There is no doubt that Marion County faces an overwhelming number of community service and infrastructure needs. Prioritizing the list is a daunting task all by itself. Actually finding the resources to meet those needs is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest wearing bedroom slippers and carrying a Volkswagon. In previous columns, I have addressed a number of those needs and their importance to the health of our community, but I have never really spoken about the crisis state of Marion County's criminal justice system.

There is a wealth of statistical information available documenting funding, facility and personnel shortages in virtually all aspects of the criminal justice system. How often do we see news reports about jail overcrowding, crimes committed by probationers who are not properly monitored and trials that are delayed because of crowded court dockets? The data shows bothersome recidivism rates, heavy case-loads and shortages of correctional beds compared to the number of offenders requiring placement. Sociological information suggests that, despite the best efforts of over-worked prosecutors, public defenders and probation officers, we are losing ground when it comes to slowing repeat offenders, seeking justice for victims and rehabilitating prisoners.

So what does the criminal justice system have to do with neighborhoods? For those who are always looking for the more tangible bottom line, it means loss of property value, higher insurance costs and a decline of economic viability. The result of our over-burdened criminal justice system is more than just scary statistics and administrative shortcomings. The costs of inadequate prevention, insufficient processing and ineffective rehabilitation have to be measured in more than dollars and cents. When the system fails, it results in shattered families and unsafe neighborhoods. It creates a cycle of squandered human potential that robs us of our future.

How can parents and teachers guide young people away from a lifestyle of bad choices where criminal behavior is accepted and almost revered and when the odds look like risky behavior with few long- lasting consequences is a faster route to getting what they want? How can victims of crime ever feel safe knowing their attackers could soon be out on the streets? How can we ask our law enforcement officers to put their lives on the line day after day, knowing that their work can be quickly undone because our courts and jails do not have the funds to administer fair and swift consequences? How can our judges be expected to make the best decisions to prevent and discourage crime when the system is inadequate to carry out their recommendations and judgments? How can our public defenders and prosecutors ensure that justice is done when case loads prevent the thoroughness of jurisprudence that they are taught in law school?

I think it is difficult for a good part of the community to understand the enormity of the problem because they have no experience with the criminal justice system. Unless you are a victim or an offender, the only frame of reference most people have are the second hand stories we hear in the news. Because the whole topic pivots on crimes and misfortunes that we all wish didn't even exist, it is difficult to engender much excitement from ordinary citizens. After all, even though human nature leads us to debate controversial topics, what is more likely to be discussed around the dinner table - whether to expand gambling to pay for a new football stadium or whether to finance 500 more prison beds?

There needs to be a "full court press" to get information out to the public about the workings of the criminal justice system and that information MUST include the costs to the ordinary citizens and business owners. We can talk about jail over crowding 'til the cows come home, but until the information is distilled to a personal level, most people have other more immediate things to deal with. The information should be translated into what the advantages of improving the system will be to individuals who would not normally have any first-hand experience with the courts or law enforcement.

And people need to know in quantifiable terms what the costs will be if Marion County's criminal justice management system continues to operate in its current state of crisis. What will it cost ME if things don't change? Will my property be worth less? Will my neighborhood become less secure? Will businesses be discouraged from locating here because of the crime rate? Will more law enforcement officers lose their lives because a violent offender slipped through the cracks and got back out on the streets? Will my kids be more likely to come in contact with convicted offenders? Will the boy down the street end up in prison as an adult because there were not enough resources to help him turn his life around before it was too late?

We need to have a better understanding of the criminal justice system in Marion County and we must command the decision makers who control the purse strings to ensure that there are adequate resources to guarantee the public safety from beginning to end - simply employing more police officers is not enough to solve the problem. We must have sufficient and effective means of processing offenders once they are identified and apprehended.

Fixing the problems will be expensive, but we can pay now or we can pay later - with the lives of our young people and the vitality of our community. We cannot limit our fascination and involvement with criminal justice to watching Law and Order and CSI. It is time for Marion County to write an end to the criminal justice crisis, or we may end up being "the story that is ripped from the headlines."