Place prisoners near home
Prisoners should remain near their families
State lawmakers should green-light a bill that seeks to house inmates parents closer to where their children live.
It seems hard to believe, but currently the New York State Department of Corrections doesn’t take into account whether inmates have families when deciding where to imprison them.
As a result, many families lose touch with their prisoners because they can’t travel to visit them, for lack of time or money.
The problem affects inmates, families, and entire communities. Studies show that family support is one of the best resources to rehabilitate offenders, ensure a successful reintegration into their communities and reduce the levels of recidivism. This could be especially effective for Latino convicts, whose family oriented culture makes them likely to respond to their relatives’ needs and demands. Currently, New York’s prison population totals 56,300; 25% of these prisoners are Hispanic.
The bill -sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera- calls for the creation of a pilot project with 60 inmates.
There is no set deadline for the pilot project. However, the goal is for an independent team to review collected data and determine if it’s worthwhile to expand the project throughout the prison system.
There’s no reason not to give a good idea a shot.
From the social perspective, this bill would help thousands of family to stay together. About 70% of those serving prison sentences have at least one child. In New York State, around 100,000 children have one parent behind bars.
From the financial perspective, this proposal would help save public funds by reducing recidivism. Let’s remember that the annual cost of keeping someone imprisoned is about $27,000. About 80% of inmates reoffend.
If Albany -especially Republicans- are so concerned about the state’s fiscal situation, they should approve this bill. Give these families the opportunity to be together and their communities a chance to recover the members who have fallen by the wayside.
Pass the bill for this pilot project right away.
