LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)

Prison The Only Answer

As a 25-year federal prosecutor, I shared your reaction to the response of the "professional worriers" reflected in "Take No Prisoners" (Editorial, Tuesday).

Crime is down because of aggressive prosecution and mandated incarceration. (Contrast the U.S. system to the sad practice of Britain). There is a significant criminal class for which no "treatment" other than incarceration is effective. You do not see much behavior change in this group until its members reach late middle age. The public is entitled to protection from career criminals.

Bob Rawlins, Lexington, Ken.

It Can Be Cruel To Be Kind

Despite the weeping and gnashing of teeth by The Associated Press that the U.S. prison population grew by 2.6% last year, as noted in "Take No Prisoners," the AP forgets that the first purpose of incarceration is the punishment of past crimes and the physical separation of predators from their victims.

As for the cost of incarceration, respected crime researcher John J. Dilulio estimates that for every dollar spent keeping someone locked up, society saves $2.80 from the costs of averted crimes -- robberies not committed, hospitalizations not needed, funerals never held, etc. So if America is spending $40 billion to keep criminals behind bars, as the AP reports, then it is saving $112 billion in the cost of averted crimes.