries, which helps homeless teens and young adults.
