A group comprised of the Alaska Department of Corrections, law enforcement officers, judges, and other criminal justice system employees met with service providers on May 5 to unveil the state’s new attempt to cut recidivism. The group is a part of the Alaska Prisoner Reentry Task Force.
Alaska ranks within the top five states for the highest recidivism rates. The Alaska DOC reports that within three years of release, two out of three prisoners land back in prison or jail. At a cost of $50,000 per inmate, per year, Alaska’s budget is severely strained. With a prison population of 5,600 inmates, and growing, the state formed the Reentry Task Force to find best practices to reduce recidivism and maintain public safety.
The Task force held a press conference to release its objectives. The Probationer Accountability with Certain Enforcement (PACE) program will be expanded. The expansion will allow PACE to use swift action to arrest probationers who violate the rules. PACE allows arrests to be made with hours instead of months. Swift consequence programs are being implemented in other states, and are considered, by some, to be a favorable way to address the probation violation problem. Other states are more lenient, and do not immediately arrest a person on probation for missing an appointment, or failing a drug or alcohol test. (SeeReentry Central News Michigan Sending Less Parolees Back to Prison
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The task force is also assessing job restrictions for convicted felons to see if some of the restrictions can be revised without threatening public safety.
The Alaskan Department of Labor is working with the business community by offering bonds for workers with a criminal history, and tax credits to employers who hire formerly incarcerated persons.
Treatment for substance abusers as well as for sex-offenders is being offered in prison, to help inmates resolve issues before they are released.
Helping individuals with a criminal record to find housing is another way the state is working to cut down on recidivism. Carmen Gutierrez, a former defense attorney, now chairs the Alaska Prisoner Reentry Task Force. Gutierrez, now the Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections, knows the problems of reentry and recidivism from both sides. Gutierrez commented that unsuccessful reentry is responsible for “…homelessness, unemployment, returning to addiction, a new crime, and more importantly, a new victim.” To read the full report click here to go to website
Source: Anchorage Daily News
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