US Attorney General Holder has not been on my good list of late, what with his appallingly reactionary statements about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
But—as seems to be characteristic of this administration, which continues to have many of us whiplashing between cautious hope and disappointed fury—this week Holder and his office have done something very, very good. In fact, it is a move that the state of California should have made long ago.
Holder has convened a serious cabinet level council to focus on the pressing national issue of prisoner reentry.
According to the press release issued by the DOJ on Wednesday, the intragency group—which includes a slew of cabinet members— has a mission that is threefold: “…to make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization; to assist those returning from prison and jail in becoming productive, tax paying citizens; and to save taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration.”
Like, I said, California-–the state with the nation’s biggest most expensive prison system (short of the fed system), and the worst recidivism rate—should have convened such a council years ago.
The DOJ’s council says the release, “….will be supported by an interagency staff group from 16 federal departments and offices,” and will meet to…”leverage resources across agencies to reduce recidivism and victimization; identify evidence-based practices that advance the council’s mission; promote changes to federal statutes, policies and practices that focus on reducing crime; and identify federal policy opportunities and barriers to improve outcomes for the reentry community.”
Yo, Governor Jerry? Are you listening?
We’ll see how much in the way of progress actually occurs.
But, as it is described above, this council a wise and promising first step.
By the way, this has gotten pretty much zip news coverage. Why is that?