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New Report Highlights Lessons Learned by Law Enforcement
Agencies in Establishing a Successful Prisoner Reentry
Program
The Council
of State Governments Justice Center (CSG Justice Center) released a new
report today, Lessons Learned: Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement
Reentry Strategy. Created with support from the U.S. Department of
Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the report
highlights how four law enforcement agencies engaged in local-level reentry
partnerships in order to reduce crime and increase public safety in their
jurisdictions. These four “learning sites” featured in the report applied
strategies outlined in the Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry
Strategy toolkit released by the CSG Justice Center and the COPS office in
2008, which focuses on ten key elements of creating a local reentry
initiative.
In addition to today’s release of the Lessons
Learned publication, an interactive assessment tool will be launched that
is a companion to the original Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement
Reentry Strategy toolkit. This online
tool allows local sites to assess and plan improvements to their current
reentry practices. Housed on the CSG Justice Center website, this tool will be
accessible to law enforcement, corrections staff, community corrections
professionals, and faith- and community-based services providers who are
interested in assessing their current reentry projects and building on law
enforcement and community partnerships focused on reentry
strategies.
“Law enforcement professionals are uniquely positioned to
engage their community policing networks of service providers who can help
address the needs of those individuals returning from prison or jail,” said COPS
Office Acting Director Joshua Ederheimer. “We are pleased by the commitment of
these law enforcement executives in the four jurisdictions represented in this
report, as they have served as solid examples for the field how local law
enforcement can be important partners in the community reentry strategies
focused on reducing recidivism, and improving public safety.”
In an
effort to expand the knowledge base for law enforcement agencies interested in
starting or enhancing a reentry effort, the CSG Justice Center selected four
agencies to serve as “learning sites” that would implement recommendations and
proposed strategies outlined in the law enforcement reentry toolkit. The four
agencies that were selected and whose progress is featured in this report
include:
The Las Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department,
The Metropolitan (Washington, D.C.) Police Department,
The Muskegon County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Department, and
The White Plains (New York) Police Department.
During the project,
these agencies and their partners received on-site and off-site assistance in
implementing selected core strategies outlined in the 2008 toolkit. The lessons
learned from the technical assistance work and other information-gathering
efforts provide valuable case studies for the field about common challenges and
overcoming obstacles when implementing law enforcement reentry
efforts.
Below is a brief summary of the four jurisdictions’ challenges
and their progress highlighted in the new report is below.
Las
Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) identified
homelessness as a major issue in one of its largest police districts, and found
that individuals in need of services were not being connected with existing
resources available to them. In response, LVMPD staff designed and implemented a
pilot reentry initiative that focuses on people booked into the county jail who
have no home where they can return upon release. During the period of this
project, LVMPD staff gathered and coordinated relevant stakeholders, implemented
a screening process during booking at the jail, and arranged a collaborative
reentry process that places program participants in housing and connects them to
necessary services.
“I am proud that our department worked
collaboratively to address the challenge of homelessness in a compassionate way
through better coordination of services with community stakeholders. This
approach has resulted in connecting those individuals in need with the right
people, at the right time, and with the right services,” said LVMPD Sheriff
Douglas C. Gillespie.
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police
Department (MPD) coordinated with officers from CSOSA (Court Services
& Offender Supervision Agency) to conduct home visits to people under CSOSA
supervision. Building on this effort, specific police districts extended this
practice to include people recently released from the metropolitan area
correctional facilities and identified as most at risk of reoffending. In one
particular district, MPD staff formalized an existing relationship with a local
social service provider, and leveraged this relationship to connect this
high-risk population to services.
Muskegon County (Michigan)
Sheriff’s Department (MCSD) struggled with an overpopulated jail, much
like many other communities throughout the country. A significant portion of the
jail population comprises people incarcerated for their first offense. To
decrease the jail population and increase public safety, MCSD staff worked on
designing a reentry program for first-time offenders, which they hoped would
limit the time served in the facility and connect them to community-based
services upon release.
White Plains (New York) Police Department
(WPPD) implemented the White Plains Reentry Initiative in 2004. This
program focused on people leaving the Westchester County Penitentiary (WCP), and
helped them reenter the White Plains community and develop an ongoing support
system in the community. The initiative coordinated with a variety of
partners—including professionals from the public school district, community
mental health providers, and other service providers—who attended monthly panel
meetings in WCP, meeting with people scheduled to be released in the next 30
days to the City of White Plains. At these sessions, the reentry partners
provided overviews of each agency’s services and a WPPD officer discussed
possible repercussions for reoffending. As a learning site, WPPD focused its
efforts on improving communication among stakeholders through monthly case
conference meetings and the development of a web-based database of reentry
participants.
“I am proud that during my time as Police Commissioner,
our department was able to launch this program, as it has been successful in
helping individuals scheduled for release transition back into the community as
well as ensuring they are able to contribute positively once they get out of
prison,” said former White Plains Police Commissioner and CSG Justice Center
Board Member Frank Straub.
