A Minnesota-type policy of encouraging treatment for criminals with drug and Alcohol addictions could save Dane County about $28 million a year in corrections spending, according to a study issued Wednesday by a statewide coalition of religious groups.

Kenneth Hall, a member of the coalition called Wisdom, conducted the study comparing Dane County to Hennepin County, Minn. He found Dane County corrections spending exceeds Hennepin County's by $27.8 million a year when adjusted for population.

"More jail and prison use and less use of probation and parole drive substantially higher costs for Dane County," the report said.

Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, has a similar risk of crime as Dane County, said Hall, an accountant from Wind Point, which is near Racine. "But there would be $28 million per year in savings if Dane County were in Minnesota," he said.

"Overall, Wisconsin and Minnesota are similar in size, crime and many other characteristics," the report said, "but criminal justice spending is much higher in the Badger State largely because jail and prison use is two and three times higher, while cost-effective community supervision and treatment is used half as much."

Mary Kay Baum, director of Madison-area Urban Ministry and a Wisdom member, citing the study, said Dane County jailed 1,007 people in 2000. Under Minnesota's policies, she said, "then Dane County would have incarcerated 227 people instead of 1,007."

Hall said the analysis was based on counts of inmates and caseloads from sources such as the FBI and the states.

The group was joined by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and state Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, in releasing the study. It will try to convince the public that it is cheaper and better to deal with nonviolent offenders through community-based treatment.

Minnesota rewards counties that develop community-based alternatives to prison. A Minnesota commission also sets standards for incarceration.

Still, experts say many addicted offenders fail in community-based treatment.

Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, co-authored a bill with Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, that would pay counties to treat nonviolent criminal offenders with drug and Alcohol problems as an alternative to prison terms.