By Sen. Sylvia Larsen
Concord Monitor
CONCROD, N.H. — New Hampshire has a low crime rate that has remained stable for years. So why is the number of people we incarcerate growing?
In the past 10 years, New Hampshire has seen a 3 percent increase in the number of offenders sent to prison for new offenses - and yet our prison population has grown by 26 percent.
Why has our corrections system turned into one of the leading cost drivers for our state budget, and is there anything we can do to change that without endangering public safety?
These questions and others led lawmakers to reach out to the Council of State Governments Justice Center and its funders at the Pew Center on the States and the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance. We invited researchers here last year to give a presentation on their work in other states. This year, we were fortunate that our state was chosen for a three-year study that will allow for data collection, study and recommendations for improving our criminal justice system. Not only that, the study will include follow-up once changes are implemented to make sure they work.
As the head of the Interagency Coordinating Council for Women Offenders, I’ve long wanted this kind of data-based review to help us improve public safety and reduce costs. We need to understand our problem and target our resources to be most effective. I am optimistic we can make significant progress on this issue this year.
Since the Justice Reinvestment Initiative was launched, Justice Center researchers have been meeting with state and county officials, law enforcement, behavioral health professionals, lawyers, judges and victim advocates to get a broad picture of how our system works.
One early finding points to a problem with how we handle people on probation and parole. We are revoking probation and parole and sending a record number back to prison. These revocations now account for about 57 percent of all admissions.
The majority do not involve commission of new crimes but technical violations of the rules laid out for the parolee or probationer. Furthermore the revocation rate varies widely by county. Why do some counties send more folks back to prison than others? We don’t have an answer yet, but what’s important is that we’re looking.
The researchers have concluded that parole revocations cost our state about $13.3 million in 2009. Would some of that money be better spent on community-based programs that treat underlying problems, such as addiction and mental illness, that challenge parolees and probationers?
The costs are likely even higher when we talk about women offenders with children. When women go to prison, someone has to care for their kids. Sometimes that’s a relative, but often the state must step in and find the kids a temporary home. The emotional suffering makes it that much harder for these youngsters to succeed in their own lives, and research demonstrates they are at increased risk of becoming the offenders of the future.
While women make up a smaller portion of all offenders, their numbers are growing, so we’d be wise to find ways to successfully treat and maintain or reunite families where possible.
Justice Center researchers have found that community-based treatment is generally more effective than prison-based treatment in preventing recidivism. What does this mean for how we allocate state dollars to get the most for our money?
My fellow lawmakers and I see a big potential payoff if we can find more effective ways to target our money. Some money must continue to go to our prisons because society still needs to be protected from violent predators and other dangerous criminals. But can we do a better and more cost-effective job of treating other offenders and thus keep all of us safer and better able to lead productive lives?
The Justice Reinvestment Initiative is our best hope for the data we need to make these decisions. We want to keep our low crime rate, but we also want to stop pouring money into a criminal justice system if it only recycles offenders. The new year offers hope that we can find a better way.
Copyright 2010 Concord Monitor/Sunday Monitor