Every Tuesday, The Times publishes a column called The Fixes, which looks "... at solutions to social problems and why they work". The column is written by a different person each week, someone with a unique perspective on the issue and the solution being put to work. On Saturday, the Author addresses the comments, questions and criticism posted by readers; I love this feature because it provides a wealth of perspectives on complex issues. I feature the column here each week! You can find the last two installments 'here' and 'here'.
Today's column is about re-transitioning parolees into society. This is a topic that I am passionate about, so I was happy to see it addressed 'here'. No matter where you fall on the topic of prisons, criminals, parolees, the indisputable fact is that society is better off, fiscally and socially, if we successfully reintegrate prisoners back into society. Leaving aside the loss of life and potential that comes with incarceration, the taxpayer assumes the burden of supporting our prisons, therefore, the more people we have in, the more expensive it is for the public. I, obviously, think incarceration in this country is an issue of unequal rights- beginning with unequal education, furthered by social service failures and prejudicial laws, but I will spare you my rants, BECAUSE, I do not need to win the moral argument, the societal and fiscal benefits stand for themselves.
I read somewhere in college that something like 90% of NY State Prison inmates come from 7 New York neighborhoods-- instead of pouring billions into our prisons, we could divert a fraction of that funding to better serve, support and revamp the neighborhoods that are obviously malfunctioning. On the other side, helping to secure success for parolees assures that, not only will we not have to foot the bill for their continued incarceration, but also that they will contribute positively to our society as a whole. These prevention and support programs are cheaper than continuing to run and expand our prisons. Win, win, no?
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