St. Clair County Circuit Judge Jim Hill said his work on a task force that studied problems in the state prison system prompted him to do more in his own county.

Hill is leading an effort to start a community corrections program in St. Clair County, one of 33 counties without one. The program would keep some people convicted of drug possession and some other nonviolent crimes out of prison by offering new sentence alternatives.

"We're either going to have to build more prisons or start punishing people in alternate manners," Hill said.

The state prison system has about 27,000 inmates, about double the number prisons were built to hold.

With community corrections, some who would otherwise go to prison stay in a county, work and pay off fines and other obligations. They attend addiction programs and submit to drug testing. Part of their pay goes back into the program. The regimen is similar to probation but more intense.

"It emphasizes the people-fixing aspect of criminal justice," said Joe Mahoney, president of the Alabama Association of Community Corrections and director of Mobile County's program.

25 programs:

There are 25 community corrections programs that serve 34 counties. Most operate under contracts with the state Department of Corrections, which pays the programs for each inmate diverted from prison. DOC paid for 5,496 diversions over the last five years. Besides St. Clair, at least five other counties are planning to start programs.

Hill was one of 11 members to serve on the Governor's Task Force on Prison Crowding, which released a report in October. It made six recommendations to save the prison system from what the task force called a "point of crisis." One was to place community corrections services in every county.

Prison reform advocates have touted the value of community corrections for more than a decade. The task force report gave numbers to advance the argument. It showed that 25 percent of those admitted to state prisons from 2000 to 2005 were sentenced for drug possession offenses, statistics compiled by the Alabama Sentencing Commission.

To get St. Clair's program started, Hill will submit plans to the Department of Corrections and to the St. Clair County Commission, which would also help pay for the program. Hill said he hopes the program can begin early next year.

St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon supports the idea but wants to make sure there is a net benefit for the county.

"We're not interested in taking on another program that subsidizes the incarceration of state prisoners," Batemon said.

Alabama counties and the state prison system have fought in court for years over a backlog of state inmates in county jails, which creates an expense for counties.

Batemon said there are tentative plans to use the old Ashville City Hall as a barracks for community corrections. The building is now a temporary office for the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department.

Money available:

There is more state money available for community corrections this year. DOC associate commissioner Steve Hayes said the Legislature boosted DOC's community corrections budget from $3 million to $5.2 million. That's still less than the minimum recommended by the task force. But some money will be available to counties to help start programs.

Besides St. Clair County, Hayes said Limestone, Butler, Lowndes and Crenshaw counties are working on plans. Blount County recently started a program and is awaiting DOC approval and funding.

Alternative sentencing will not be brand new to St. Clair County. The county's District Court already operates a drug court. Some who are charged with possession of marijuana can plead guilty and agree to enter an outpatient treatment program or follow other requirements. If they complete all the requirements, the charge is dropped.

District Attorney Richard Minor said community corrections would expand the drug court to cover more possession cases. Minor said most people who wind up in prison for drug crimes have had repeated run-ins with the law. Community corrections could stop that cycle for some, he said.

"If you can catch them up front and divert them away from drugs, hopefully you won't ever see them again," Minor said.

Minor and Hill said violent offenders, sex offenders and those who sell or distribute drugs won't be community corrections candidates.

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