While we are rightly concerned about the new challenges we face since 9/11, we must be sure to invest in our counterterrorism efforts and our crime-fighting efforts at home. Communities across the nation are facing domestic terrorism that is as real as the foreign dangers we strive to keep from our shores. As president, I will invest not only in law enforcement but also in successful and innovative youth crime prevention programs and prisoner reentry programs. I will support initiatives such as after-school programs that keep youth out of trouble and help them to grow into law-abiding citizens. And I will support programs funded by the Second Chance Act that help ex-offenders get back on their feet and end the cycle of violence that plagues our streets and dismantles families.
- Barack Obama in the October 2008 Edition of Police Chief's Magazine
How realistic are Obama's plans to reduce violent crimes in the future?
The Urban Institute points out that the two-thirds of prisoners are re-arrested within three years of their release. The main reason is due to the fact the ex-offenders do not do well in the job market. The Urban Institute concludes that:
Reentry programs that raise the expected rewards from legitimate work reduce recidivism and increase employability.
Yet the Institute also points out that recidivism is highly attributed to the ex-offenders values. Thus, President Obama's plans to reduce crime by aiding ex-offenders is by no means an easy task and clearly must be approached by not only aiding ex-offenders attain the skills but also the values necessary to be marketable and by influencing employers to be acceptant of them within the workforce.
Can we close the revolving door? Recidivism vs. Employment of Ex-Offenders in the US.
2008 U.S. Presidential Candidates Respond to the IACP’s Questions on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
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