By RICHARD JOHNSON
There are two kinds of people incarcerated in our prisons and jails; people that we are angry at, and people we are afraid of. The people we are afraid of tend to be predators of various kinds; hardened criminals who suffer no pangs of conscience whatsoever when it comes to hurting other people. Their character and destiny is set; short of a miracle, it is unlikely that they will ever change, or want to change. We are afraid of them for good reasons; for our own safety, these folks need to remain locked up for as long as possible.
Then there are those we are angry at. These represent the majority of the 2.3 million people currently behind bars in the United States. They account for most of the approximately three hundred people locked up in the Floyd County Jail, the roughly four hundred people locked up in Clark County, and the more than 29,000 people serving time in Indiana’s state prison system.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 85 percent of crime is drug or alcohol abuse related. According to local authorities, in Floyd and Clark counties that figure is more than 90 percent. As many in the criminal justice system will point out, if we could reduce substance abuse, we could also reduce crime.
The people we are angry at have broken the law, but have often done so while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or to maintain their addictions. While these folks have committed criminal acts, they may not yet be hardened criminals. They make bad decisions.
Deciding to use drugs or alcohol is a bad decision for a many people. For the addict, the most important question becomes “How do I get more?” The decisions they make will be based on trying to answer that question. If you or I have what the full blown addict needs to get what he wants, then he will try to take what we have away from us. He will commit a crime.
While it is difficult for many active drug addicts or alcoholics, and even some in recovery, to imagine that there are people out there who can enjoy a drink or two without becoming addicted to the stuff, it is a fact that not everyone who drinks alcohol is in danger of becoming an alcoholic. Some people can enjoy an occasional adult beverage without inflicting pain on themselves or others.
Social drinkers can have a glass of wine with dinner, a beer at the ball game, or a cocktail at a social function without a problem. Their lives do not revolve around alcohol. They are not likely to finish a six-pack and then get behind the wheel and become a danger to the community. They are not going to commit a crime to get money to buy more booze.
For the social drinker, one or two drinks are enough. For the alcoholic or drug addict, there isn’t enough booze or dope in the world to fill the need. One drink is too many, and a million drinks are not enough.
As a user becomes an abuser; his life begins to spiral downward, and his ability to make good decisions is compromised to a greater and greater extent until he finally arrives at one of the three most likely destinations for the addict or alcoholic — the hospital, prison or jail — or the funeral home. I’ve met them in all three places; I know too many dead people.
One of the problems with incarceration is that the people we are angry at often have to share the same cellblock with the people we are afraid of. When you put people who make bad decisions together with hardcore predators, you get — more predators.
If they want to survive the experience, there are only a few options available to someone we are angry at when they find themselves sharing living quarters with someone we ... and they ... are rightfully afraid of.
One: he can try to keep his head down and hope for the best. This is not likely to work. Predators by their nature take advantage of others; it will take all of five seconds before he attempts to dominate his new cell mate.
Two: he will become a victim. Unable to hold his own, he will be forced to provide whatever services the predator demands. He will become a commodity, sold to other inmates by his new master. There aren’t enough jail guards in the world to prevent this from happening.
Three: he will rise to the challenge, and in order to survive the incarceration experience, become a predator himself. Instead of one predator, we now have two. The addict entered the jail as someone we are angry at; he leaves it as someone we are afraid of. That’s a very bad outcome.
Punishment for crime is necessary to maintain the community’s order and safety; judgment should be swift and fair, and consequences for the guilty ought to be proportional to the severity of the crime. But not every crime should be punished with incarceration; there are other means available to ensure that the guilty person pays their debt to society — and their victims.
If 85 percent of crime is substance abuse related, then isn’t it short sighted to merely punish substance abusers without also addressing their need for treatment? Punishment without treatment equals more crime ... and full prisons.
The people we are afraid of need to stay in prison for as long as possible, incarcerated separately from the people we are angry at. For these, the answer is punishment.
But under the right circumstances, many of the people we are angry at can be taught how to make good decisions. For less than we spend to lock them up, they can be helped to become gainfully employed, law-abiding citizens. For these, the answer is ... both.
Johnson is executive director of Christian Formation Ministries. His organization has numerous volunteer opportunities available. For information, e-mail richard@christian-formation.org, or call 812-945-0886.
