The Revolving Door "SecureAlert offers a new approach to a system in crisis"
JOHN L. HASTINGS III, president
A Dutch proverb reads, “Once a thief, always a thief.” Hundreds of years later we still have the same basic desire to “lock them up and throw away the key.” Generations of this mentality has left our criminal justice system in crisis!
Every day headlines across the world report of jail overcrowding, gang violence and crimes committed by repeat offenders. The statistics are alarming! Nearly two-thirds of released offenders will be rearrested for a new offense within three years of their release. Nearly 8 out of 10 offenders will return to prison within 10 years. We have created a revolving door; offenders enter to be “rehabilitated” and exit as career criminals.
Everything comes at a price. To house a prisoner in the U.S.A. today, it costs an average of $65 per day. To build a new jail or prison it costs approximately $100,000 per bed or cell. Federal, state and local governments spend approximately $62 billion per year on adult and juvenile corrections.
Recognizing its critical importance, agencies are putting renewed emphasis on rehabilitation programs and their role in reducing recidivism. In fact, the long standing California Department of Corrections is now known as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and has undergone significant program revitalization.
Over the past year, we have launched a new approach to address the needs of law enforcement agencies. Balancing the ongoing need for corrections and public safety with the reality of limited capacity and deterrence initiatives, our approach focuses on corrections, accountability, rehabilitation and empowerment; we call it our “CARE” advantage.
Corrections
Research studies on recidivism (re-offending) show that the longer an offender is incarcerated the more likely they will commit a new crime and return to prison; likewise, the shorter the incarceration period the more likely the offender is going to succeed and not re-offend. We offer law enforcement agencies incarceration alternatives that keep offenders out of jails and prisons, allowing them to be at home and work, receiving the rehabilitation or drug treatment needed to restructure their lives, while limiting their movements and confining them to the conditions of their release.
Accountability
Underpaid and overworked supervision officers have traditionally had to rely on phone calls and visits in order to ensure the offender was following the restrictions set forth as conditions of their release. We are able to provide a system where the officer sets the protocols and is only notified when the offender is in violation. Acting as an agency’s “eyes and ears” we are a “force multiplier” in enforcing and holding offenders accountable to the terms of their release and compliant with reentry inititives.
Rehabilitation
Our enabling technology focuses on the positive aspects of monitoring for purposes of encouraging offenders to stay on the right path, while dissuading them from wrong turns. Different classes offenders have different needs, juveniles have different needs than adult offenders. We offer specialized programs that address the needs of the different types of offenders. Some of these programs enable support professionals, such as clergy and counselors to deliver positive affirmations and support directly to the offender through our device, without having to be in the presence of the offender. In these days of rising gas prices, and budgetary constraints on probation and parole officers, this is a particularly valuable approach! Virtual visitations and “check-ins” are enabled in support of regular and frequent contact.
Empowerment
Our service empowers offenders with the opportunity to change their lives, becoming active members of society, while giving law enforcement proactive tools and programs that are required to better manage and rehabilitate offenders. The mere knowledge that offenders are on these devices also empowers victims to move on, knowing that there is an incremental level of public safety and protection provided.
For decades agencies have relied on temporary solutions, failing to establish long term solutions. WE NEED BETTER! By implementing long term programs that address the needs of offenders where they can receive necessary rehabilitation treatment and successfully re-enter society. Then we can close the revolving door, then we can reduce crime and keep our neighborhoods safe and when it comes to our communities and our children’s safety, safer is always better.