A few weeks ago our Hearst newspapers carried a report outlining how lawmakers during the recent budget battle quietly agreed to bring back re-entry furloughs for offenders to cut costs in the Department of Corrections.
The furloughs – essentially an early release program – were done away with as part of a package of criminal justice reforms passed in January, 2008 following the home invasion and triple homicide in Cheshire.
Two parolees were charged with the Cheshire incident and that resulted in closer scrutiny of the state’s criminal justice system, including the then 30-day furloughs, which lacked proper supervision.
The furloughs, which DOC wardens began authorizing again in early November, are now 45 days long. Parole officers have been charged with keeping tabs on the inmates and trying to help them re-enter society in those final weeks before their official release.
The Hartford Courant today ran an excellent piece on another component of the 2008 criminal justice reforms that was never implemented – creating a residential treatment facility for sex offenders.
In a related topic, anyone interested in reading about the challenges the state faces in providing more re-entry housing for offenders of all types should take a look at this year-old report, which was also mandated by the criminal justice reforms.
