The Boston Globe
CONCORD, N.H. — Nearly half of all New Hampshire inmates return to prison for parole violations, but the state’s corrections commissioner hopes to cut that rate in half by helping them become better citizens before they are released.
more stories like thisThe goal, said Commissioner William Wrenn, is “to turn back out into the community a person that’s ready to be a good member of society, a good neighbor to all of us in our communit9ies and to take care of their families and their family issues.”
The corrections budget was $106 million last year, which breaks down to about $32,000 per inmate, said Wrenn. He wants to expand programs such as the Family Connections Center, which is aimed at breaking the cycle of multiple generations of the same family ending up behind bars. The program, which is expected to be expanded to the Berlin prison and the women’s prison in Goffstown, focusing on improving inmates’ parenting skills.
The courts also are responding more to what drives criminal behavior by expanding the family court system and creating drug courts and mental health courts.
“It’s pretty clear to everyone now that the influence of the family and the home is huge on children,” said Judge Edwin Kelly, administrative head of the District and Family Court System. “So if a child is raised in a home where there is violence, for example, and the culture of the family is not to respect the law, then it is very, very likely that child is going to end up in the system, either as a child or as an adult.”
Addiction also plays a big role in recidivism. About 85 percent of inmates have some substance abuse problem, Wrenn said.
“The number of people returned to prison on parole violations that are related to the use of alcohol or other drugs is staggering as compared to those returned for recommitting offenses that put them there to begin with,” Kelly said.
Gov. John Lynch said while the state is focused on reducing the recidivism rate and making sure the public is safe, it’s important to remember that New Hampshire has one of the lowest prison populations in the country, its prison costs are below the national average and the state is one of the safest in the country.
Copyright 2008 The Boston Globe