NCJ Number
213801
Date Published
March 2006
Length
94 pages
Annotation
This report supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) explored the linkage between prisoner reentry and community policing.
Abstract
Prisoner reentry is identified as an important issue for the policing profession. Police are crucial partners in the pursuit of successful prisoner reintegration whether it is coordinating community policing partnerships for the purpose of prisoner reentry, participating in prerelease reentry planning, or joining parole pursuit of successful prisoner reintegration. The benefits of police reentry partnerships have tremendous potential with the most important consisting of crime reduction and improving prospects for released prisoners leading productive and law-abiding lives. Several States across the United States have been successful in the area of police involvement in prisoner reentry, such as Maryland, Vermont, Massachusetts, Indiana, Tennessee, Connecticut, Utah, Wisconsin, California, Washington, Georgia, and North Carolina. However, while the success of police involvement in reentry initiatives is great, there are many challenges and barriers to overcome, such as creating realistic goals, agreeing on data sharing, overcoming internal organizational issues, and attaining strong and sustainable partnerships. This report supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) presents information on why prisoner reentry is an important issue for the policing profession and describes with the support of examples from the field, various models of police involvement in reentry. The first section of the report describes the local context of reentry, its effect on communities and its impact on community safety and public perceptions of crime. In section 2 the role of police in reentry is examined, specifically the basic concepts of community policing and police problem solving, the benefits of applying community policing strategies to prisoner reentry, and the many opportunities for police involvement in reentry. Specific examples are presented from the field of how these new police roles in prisoner reentry have been put into practice. The report concludes with a discussion of opportunities for advancing police reentry initiatives. References