Crime has been declining for seven years while prison and jail populations continue to reach new highs. The U.S. incarceration rate is the highest in the world. What happens later is the topic of the day, for a majority of released inmates fail to make it on the outside and often return to jail. A study of 556 District inmates released in 1992 showed similar results. In the first five years, 82.9 percent of the former prisoners were arrested at least once.
Simple things count.
In the District, for example, the Department of Corrections destroys inmates' property if no one collects it or pays for it to be shipped home within 15 days after arrest. The nonprofit group established a storefront in January to fill a void for women returning from custody, providing clothes, advice, a strong shoulder, candy bars, condoms. You lose touch with reality in prison. Unaware that the U.S. currency had changed, she was sure she was being cheated. Four of every five inmates released from prison or jail receive some form of supervision, ranging from a monthly appointment with a parole officer to more frequent visits, drug tests and other requirements.