A proposal by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to reduce the prison population would divert prisoners committing non-violent drug offenses to alternative treatment programs.

The estimated cost to taxpayers in Athens and around the state would be $10 million.

The plan proposes more opportunities for probation and treatment for non-violent offenders, and for specialized courts to be established to process DUI cases and cases involving mental health problems.

It would also fund daytime reporting centers as an alternative to incarceration.

The governor asserted that the plan would help reduce the number of repeat drug offenders by providing treatment for those with drug problems rather than simply locking them.

Deal pointed to the current high $18,000 per person cost of incarcerating a prisoner, asserting that in the long run, the proposed program would save money by reducing the number of people behind bars.

The total cost of running the state prisons is currently approximately $1 billion annually.

Drug offenses, according to statistics from 2009, represent the primary criminal charges filed against around 17 percent of Georgia inmates.

The proposal has so far received strong bipartisan support. The plan was created following a study of existing similar plans run by a number of local jurisdictions ion Georgia, which seemed to confirm their effectiveness.

In Hall County, for instance, the use of specialized courts has resulted in recidivism being reduced to a rate of 5 percent of convicted offenders, a figure dramatically better that the statewide recidivism rate of 30 percent.

Source: savannahnow.com: "Deal wants $10 million to divert non-violent offenders from prison," Jan. 7, 2012