Circuit Judge Fred L. Borchard of Saginaw County explains problems faced by officials in enforcement of crime in Michigan and locally. Saginaw Circuit Judge Borchard Tells Challenges of Dealing With Crime
|
||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
Judges have a real dilemma in dealing with criminals, says Saginaw County Circuit Judge Fred L. Borchard.
"Everybody says 'lock 'em up,' but at the cost of incarceration we could send them all to college," he said. "The answer is education and programs like Tri-Cap (non-profit community corrections program) that are cost-effective alternatives."
Michigan has the highest rate of violent crime but the fewest law enforcement officers per capita in the eight-state Great Lakes Region.
So says Judge Borchard, adding an exclamation point: "The violent crime rate in Michigan is 29 percent greater than in New York!"
Despite those and other statistics about the extent of crime in Michigan, the state prison population has declined by 6.7 percent, from 48,738 in 2008 to 45,478 on Jan. 1, 2010. Only Rhode Island, with a drop of 9.2 percent on a population one-tenth of Michigan's, is seeing a larger decline in prisoners.
Saginaw County's violent crime rate is second only to Wayne County in Michigan and on a per capita basis Saginaw is higher, he said.
Judge Borchard spoke to the Saginaw Valley Torch Club this week, tracing the history of crime and punishment in the United States. He was introduced by Saginaw attorney David B. Meyer, a former law partner of Judge Borchard prior to his appointment to the bench by Gov. John Engler in 1999.
The dilemma faced by judges and legislators alike is how to keep society safe without breaking the bank, and the taxpayers. Prisons in Michigan cost an estimated $2 billion annually.
The U.S. has 4-5 times more people in prison than Western Europe, 12 times more than Japan. Nationally, there are about 1.6 million incarcerated. "The extra effort has not solved crime -- it just gets worse," says Judge Borchard.
Despite the high rate of violent crime, most of the cases judges handle are family cases, he said. In 2004, 223,499 new family cases were filed in Michigan's family courts, accounting for almost 67 percent of all circuit court level filings," according to William Whitbeck, chief judge, Michigan Court of Appeals.
The problems faced by judges and the law enforcement community are myriad, Judge Borchard explained:
There is a case backlog in crime labs, a result of the legislature failing to set aside enough money, therefore the potential for DNA analysis in solving crimes is not being met;
Medical care for inmates amounts to about 12 percent of the $2 billion budget of the Department of Corrections, with the most expensive about $425,000 per year for a high needs inmate;
The average cost of incarceration is $33,000 a year, ranging up to $40,000 a year for the highest risk inmates;
Nearly 80 percent of all prisoners re-offend but those who complete boot camp do better; more community-based sanctions are needed.
Since 2000 Michigan has closed nine prisons with 10,252 beds and seven prison camps with 3,432 beds, along with other facilities, saving about $387 million annually.
The Michigan State Police report the case backlog as of Dec. 31, 2008, was 9,167, with DNA/serology cases the highest at 2,989 and firearms cases second at 2,572.
Judge Borchard expects the Michigan sentencing guidelines to be revised to allow moderate risk offenders to be more involved in community-based programs.
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
|
Dave Rogers |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 04-14-2024 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm