Pubdate: Sun, 14 Nov 2004
Source: State, The (SC)
Copyright: 2004 The State
Contact:  http://www.thestate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/426
Author: Laura Slade Hudson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

'LOCK 'EM UP' MENTALITY DOOMED TO FAILURE

'Lock 'em up and throw away the key" - the notion that we can put criminals 
behind bars forever - is a myth that has had no validity since the days of 
John Wayne.

Whether you think that we incarcerate too few offenders or that we lock up 
too many, especially the low-level thieves and drug possessors, the fact is 
that sooner or later virtually everyone who goes into prison comes out. And 
unless the community helps released offenders succeed, an alarming portion 
of them will return to their old haunts, habits and cronies and claim new 
victims.

This year, some 650,000 inmates across the nation will leave correctional 
facilities and go back home. In South Carolina, more than 12,000 prisoners 
will be released, and, if past trends hold, 30 percent of them will wind up 
back in state custody within three years. Given the enormity of this 
problem, crime victims and the criminal justice system as a whole are 
taking a greater interest in what happens when prisoners return to the 
community.

Illiterate, mentally ill, still addicted to alcohol or other drugs, and 
lacking job, budgeting, parenting or relationship skills, many inmates are 
completely unprepared for the transition back to society. Without support 
from friends or family and often barred from living in public housing, huge 
numbers of inmates get caught in a relentless cycle of arrest, conviction, 
imprisonment and release. They rack up long lists of victims and cost 
taxpayers millions.

Reducing this recidivism rate has become a key goal of crime victims and 
the criminal justice community. During the past 40 years, the main 
strategies for supervising those released from prison and jail have swung 
like a pendulum, from social services models to punishment and retribution 
models. But a growing body of research shows the most effective strategy 
combines the two approaches, offering assistance to released offenders to 
help them become better citizens, while holding them accountable to rules 
and structure.

The "Second Chance Act of 2004" legislation, recently introduced in 
Congress, may be the best example of an emerging policy and political 
consensus on prisoner reintegration. The House and Senate bills, with 
sponsorship by both Republicans and Democrats, seek to provide grants to 
states that develop comprehensive re-entry programs and hold them 
accountable for results, including actual reductions in recidivism. The 
pending bills give priority to initiatives that have been created in 
consultation with crime victims, and they deserve the support of South 
Carolina's congressional delegation.

An upcoming report by the Re-Entry Policy Council, a bipartisan group 
created by the Council of State Governments, also reflects this consensus. 
This detailed guide shows states and communities, step-by-step, how to 
develop the sort of successful re-entry program that the federal bills are 
designed to support. Victims of crime and victim advocates were among those 
who contributed to the report, ensuring that victim concerns, such as the 
constitutional and statutory right to be heard at parole hearings, are 
among the hundreds of recommendations.

Victims have taken what is, to some, an unusual position on certain parole 
issues. When inmates "max out" their sentences, they spend every day 
mandated behind bars, but then must be released, often without any 
supervision or legal strings attached. On the other hand, prisoners who 
re-enter society on probation or parole, with hard time still hanging over 
their heads, can be subjected to a host of public safety-oriented 
conditions, including monitoring of their whereabouts, drug testing and 
mandatory payment of restitution to the victims of their crimes. Given the 
choice of opposing parole at that last hearing or allowing the offender to 
be released a little earlier under strict community supervision, many 
victims are opting for the latter, a realization that a supervised 
transition is safer for them and the public.

Few victims want to see offenders serve shorter sentences, especially those 
who commit violent crimes and/or crimes of a sexual nature. But since more 
than 95 percent of prisoners will eventually be released, South Carolina 
can prevent crime and victimization by offering stronger re-entry programs 
that help some offenders return to productive, law-abiding lives.

Ms. Hudson is the public policy coordinator of the S.C. Victim Assistance 
Network.
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