There are 3,000 inmates in the state’s Adult Correctional Institutions and an additional 24,000 parolees living in the state, according to R.I. Department of Corrections Director A.T. Wall.
“It equates to one out of every 20 men in Rhode Island on probation every single day [and] one out of every six African-American men. That’s very troubling,” he said.
Lately there has been a lot of discussion in Rhode Island about how to lower this number; specifically, how to make sure that people who commit offenses receive the most appropriate treatment, which is not necessarily imprisonment.
A package of bills put forward by Sen. Michael McCaffrey, D-Warwick, during this year’s legislative session was designed to bring this reform to fruition. Using the work of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s Justice Reinvestment Working Group, the seven bills looked at how to relieve pressure on the DOC and increase public safety through such policy changes as clarification of different offenses and the creation of a Superior Court diversion program in which defendants would participate in substance-abuse screening, community service and counseling.
The package passed the Senate but failed to pass the House.
Raimondo, who supported the package, said: “It’s very regrettable that those bills were not passed. … [They] would have meaningfully improved the criminal justice system.”
The governor, however, credited the General Assembly with leaving intact a budget item funding an ex-offender workforce re-entry program.
“I’m happy with [that], but I don’t think [it] goes far enough,” she said.
Wall did not comment on the impact of the bills’ failure to pass, saying instead: “A lot of good work was done, and now we want to capitalize on it with additional legislation as needed.” In his eyes, the legislature needs to invest in the process and the people.
For instance, Wall said the state’s 24,000 parolees are managed by 70 caseload-carrying probation officers, working without a computerized system.
Related legislation designed to encourage more inmates to participate in work release by allowing them to keep more of their pay for themselves failed to get out of committee in both the House and Senate.
Wall said the miniscule take-home pay left after multiple deductions by the state undercuts an important path for ex-offenders to reintegrate into society. He hopes the bills are reconsidered next year.
In May the DOC, in conjunction with U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha, hosted a conference for Rhode Island businesses to learn the benefits of hiring ex-offenders. Although the number of businesses that signed up to know more about state programs was not documented, Wall said, “We believe there is a greater receptivity now and increasing openness to employing ex-offenders.” •
