Trying to reduce crime, reducing the number of victims, that is what’s at the heart of this work. Every time we talk about re-entry we need to focus on the brass ring, crime reduction. We’re not eliminating crime; we’re reducing crime. We’re not eliminating people returning to prison; we’re reducing the number of people returning to prison. We’re doing that because it reduces the number of victims we have. Who’s against reducing the number of victims? By Dennis M. Schrantz
(This article is an excerpt of a presentation made by the author this week to Georgia justice system stakeholders who engage offenders before, during and after incarceration. Stakeholders included representatives of justice, behavioral, housing, employment and other state agencies.)
By Dennis M. Schrantz
Trying to reduce crime, reducing the number of victims, that is what’s at the heart of this work. Every time we talk about re-entry we need to focus on the brass ring, crime reduction. We’re not eliminating crime; we’re reducing crime. We’re not eliminating people returning to prison; we’re reducing the number of people returning to prison. We’re doing that because it reduces the number of victims we have. Who’s against reducing the number of victims?
Re-entry starts at intake. Welcome to the prison system. You’re being punished. Get over it. Let’s get you ready to get out and let’s think of everything you can do and what you will do, and what my responsibilities are in the prison system to get you ready to get out because my goal here is I am your coach and your success is at the center of my work.
All prisoners come from somewhere and most of them go back to where they started. You may have a prisoner for two or three years. They come in when they’re 23, they leave when they’re 26, they get out in the community, they commit another crime. The blame is directed toward the department of corrections and the parole agency. You don’t see a newspaper story that says minister fails (or) family falls down on the job. Human services network fails to deliver services.
What we want (criminal justice system staff) to understand is every prisoner who is released has the tools to succeed. That is the vision. Our mission is to make that happen from intake through discharge into the community. They are citizens returning to their communities and everybody has a role. How we get focused like a laser beam on how we move through this process is critical.
We are going to treat these returning citizens with respect from the point of intake through discharge, we are going to focus on their success and through that focus on success we are going to help change those prisoners’ behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. That is what research says changes criminal activity.
At the end of the day, it is our job to understand every single contact we have in prison is an opportunity to help shift that person’s attitude about himself, how they fit into the world and to start to think about themselves in ways other than being a prisoner, a convict, an ex-con, an offender.
The biggest thing we have to overcome is a lack of motivation. We’ve got to get past the point where we think we’ve got to keep on punishing them for what they did. I’ve taken care of kids who are victims of sexual perpetrators and I can tell you, forgiveness is not easy but at the end of the day we have to focus on what we can do to help them be successful.
We did not design prisons as a place to practice social work. We didn’t design prisons for much more than security and confinement. We’ve added a few things along the way but at the end of the day it’s about locking people up. When you lock people up as criminals what are the chances that you’re going to be less of a criminal? There’s a big shift there, a big lift.
We don’t hire people because they’re social workers; we hire them because they are good security officers. We want to teach them new skills and new attitudes and beliefs about how their job makes a difference because we have to get across to every person that your public safety job is not just about running a safe institution or running a good caseload. The definition of public safety is the degree that the person you are working with does not come back into the system. That is the measure of success.
(Dennis M. Schrantz has been retained by Georgia for one year to provide prisoner re-entry implementation counsel. Schrantz has held numerous public and private sector justice system positions. As Deputy Director of Corrections he founded the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative. He has consulted in ten states, including other current projects in Alaska and Pennsylvania.)
Related Recent Articles:
Tearing Down Invisible Walls Created by Poverty
Ex-Offenders Tell Council: Start Prisoner Reentry Process Early
(This article is an excerpt of a presentation made by the author this week to Georgia justice system stakeholders who engage offenders before, during and after incarceration. Stakeholders included representatives of justice, behavioral, housing, employment and other state agencies.)
By Dennis M. Schrantz
DENNIS M. SCHRANTZ
Trying to reduce crime, reducing the number of victims, that is what’s at the heart of this work. Every time we talk about re-entry we need to focus on the brass ring, crime reduction. We’re not eliminating crime; we’re reducing crime. We’re not eliminating people returning to prison; we’re reducing the number of people returning to prison. We’re doing that because it reduces the number of victims we have. Who’s against reducing the number of victims?
Re-entry starts at intake. Welcome to the prison system. You’re being punished. Get over it. Let’s get you ready to get out and let’s think of everything you can do and what you will do, and what my responsibilities are in the prison system to get you ready to get out because my goal here is I am your coach and your success is at the center of my work.
All prisoners come from somewhere and most of them go back to where they started. You may have a prisoner for two or three years. They come in when they’re 23, they leave when they’re 26, they get out in the community, they commit another crime. The blame is directed toward the department of corrections and the parole agency. You don’t see a newspaper story that says minister fails (or) family falls down on the job. Human services network fails to deliver services.
What we want (criminal justice system staff) to understand is every prisoner who is released has the tools to succeed. That is the vision. Our mission is to make that happen from intake through discharge into the community. They are citizens returning to their communities and everybody has a role. How we get focused like a laser beam on how we move through this process is critical.
We are going to treat these returning citizens with respect from the point of intake through discharge, we are going to focus on their success and through that focus on success we are going to help change those prisoners’ behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. That is what research says changes criminal activity.
At the end of the day, it is our job to understand every single contact we have in prison is an opportunity to help shift that person’s attitude about himself, how they fit into the world and to start to think about themselves in ways other than being a prisoner, a convict, an ex-con, an offender.
The biggest thing we have to overcome is a lack of motivation. We’ve got to get past the point where we think we’ve got to keep on punishing them for what they did. I’ve taken care of kids who are victims of sexual perpetrators and I can tell you, forgiveness is not easy but at the end of the day we have to focus on what we can do to help them be successful.
We did not design prisons as a place to practice social work. We didn’t design prisons for much more than security and confinement. We’ve added a few things along the way but at the end of the day it’s about locking people up. When you lock people up as criminals what are the chances that you’re going to be less of a criminal? There’s a big shift there, a big lift.
We don’t hire people because they’re social workers; we hire them because they are good security officers. We want to teach them new skills and new attitudes and beliefs about how their job makes a difference because we have to get across to every person that your public safety job is not just about running a safe institution or running a good caseload. The definition of public safety is the degree that the person you are working with does not come back into the system. That is the measure of success.
Related Recent Articles:
Tearing Down Invisible Walls Created by Poverty
Ex-Offenders Tell Council: Start Prisoner Reentry Process Early
Dennis M. Schrantz has been retained by Georgia for one year to provide prisoner re-entry implementation counsel. Schrantz has held numerous public and private sector justice system positions. As Deputy Director of Corrections he founded the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative. He has consulted in ten states, including other current projects in Alaska and Pennsylvania.
