Alternative to jail time less costly

A person convicted of grand larceny for the first time could be sentenced to a year in prison that would cost taxpayers of South Carolina $13,000, but there is a less costly alternative that has steadily gained support over the past decade. The increasingly popular alternative to jail terms for some non-violent criminals is pretrial intervention. Such a method of disposing of cases costs little and frees up expensive jail space that could be used for violent criminals.

During its first decade of operation in Spartanburg County, the numbers of people passing through the doors of a small office on Library Street where pre-trial intervention cases are handled have increased dramatically from about 200 the first year to 1,000 cases in 1989.

"The Solicitor's Office is constantly faced with, and plagued with, a carry-over list," said John T. Hayes, director of the 7th Circuit intervention office. "Utilization of this office can and does relieve that pressure just a bit." For people with no significant prior record who are accused for the first time of non-violent crimes, the intervention effort gives them a chance to repay the victims and get jobs, education and alcohol and drug counseling. "Restitution is the prime factor," Hayes said of efforts by his office, which handles adult and juvenile cases from Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. "We try to move behind the scene of the crime."

Spartanburg lawyer Derham Cole, a member of the state House, recommended hundreds of people for pre-trial intervention as an assistant solicitor for seven years. He said intervention is a good alternative to jail regardless of court and jail overcrowding. "It's not designed for a person to get away with something," Cole said. "I don't look at it as an alternative to incarceration." It means that instead of putting someone in jail for a year, the person has the responsibility to try and make things right without costing the state thousands of dollars.

Some proponents of the program, including Greenville Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown, say that some second-time offenders involved in non-violent crimes should be eligible for the program. "What would be interesting is increasing the responsibility of pre-trial," Brown said. "Give them the added responsibility for some second offenders." There has been some expansion of who is eligible for the program, with some people charged with a crime such as indecent exposure now allowed to participate. Brown said that rather than having judges place someone on probation because prisons are overcrowded, those people could go through pre-trial intervention and be steered into jobs or school. "It's obvious that we've got to look at options other than incarceration and probation," he said.

Hayes agreed. "It gives a person, who is deserving, justifiable reasons to believe he can put his life together," Hayes said. "The thrust is restitution, gainful employment and education."

Brown believes the lessons taught by intervention counselors are often more valuable that jail time. "You learn a lesson by having to take some responsibility. You don't take responsibility at the Department of Corrections. You're just being locked up."

When a Spartanburg County committee studied jail overcrowding two years ago, one of the recommendations was that pre-trial intervention should handle twice the number of adult cases to free up jail space. "We're moving more and more toward that," Hayes said, although his staff has not increased significantly in 10 years.

For a person to be admitted to pre-trial intervention, there must be approval of an assistant solicitor, the law enforcement agency involved and the victim. Then the person must apply to Hayes's office and be screened for their potential compatibility with the program.

During a person's involvement, which lasts three months or more, the arrest warrant in the case is in limbo. It can be reactivated and the person brought to court at any time. Counselors in the intervention program help steer people toward jobs and education or both, so they recognize the folly of crime.

Hayes said only about 5 percent of the adults and juveniles handled by his office have gone on to commit new crimes.

A person admitted to the program must sign a consent form agreeing to the terms outlined by Hayes and four other counselors. Fees paid by people admitted to the program - $200 for Magistrate Court cases and $300 for General Sessions cases - and about $45,000 from the county pay for the program, which has a budget of about $166,000. "We are a small office that with a small budget can render maximum service," Hayes said.