Forum seeks to give former offenders a second chance

Feb. 20--Many convicted felons return to a life of crime when they get out of prison but Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre wants to change that.

"If we are truly interested in making society safe, we have to make some institutional changes," Webre said.

The sheriff was one of several officials who attended an Employer Engagement Forum Thursday at Fletcher Technical Community College in Schriever to address how local businesses can play a role in reducing crime by hiring those who have prior criminal convictions.

The forum was presented by Right on Crime, a Texas-based organization that focuses on ways to reduce crime, restore victims, reform offenders and lower taxpayer costs. The event was organized and hosted by the Department of Probation and Parole.

Statistics show that 43 percent of those released from incarceration return to prison within five years, said Scott Peyton, Louisiana's Right on Crime director.

One way to reverse that trend is to provide a steady paycheck, Peyton said.

"Studies show when they have a job they're less likely to recidivate," he said. "But there's such a stigma associated with someone who has a criminal background. Unfortunately, people have paid their debt to society but continue paying it over and over. What we're trying to do is to show employers that this is a population to consider hiring from. They can look past that criminal conviction, see how old it is and how it relates to the job and get to know the person first."

Louisiana has made strides to reduce mass incarceration. In 2017, the state passed bipartisan criminal justice reform measures that saved taxpayers $12 million in the first year alone, said State Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma.

Although steps have been taken to help former criminals reintegrate into society, much remains to be done, Magee said.

"The previous system was a blank check to local governments and law enforcement," Magee said. "We were paying for high incarceration rates to the point that we were the leading incarcerator in the entire world. When you invest money in something you should get a return in that investment. It shouldn't be a blank check or throwing money at the problem and hope that it works."

As a judge, Juan Pickett said many of the offenders he encounters in court lack the basic skills necessary to become functioning citizens. When they get out of jail many return to crime. It's a vicious cycle that needs to be broken, Pickett said.

"In the past when it came to crime and punishment we just locked people up," the Terrebonne district judge said. "When we locked people up they were not being rehabilitated while they were incarcerated. They got out and re-offended, so the recidivism rate increased. The purpose of re-entry court is to address the educational issues and teach skills to become productive members of society."

When someone gets out of jail and tries to re-enter society they need the community's support in order to succeed, Pickett said.

"To make re-entry work we need employers," the judge said. "We're giving the people who get out of jail the tools to succeed in life and we need employers who are the next leg of that journey to help these individuals become productive members of society."

Webre has also taken steps to focus on rehabilitation. Lafourche's newly opened 118,095-square-foot jail in Thibodaux emphasizes rehabilitation, education and mental health, officials said. The jail also educates inmates about parenting, job interviews and earning high school or higher education credits.

The "tough on crime" approach of old is not making society any safer, the sheriff said.

"What we discovered after decades and decades and decades is that tough on crime is tough on families, tough on society, tough on taxpayers and tough on everyone," Webre said. "Right on Crime is an example of taking a rational approach to the criminal justice system to reintegrate people into society."

While there are "bad people" who need to be behind bars, the majority of them are good people who made bad decisions who deserve a chance at redemption, Webre said.

The old criminal justice system was self-defeating, the sheriff said.

"It set up so many trip wires that guaranteed failure," he said. "It was never a level playing field."

Reentry program manager Hester Serrano said providing job opportunities for former offenders will give them the necessary tools to stay out of trouble.

"There may be people you read about in the newspaper that got arrested, convicted and are sitting in jail," said Serrano, who helped organize Thursday's forum. "Think about the fact that they are coming back to your community. Do you want them prepared? They are coming back. Do we want them working on our cars or stealing our cars? They must have the community's support to have those opportunities in place so that when they come back they have the opportunities to be successful."

--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 446-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

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