APAI Secretary travels to Uganda

APAI Secretary Jeralita “Jeri” Costa will be  speaking  to the 2^nd Biennial African Correctional Services Association  Conference scheduled for October 2-5, 2012, in Kampala, Uganda .

She has been invited to speak there on the topic of: International Perspective on Parole: Lessons for Africa.

APAI is delighted to be able to support her travels there. Many African countries have expressed a keen interest in the work we do as many of them  have recently or are looking to in the near future, develop parole systems. Representative of the African countries are frequent visitors to APAI Conferences. We have enjoyed visiting and networking with them over the years.

Jeri has graciously agreed to keep us posted on her experiences at this conference via the APAI blog as time and circumstances permit. Therefore stay tuned to this  blog over the next week to read about her journey  and to find out more about our colleagues in Africa.  

Join the Executive Committee at APAI in wishing Jeri bon voyage and safe travels.

Report: Fewer Texans return to prison as state focuses on rehabilitation, treatment

Thanks partly to greatly expanded rehabilitation and treatment programs, Texas sent 11 percent fewer ex-convicts back to prison in recent years a significant drop in recidivism that is being replicated across the country, according to a new study.

The study, to be released today by the Council of State Governments' Justice Center project, shows that Texas' recidivism rate — the number of felons who return to prison within three years after they are discharged or paroled — posted the double-digit drop for prisoners released in 2007.  Read more...

Re-entry programs give former prisoners hope in the real world

Guy Moore knows the cost of a bad decision.

It started with a jewelry theft topping $5,000. A 10-month prison term followed. During that time, he lived in constant fear of violence in a 10-by-8 cell.

Then came July 28, 2011. That was the now 48-year-old’s release date from High Desert State Prison, or, as he says, “a day you don’t forget.”  Read more...

Australasian Parole Authorities Conference 2012

The Australasian Parole Authorities Conference 2012 is being held in Melbourne, Victoria from 31 October to 2 November 2012, hosted by the Adult Parole Board of Victoria and the Youth Parole and Youth Residential Boards of Victoria.

The theme for the conference is Parole into the Future,with a focus on the challenges that parole authorities are facing now and over the next few years. This year the list of presentations is very comprehensive and includes topics such as media management, business planning, professional development for decision-makers, and post-sentence supervision regimes.

At the conference, delegates will not only hear from experts on a wide range of issues, but there will also be the opportunity to visit a prison (Marngoneet), a youth justice centre (Parkville), a transitional facility (Judy Lazarus), and a new housing complex (Elizabeth Street Common Ground). The keynote address - "Setting the Scene - Where are we going to be in the next ten years?" - will be delivered by Professor Arie Freiberg, Dean of the Faculty of  Law, Monash University and Chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council.
To view the provisional program for the conference, as well as general and registration information, click HERE

Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation programs take root

In July, Texas' prison system posted its lowest head count in five years, even as the state's overall population continued to grow at a fast clip.

Instead of 156,500 prisoners behind bars in Texas' 111 state prisons a year ago, the lockups now hold just over 154,000 — a drop of about 2,500, according to state statistics. Texas, which historically has had one of the highest incarceration rates per capita of the 50 states, is now in fourth place, down from second two years ago.  Read more...

Pennsylvania eyes overhaul of parole process

Halfway houses a focus of program

HARRISBURG -- State officials are working to streamline parole interviews and focus halfway house rehabilitation on their parolees as they implement a law designed to save millions of dollars in corrections spending.

Efficiency measures and program overhauls in the state's penitentiary system are expected to save $253 million over five years, according to numbers from the Senate Republican Caucus.  Read more...

Many criticize life sentences for juveniles, Terms with no parole called 'cruel and unusual'

SAN FRANCISCO — Sara Kruzan was 17 when she was sentenced to die in prison for killing and robbing a pimp in a Riverside motel.

Now, at 32, Kruzan has a chance at being freed, along with thousands of other juveniles convicted of murder who were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Read more...