New Hampshire
Articles
07/01/2010 – Nashua Telegraph “Lynch inks sweeping jail reform bill ,”By Kevin Landrigan
“CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch signed Thursday what arguably are the most sweeping reforms in the criminal code in decades.”
06/30/2010 – WCAX “Lynch to sign N.H. prison reform bill“
“New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch will sign a bill today that aims to get prison inmates back into society earlier and cut the cost of corrections.”
06/30/2010 – Foster’s Daily Democrat “Lynch signs prison reform bill“
“CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Gov. John Lynch has signed a prison reform bill aimed at reducing crime and prison costs in New Hampshire.”
06/30/2010 – PRESS RELEASE “Governor Lynch Joins State Leaders, Law Enforcement in Signing Corrections Reforms Aimed at Strengthening Public Safety and Reducing Costs to Taxpayers,” Office of Governor John Lynch
“CONCORD – Governor John Lynch today continued efforts to keep New Hampshire the safest state in the nation by signing into law the Justice Reinvestment Act, a comprehensive set of corrections reforms designed to improve public safety and reduce costs to taxpayers. “
05/16/2010 – Foster’s Daily Democrat: “Justice System Overhaul: Bill’s Goal is to Save Money, Reduce Prison Recidivism“
“Budget restraints and a growing prison population have led lawmakers to take a closer look at the parole system and consider alternatives to incarceration.”
“Officials are hoping Senate Bill 500, a bill on the way to Gov. John Lynch’s office, will address both issues and then some.”
05/11/2010 – U.S. House Judiciary Committee Hearing on H.R. 4080: “Statement by the Honorable John T. Broderick, Jr., Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court“
“Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Gohmert, and members of the Subcommittee, I appear before you today to speak in support of the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act, which would enable more states and local jurisdictions to utilize the kind of data-driven and bipartisan justice reinvestment process that New Hampshire has found to be so valuable.
04/23/2010 – Concord Monitor: “Prison Reform a Slow Train”, by Shira Schoenberg
“The public would not see an immediate influx of newly paroled prisoners under reforms meant to lower the state’s population of inmates.”
“The New Hampshire House on Wednesday passed a Senate bill aimed at lowering recidivism rates. Because of a change in the House exempting some domestic violence crimes from early release, the bill now returns to the Senate.”
04/22/2010 – Manchester Union Leader: “Parole Reform Bill Easily Passes House”, by Tom Fahey
“A move to save state money by allowing non-violent prison inmates to go on parole quicker passed the New Hampshire House today.”
“The bill passed by an overwhelming majority of 256-57, despite opposition from members of the state Adult Parole Board.”
04/11/2010 – Concord Monitor: “Correction Reforms Should Be Enacted“
“Corrections Commissioner Bill Wrenn, Attorney General Michael Delaney and John Broderick, chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, all use the same word to describe the state’s penal system: broken.”
03/14/2010 – Seacoast Online: “Time To Get Tough and Smart on Criminals”, by Representative Terie Norelli
“For the past 10 years, New Hampshire’s crime rate has remained one of the lowest in the nation. Our state is remarkably safe. That’s why it is even more remarkable that our prison population has increased 31 percent since 1999 and the cost to taxpayers of running the state prison has doubled — an increase of $52 million!”
02/28/2010 – Seacoast Online: “Editorial: SB 500 A Step in Prison Reform“
“SB 500 would enable probation and parole supervisors to enroll their parolees in strengthened community drug, alcohol and mental-health treatment programs. And when there is a probation or parole violation, supervisors would have the option of imposing short, swift and certain jail time and other sanctions. This would be more effective than the current cumbersome and costly system.”
02/09/2010 – New Hampshire Union Leader: “Prison bill seeks to speed release”, by Tom Fahey
“A bill that would speed the release of prison inmates after they serve their minimum sentence got unanimous backing from a special team of lawmakers, judges and corrections experts yesterday.”
