{"id":779,"date":"2011-09-12T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T00:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=779"},"modified":"2011-09-12T19:52:00","modified_gmt":"2011-09-13T00:52:00","slug":"we-have-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=779","title":{"rendered":"We Have a Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Department of Corrections (DOC) is recalculating sentences for approximately 3,444 offenders in Iowa prisons after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in <\/span>Anderson v. State<\/span><\/em><\/a> that a probationer may count the time in which he was \u201ccommitted to the DCS [Department of Correctional Services] for electronic monitoring and home supervision\u201d as earned time.\u00a0 Earned time is that amount of days that is subtracted from an inmate\u2019s sentence for good behavior.\u00a0 It appears as though the DOC had been requiring probationers to start their sentences all over again once probation was revoked and the violator entered prison.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3,444 inmates must have their sentences recalculated.\u00a0 There are approximately 8,800 Iowa prisoners incarcerated in the various correctional facilities across Iowa.\u00a0 You can do the math, but it amounts to roughly 40% of the offenders that may have their sentences reduced.\u00a0 The DOC, county attorneys, and others are screaming that \u201cthe sky is falling\u201d.\u00a0 They\u2019re concerned that these offenders might be released into society.\u00a0 I hate to bring this up, but wasn\u2019t the offender a threat to society when he or she was on probation?\u00a0 What\u2019s different?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A huge concern for the DOC is the fact that many of these offenders will be released without supervision, without rehabilitation, and without services.\u00a0 Shall we blame the courts for a problem that exists with our prison system?\u00a0 When I began this essay with the statement that \u201cwe have a problem\u201d I wasn\u2019t referring to the problem seen by DOC, the county attorneys, etc.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m claiming that the problem is with the manner in which services are provided to offenders lying in waste within the walls of our state\u2019s correctional facilities.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are three primary reasons for incarcerating offenders: Punishment; rehabilitation; and societal protection.\u00a0 The first and third reasons are no-brainers.\u00a0 Rehabilitation should be a constant goal because over 90% of offenders will be released back into society at some time.\u00a0 The DOC\u2019s mission statement states that:<\/span><\/p>\n

Offenders under our supervision participate in rehabilitative programming, including basic education, mental health and substance abuse treatment, life skills, victim empathy, and work experiences. Beginning with their first day in prison to their last day of community supervision, our reentry planning and coordination is designed to assist offenders\u2019 successful reentry into society and to reduce the likelihood of future victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

The statement says that this all takes place from the first day in prison.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not true.\u00a0 If it was true, why would the sky be falling?\u00a0 Most programs are placed on hold until the offender gets nearer to a release date.\u00a0 True, some educational and life skills programs are available once an offender has been transitioned into the system.\u00a0 But often, substance abuse treatment and especially work experience programs are delayed until an inmate is closer to being released from incarceration.\u00a0 Therein lies a problem.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rehabilitation, including substance abuse and alcohol abuse issues need to be addressed up front \u2013 from the beginning.\u00a0 A person who is going to be incarcerated for five years will claim that they don\u2019t have a problem after 3 years.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have a problem; I haven\u2019t used for 3 years!\u201d\u00a0 One of the first steps toward recovery is an acknowledgement that a person has a drug or alcohol problem.\u00a0 Waiting until a person is about to be released before being admitted to a rehabilitation program can only serve as fertilizer for denial.\u00a0 Treatment needs to be addressed immediately if it is to be effective.\u00a0 If those 3,444 offenders who may be released earlier than expected had been receiving treatment, life skills, and victim empathy from the first day they entered the Oakdale facility, the job of rehabilitation would be complete (or near complete) and protecting society would fall into order. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, we have a problem.\u00a0 It needs to be fixed from the inside.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to quit blaming the courts and the legislature and perform the mission as stated.\u00a0 \u201cBeginning from the first day . . . \u201c <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Copyright 2011\u00a0 Fawkes-Lee & Ryan.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waiting until a person is about to be released before being admitted to a rehabilitation program can only serve as fertilizer for denial. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,17],"tags":[103,279,278,280,259],"class_list":["post-779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-criminal-justice","category-issues","tag-iowa-department-of-corrections","tag-punishment","tag-rehabilitation","tag-societal-protection","tag-iowa-department-of-correctional-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=779"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions\/781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}