Jun 15, 2021 2 min read

I’m not at all thrilled with Auditor General Timothy DeFoor’s half-baked conclusions about reducing Washington County’s use of community service as an alternative punishment to fines or incarceration.

Instead of community service, he wants to provide offenders with a financial incentive to re-offend by fining them or locking them up, which would cost taxpayers much more than we’re currently paying. How, you may ask? DeFoor says the government has missed out on $1.56 million in revenue from 3,420 cases of adjustments from 2016 through 2019. Do the math, and that’s $456.14 per case. Who does he think pays for prisoner’s housing, legal needs, health care, food, utilities, prison employees, etc.? We do. The average cost per inmate in Pennsylvania is well over $40,000, and that doesn’t include lost income tax revenue whenever someone can’t work because they’re in jail, the social costs of children with an incarcerated parent, etc. Sure, most offenders would probably face fines instead of jail time, but I’ll take the $456 instead. DeFoor’s proposal would grow the monster, not shrink it.

Moreover, how much was that community service worth? He conveniently left that part out. And which do you think has more correctional value, community service that likely induces at least some degree of reflection over whatever you’ve been convicted of, or forking over some cash and going about your business with nary a thought as soon as you’re handed a receipt?

Yeah, our bloated, disgracefully inefficient and ineffective state bureaucracy needs more money to fund its ever-growing budget demands. They can get it elsewhere. In my opinion, not only does Mr. DeFoor need to go pound sand, Washington County should expand its use of community service. There’s still plenty of trash on the roadside.

Greg Matthews

Washington