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| Most paroled Colo. inmates end up returning to prison cell |
| By Rocky Mountain News |
| Published: 09/29/2003 |
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More than half of all Colorado prison inmates wind up back in jail within three years of their parole. Colorado lawmakers studying how to make government more efficient were told by the state's prison officials that about 51.7 percent of all state inmates end up back behind bars, a jump of nearly 3 percent during the past two years. Joe Ortiz, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, painted a picture of an overstretched system that can't always count on communities to help once offenders leave the prison grounds. "For the most part, these offenders have no place to go and it doesn't take long to revert back to their old ways," said Ortiz, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, to the state Government Expenditures Committee. It's difficult to accurately compare Colorado's rate to other states because reporting standards differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. But prison officials say that Colorado's statistics put it among the 10 states with the highest recidivism rates. Officials estimate they spend $11,000 to $16,000 a month trying to help paroled inmates get settled in a community. Prison officials are unlikely to be able to dedicate extra money to programs and services aimed at trying to keep prisoners out of the system. Lawmakers were reminded at the hearing that the Corrections Department has seen about $56 million trimmed from its budget since 2001, including many of its education and retraining programs. |
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