NNSL (Apr 01/98) - Canada's prisons protect the public from the most dangerous offenders, but on every other level, they are failing society.

That consensus was clear at a forum Monday in Yellowknife sponsored by Corrections Canada and The John Howard Society.

"Prisons are not working to create a safer society," acknowledged Les Shand, a communications advisor for Correctional Services Canada.

Shand was on hand to hear the messages conveyed during the event. He said the federal solicitor general will be briefed on the recommendations put forward at Monday's forum and the six others held around the country. Shand encouraged those in favor of change to lobby their MPs.

"We've got to get out and get these issues in the community," he said.

Among those issues are improved reintegration strategies for criminals and fewer jail sentences for minor and first-time offences.

The John Howard Society advocates community service for those who commit lesser offences. That way, the offender is held accountable but makes a positive contribution to the community, according to John Stewart, who the national executive director of the agency.

The government is pouring too much money into the penal system and encouraging longer sentences, according to Stewart. He said he doubts additional time tacked on to an already lengthy sentence will act as a deterrent. Besides, there's a price to pay for severe punishment, he added.

"It's no solution in the end. Everybody's coming out. The longer they're in jail, the more difficult it will be for them to readjust," he said. "It's almost like we're investing heavily in our own victimization."

He suggested resources should instead be directed towards treatment for alcoholic mothers to address the troubling problem of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Job-creation would also go a long way to reducing crime, he added, noting there are communities with high employment levels where crime rates are nearly non-existent, he said.

Stewart conceded that prison is necessary under certain circumstances.

"There are some who are simply too dangerous to be on the street," he said.

"We're not prison abolitionists ... but often we get distracted by the most complicated and worst crimes."

Shand noted that halfway houses, such as the program offered by the Salvation Army in Yellowknife, are a proven way to make an offender's return to the community more manageable.

"But often when we go to establish these halfway houses, the community gets quite excited and over-reacts," he said. "What we're trying to achieve is to make the community more aware of the justice system ... they do have a role in helping these people come back to the community."