GET-TOUGH POLICY ON CRIME WILL COST MISSOURIANS $1 BILLION

When the nation began taking a get-tough stand on crime a few years ago, the goal was to reduce the number of crimes being committed by sending the message that offenders would get harsh penalties.

Sure enough, state legislatures across the land heeded the get-tough call by passing mandatory sentences for everything from repeat offenses to driving while intoxicated.

As a result, the United States is becoming a nation of prisons. The number of inmates is ballooning, and states are having to spend more and more money for the construction of prisons and the care and feeding of inmates who are serving longer and longer terms.

Nationally, there are more prison inmates than the entire population of Nebraska. There are more inmates than graduate students at all of the country's colleges and universities. There are more inmates than military personnel in all of the U.S. armed forces.

This trend has had a tremendous impact on Missouri. As of December, there were almost 22,000 inmates in state prisons -- and the number is growing by an average of 243 new prisoners every month. To keep up with the increase requires spending millions of dollars on new jail cells.

This year, Gov. Mel Carnahan, in his budget proposal for fiscal year 1998, called for spending more than $1 billion on crime-related expenses. More than half would go for prisons. Some of the top spending items include two more prisons and major expansions of two prisons already under construction. Much of the rest goes for operating the prisons.

Even with this hefty spending, Missouri very likely won't be able to keep up with the need for more prisons. Experts say that by the end of the century the state will still be short of prisons beds.

Many Missourians see a direct correlation between harsher sentences and a drop in some crimes statistics. Many others, however, wonder if some of the millions of dollars might be better spent on programs that prevent crime.

There is no easy answer to the problem. But legislators, prison officials and members of the governor's staff have a long way to go before they are likely to come up with a solution that is affordable. Meanwhile, Missourians will need to weigh the cost of incarcerating more and more criminals against the expense of keeping such a large number of inmates in prison.