Thanks, Glenn, I'll check this out.
From: "Glenn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "KAREN ALLEN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]>
CC: "S. Sharrieff Ali" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Crime solutions and PBS
Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2007 09:06:54 -0400
Hey Karen, Sharrieff, and others,
We had a brief pre-election discussion on the list about crime reduction.
This week on PBS, NOW, there was a very relevant piece with well-done
coverage of the problem with recidivism and prison overcrowding. Here is
the link to the description:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/322/
It also covered an approach being piloted in Illinois that structures a
sound attempt to rehabilitate interested prisoners. I think this Illinois
program is put together with sound policies.
The true costs to society for not making a well implemented intervention
with inmates, matching services to an individual's real problems, are
enormous. We have this crime problem yet we incarcerate an alarming number
of our citizens. We incarcerate many of them multiple times.
As far as I can tell, Nutter's policy proposal for re-employing
ex-offenders is centered around tax breaks for employers. Maybe, I'm wrong?
There was a federal tax incentive 10 years ago when I was developing a
supported work program and network of potential employers. A rather large
employer, with a business office, told me the program wasn't worth the
effort.
Yet he was quite pleased with the type of assistance we would be offering
to those I refer to him. He was interested in workers showing up on time
and knowing that if referrals had any trouble, that we would be helping
them. He was very pleased to hire my referrals. Later, he told me some of
these formerly high risk individuals were among his most valuable
employees.
We need this type of quality intervention for inmates to reduce recidivism.
We need the political policy discussion to go beyond sound bites. I think
the sound bite policies often take us in the wrong direction because they
appeal so easily to destructive emotions like fear and anger. The tax break
emphasis is a simple way to show a program that would appear welcomed by
business, but I honestly believe it would fail to make a substantial
impact.
I hope Nutter could become an advocate for a much more comprehensive
approach to crime than was discussed during the primary. More of us have to
raise our voices and demand a more serious discussion to be outlined by
politicians if we are ever going to move in a direction towards sound and
civilized policies. Power to the people and power to reason.
Hope everyone gets to check out the NOW program.
Glenn
----
You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the
list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see
<http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
