HARRISBURG -- Talking tough on crime and supporting long, mandatory sentences for criminals is a good way for a state legislator to get re-elected.

But trying to increase the use of rehabilitation programs and parole for certain "non-violent" offenders to reduce the state prison population carries political liabilities, especially when a parolee commits a murder, as happened in Philadelphia last year.

So Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is taking a definite political risk by looking at ways to provide alternate treatments for thousands of state prisoners with drug and alcohol problems or mental problems, as well as "geriatric" prisoners who are up in age and physically frail.

Mr. Greenleaf held a hearing today on the state's growing problem with prison overcrowding. The population of Pennsylvania 27 state prisons is now 51,300 and rising -- a nearly 12 percent increase over the 46,000 prisoners just three years ago. With current mandatory sentence laws giving judges little discretion in many cases, and with some parolees being returned to prison for "technical" violations, about 1,700 inmates a year are now being added to the already overcrowded system.

"We are in a serious situation, with most of our institutions well over their capacity," he said. "We have a criminal justice system based on one factor alone -- punishment."

He said that "locking them up and throwing away the key," without giving prisoners a chance at rehabilitation or time to learn a productive trade, leads to "a failed system."

Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, ranking Judiciary Committee Democrat, agreed that something must be done to lessen prison population because it has become an expensive problem to deal with.

The Department of Corrections has the third highest budget of all state agencies at $1.7 billion and expected to hit $2 billion soon. With state revenues continuing to drop in the current recession, officials are looking for ways to cut costs but it's become almost impossible to reduce corrections costs.

While temporary modular units have added 6,000 beds to the prison system, increasing its capacity from 43,000 to 49,000, the state is still being forced to build four new prisons over the next several years at a cost of $200 million per prison. Each new prison will hold about 2,000 inmates.

Construction on the first new facility, at Rockview state prison near State College, is to start in about six months and it will take three years to complete. A site in Fayette County is being sought for another new prison, with two others to be built at Graterford state prison near Philadelphia.

Other steps the state has taken is to send more than 400 state inmates to county jails, including Armstrong, Bedford, Cambria and Lawrence counties, and discussing with other states, such as Michigan, whether to move 1,500 Pennsylvania inmates to prisons there. That move could cost at least $30 million.

State Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard will soon begin making "site visits" to other states to check out their prisons.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.