Announcement for 07/29/10
New Hampshire Enacts Law to Reduce Recidivism and Generate Savings
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| From New Hampshire |
In a subsequent press release from the Governor's office, Lynch stated, "Most people who enter New Hampshire's prison system will complete their sentence and be released back into the community at some point. These reforms will make New Hampshire safer, and save taxpayers money by working to ensure that released offenders become productive members of our society, do not commit new crimes and do not return to prison."
The state's prison population had increased 31 percent over the last ten years, despite New Hampshire's low and stable crime rate. The growth was caused by a 50 percent increase in the number of people released from prison each year who were later returned for violations or new criminal activity. In 2009, three of every five people entering prison had violated the conditions of their probation or parole supervision.
Furthermore, annual studies of recidivism by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections found that the percent of individuals released from prison who are returned within three years had increased from 40 percent in 2003 to 51 percent in 2005.
The new law is projected to reduce the number of people who fail on probation and parole and are revoked to prison, respectively, by 20 percent and 40 percent. The recidivism reduction will gradually decrease the prison population over the next four years by 18 percent, resulting in between $7 million and $10 million in correctional cost savings.
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| Source: 2003, 2004, and 2005 cohort data come from New Hampshire Department of Corrections. Joan Schwartz, Ph.D. "Recidivism in New Hampshire: A Study of Offenders Returned to Prison within Three Years of Their Release." |
SB 500, which was introduced by Senate President Sylvia Larsen (D-Concord), mirrored a framework of policies developed and endorsed by a bipartisan, inter-branch Justice Reinvestment Work Group chaired by Attorney General Michael Delaney. The legislation was cosponsored by legislators from both sides of the aisle, including House Speaker Terie Norelli (D-Portsmouth), Senate Minority Leader Peter E. Bragdon (R-Milford), and both the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over criminal justice policy. The work group was created to guide the assistance provided by the Council of State Governments Justice Center to analyze the state’s criminal justice system and develop data-driven policy options for consideration.
The law will accomplish the following:
- Focus supervision on high-risk offenders by reducing the length of supervision for low-risk offenders
- Enable probation officers to employ short, swift jail sanctions for minor probation violations, when permitted, by judges at sentencing.
- Establish a seven-day residential intermediate sanction for minor parole violators and a designated ninety-day parole revocation facility to re-engage parole violators in treatment and comply with supervision.
- Ensure that everyone leaving prison receives at least nine months of supervision.
- Require nonviolent offenders to serve no more than 120 percent of their minimum sentence.
Department of Corrections Commissioner William Wrenn said, "New Hampshire’s probation and parole officers serve on the front lines of the criminal justice system every day to protect the public through careful monitoring. This law will help reduce their workload, enabling them to spend more time supervising those individuals who pose the greatest risk to public safety."
Furthermore, the policy changes are projected to generate savings that can be reinvested in drug treatment, mental health services, and rapid drug testing--three areas to which the state currently allocates no state funding to the community through the Department of Corrections.
"The majority of individuals in prison and jail have either mental health or addiction disorders (or both), which has been associated with homelessness, joblessness, family dysfunction, crime and, yes, recidivism," Chief Justice John Broderick, said. "Without available state funds for drug tests, intermediate sanctions to quickly respond to minor violations, or contracted drug treatment in the community, probation and parole officers have few tools beyond revocation. This law will make a difference not only in terms of public safety outcomes, but also in families restored and lives saved."
New Hampshire, like virtually every state in the country, is confronting severe budget pressures. The law requires no upfront state funding because the state is employing federal support under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Second Chance Act grants to begin expanding available treatment resources for the high-risk, high-need supervision population. It is anticipated that these resources, upon their expiration, will be replenished by savings generated by reducing the prison population and associated correctional costs.
The joining together of both parties and all three branches of government, first to initiate the process under the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and, second, to enact this legislation, is an effective demonstration of policymakers working together to address a pressing issue that touches on public safety and effective use of corrections resources. Although plenty of implementation challenges lie ahead, New Hampshire has demonstrated the bipartisan and inter-branch commitment to consensus-based decision-making, data-driven analysis, and leveraging external support to increase success rates among those under supervision.
Partnerships with the Pew Public Safety Performance Project and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance, along with support provided by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, made the Justice Reinvestment approach of investing in smart reentry solutions possible in New Hampshire.
To download the report summarizing the analysis and policy options developed in New Hampshire, click here. To access the New Hampshire media page to view media coverage, click here, and to read the Justice Reinvestment overview, click here.