When U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder threw down the gauntlet by summoning U.S. attorneys to create anti-violence techniques, those in the Western District of Oklahoma rose to the challenge. Holder’s suggested that the approach should be comprised of three parts: enforcement, prevention, and re-entry.
At a June 16 press conference, a plan to reduce violence and recidivism was unveiled by speakers from the Western District’s U.S. Attorney’s office, Oklahoma City and Edmond police departments, the U.S. Marshall’s office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to the Edmund Sun, “ In 2009...Oklahoma had the highest female offender incarceration rate and the fourth highest male incarceration rate in the country.” The cost of incarceration in Oklahoma is $16,476 per inmate, per year. Approximately 31,000 Oklahomans are on probation or parole with the state paying $2.25 a day for supervising each of them.
While the cost of incarceration is a contributing factor to the new initiative’s creation, preventing violence and reducing recidivism are at the forefront of the group’s goals. Each month Oklahoma releases about 710 inmates back into their communities. Those released during the 2007 fiscal year had a recidivism rate of 23.5 percent. The federal, state and local agencies represented at the press conference revealed their strategy to reduce this number and to increase public safety in their state.
Cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to apprehend, arrest, and prosecute violent offenders in Oklahoma, as well as aggressive inter-agency efforts to reduce gun-trafficking in the state, are the objectives of the enforcement component of plan.
Preventing individuals from being arrested, or going back to prison is another component. Methods will be implemented by parole and probation departments to help clients achieve success in their navigation of the process. Some of the methods are as simple as making sure that each person on parole or probation knows all of the rules and regulations that apply to them. Strict rules forbid felons to possess guns and bullets. A felon cannot go hunting with a rifle. Being a passenger in a car that has a single bullet rattling around on the floorboard can mean a parole or probation violation if the car is pulled over by police and the bullet is discovered. Making sure that those on parole or probation know these the rules, and are aware of the consequences that will follow if the rules are broken, can go a long way in preventing re-arrests.
Informing newly released prisoners, as well as those on probation, about community organizations is the final component of the collaborative effort. Social service agencies can offer help in finding housing, food, employment or mental health and substance abuse treatment. By working closely with those in the federal and state criminal justice system, service providers can help identify and aid clients at risk for recidivating, and step in to prevent that from happening.
After the press conference, speakers addressed some of those who will be directly affected by the new enforcement, prevention, and reentry initiative. One hundred and fifty individuals on parole and probation gathered in a room normally reserved for juries to deliberate the fates of people much like them. The message they heard was one of hope and encouragement. Videos on topics pertinent to successful reentry were also shown. Knowing that those in the criminal justice enforcement field are advocating for their successful reentry, and that community agencies are offering help, the audience would be wise to take advantage of all that is being offered to eliminate Oklahoma’s dubious distinction for having one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.
Source: The Edmund Sun 6/16/11
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