Officials Put Faith in Corrections Data

Sometimes, at press conferences with Governor Lynch, there is a perfunctory quality to them.

People read from scripts and smile for the camera.

But this press conference, top officials from across state government made it clear how genuinely excited they were.

TAPE: well, I have to tell you this is a very exciting day.

TAPE: the idea of getting this grant is exciting for me.

TAPE: I’m thrilled to be here today.

TAPE: I am very pleased to be working on this Justice reinvestment initiative.

TAPE: I want to congratulate Governor Lynch, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House for what is a very big idea.

In order that was Department of Corrections Commissioner Bill Wrenn, Republican Representative Neal Kurk, Senate President Sylvia Larsen, Attorney General Michael Delaney and Chief Justice John Broderick.

It may surprise some that all those people would be thrilled about a half a million dollar grant to analyze Department of Correction’s data.

But the enthusiasm comes from the hope that data can save the state a lot of money.

And a belief that the people behind the grant- the Pew Center on the States and the Council of State Governments Justice Center can help them get there.

Michael Thompson is the Director of the Council’s Justice Center.

TAPE: In the state of Texas, when the Legislature convened in 2007, the state was looking at a growth in the prison population of over 16,000 in the next five years.

Thompson says the state assumed it would have to build 8 new prisons to accommodate the growth.

But he says, after an exhaustive review of data and working with policy makers to enact new legislation down there, the projected growth disappeared.

The prison population flat-lined, and Thompson says the state saved a lot of money.

TAPE: they estimate about $440 million achieved to the state of Texas. And I realize this is on a magnitude that is difficult to compare to New Hampshire, but still you can appreciate the impact.

New Hampshire is one of 10 states to participate in this program.

The state was selected because Thompson’s team found a shared political will in all three branches of government to examine and possibly reform the Justice system.

Researchers will look at data including who is entering prison, how long inmates are staying, and what employment opportunities they have after their release.

Thompson says, he expects the analysis to take a long look at New Hampshire’s probation and parole system.

TAPE: what we find is that...a high risk person will be supervised in much the same way a low-risk person will be...And we’ll say the state could get a lot more public safety if it were to throw a lot more of its resources at the person who is high risk.

Both Corrections Commissioner Wrenn and Chief Justice Broderick spend part of their time thinking about recidivism rates.

Wrenn says he hopes the analysis will help answer questions he has about sentencing patterns, and whether the state’s criminal laws are appropriate.

Broderick says he’s got a long list of questions he’s wanted to ask.

TAPE: what percentage of the population is back there for parole or probation violations? What percentage of those folks came back because they committed a new crime versus had a technical violation?...and when they leave the state prison, and return to the community, what are they returning to?

GOP Representative Neal Kurk- a renowned budget hawk- sees this grant as an opportunity to set people’s assumptions about how to reform Corrections aside, and really look at data.

Something, he regrets, is not very common in New Hampshire.

TAPE: this will inform our beliefs. It won’t do it completely, but will be much further off than some of the starry eyes- and I may even have starry eyes, will be introduced to a measure of reality when we have this data.

Data collection has already begun.

The goal is to provide lawmakers with policy recommendations next spring.