02/09/2010 – Nashua Telegraph: “Panel backs 6-part plan to reduce prison’s revolving door – at no cost”, by Kevin Landrigan
“The ambitious plan to cut New Hampshire’s high rate of prison recidivism took an important step forward Monday but did so without spending state dollars on community treatment or drug testing.”
02/08/2010 – WCAX: “Officials endorse legislation on NH prisons“
“The bill calls for redirecting some of the money spent on incarceration to improve supervision in communities, increasing community treatment programs and requiring inmates to be supervised for at least nine months after leaving prison.”
02/08/2010 – New Hampshire State Senate: “Legislation to Improve Public Safety and Save Money Endorsed”, by State Senator Sylvia Larsen
“The Justice Reinvestment Leadership Team, a special committee that includes the state Attorney General, Chief Justice, leading lawmakers and corrections officials, gave their unanimous endorsement today to draft legislation that’s expected to improve public safety and save money by lowering recidivism.”
01/25/2010 – Concord Monitor: “Report: Prison Reform Saves Cash”, by Norma Love
“The Council of State Governments Justice Center has been analyzing criminal justice data and exploring ways New Hampshire can reduce crime, reduce spending and reinvest the savings in programs to make the state safer, Attorney General Michael Delaney said.”
01/08/2010 – New Hampshire Union Leader: “Sylvia Larsen: Can NH Improve Corrections While Spending Less”, by State Senator Sylvia Larsen
“New Hampshire has a low crime rate that has remained stable for years. So why is the number of people we incarcerate growing?”
12/20/2009 – Sea Coast Online: “How to Do Things Better”, by State Senator Maggie Hassan
“Even in the best of times, the need to re-examine what we do on a regular basis is an essential part of good government. Right now it’s more than that; it’s critical to our ability to meet our responsibilities to each other.”
So, in both the short and long term, we’re working on making sure that the things we do represent the best value possible to the taxpayer.
12/15/2009 – The New Hampshire Public Radio: “State’s Prison Recidivism Rate Tops National Average”, by Dan Gorenstein
“A team of researchers from the Council of State Governments Justice Center have found that 57% of the people who entered prison this year either violated probation or parole.”
12/15/2009 – The Concord Monitor: “Prison Data Offers Dire Picture”, by Norma Love, The Associated Press
“A high number of freed New Hampshire inmates are returning to prison, many for technical infractions, according to an interim report by a national group that is to deliver its findings to legislators today.”
9/17/2009 – The Citizen of Lanconia/Foster’s Daily Democrat: “Don’t Forget Counties in Prison Study”, Opinion
“The announcement of a forthcoming comprehensive study aimed at finding ways to reduce prison costs and the rate at which free inmates return to a life of crime without jeopardizing public safety is an issue that people of the Laconia area certainly can relate to.”
9/16/2009 – Nashua Telegraph: “NH recidivism rate deserving of study”, Editorial
“The state’s 44 percent recidivism rate – that is, the percentage of inmates who are back behind bars within three years of their release for committing another crime or violating parole – is unacceptable.”
9/15/2009 – Concord Monitor: “Officials seek to stem the tide of recidivism: Federal infusion to fund much of study”, by Shira Schoenberg
At a press conference yesterday, the heads of the state’s legislative, judicial and executive branches announced a grant that will allow the state to conduct a thorough study of how to lower its recidivism rate.
9/15/2009 – Nashua Telegraph: “NH looks to cut inmate recidivism”, by Kevin Landrigan
“CONCORD – A powerful alliance from all three branches of government helped New Hampshire win a grant to reduce the state’s alarmingly high rate of recidivism of state prison inmates, sponsors said Monday.”
9/14/2009 – New Hampshire Public Radio: “Officials Put Faith in Corrections Data”, by Dan Gorenstein
“More than 4 of every 10 people in New Hampshire prisons winds up returning. Officials hope a new grant to analyze data will cut that rate and save money.”
Audio
12/15/2009 – The New Hampshire Public Radio: “State’s Prison Recidivism Rate Tops National Average”, by Dan Gorenstein
“A team of researchers from the Council of State Governments Justice Center have found that 57% of the people who entered prison this year either violated probation or parole.”