“An Issue That Must Be Addressed”

A partnership between the Clark County Commissioners and a community action agency has secured a total of more than three million dollars in state and federal funding to help the county prevent criminals from reoffending and returning to jail. Because of the county’s high number of repeat criminal offenders, commissioners will use grant monies in an attempt to solve the problem through therapy and educational resources.

Commissioner David Herier spoke with us regarding the commission’s goals in preventing recidivism (the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend) in Clark County, saying the county’s number of offenders is cause for concern both monetarily and because of the crippling impact on families.

“Our county received the second highest Department of Justice grant in the state behind Cleveland due to the extremely high number of prisoners in our local jail as well as the high number of Clark County residents being sentenced to state penitentiaries,” said Herier. “This clearly is an issue that must be addressed.”

The commission will approach the issue through both the funding of a re-entry position and offering therapy to inmates in the Clark County Jail. Herier said the commission, in partnership with the community action agency’s Opportunities for Individual Change (OIC) program, will provide cognitive behavioral therapy to inmates housed locally.

“This therapy is known nationally as one of the few and most successful ways to move people with a criminal past to a non-criminal future,” he said. “The commission has funded these initiatives through our general fund, the exact number on return on investments I am told exceeds twelve dollars for every dollar the county has expended.”

Clark County OIC also offers services to convicted offenders who have been released from jail—providing them assistance with obtaining jobs, learning computer skills, resume building tips, job interview preparation, effective communication, and specific trade skills. The OIC’s “Opportunity for New Directions” program gives those with a criminal background the chance to “become productive individuals in the workplace and at home.”

Herier, who serves as Co-Chair of the Re-Entry Coalition, said that Clark County Commissioners first addressed the “high cost of recidivism to our county approximately six years ago,” noting that the group’s results can be seen in the lower recidivism rates in the county within the past two years.

“I have seen the fruit of the efforts of our group—starting with the significant numbers of individuals who are now held in our Clark County Jail,” Herier explained. “The figure was over 5,000 just 48 months ago, down to approximately 3,800 this past year.”

He said the effects of recidivism in the county are detrimental both financially and personally, noting that it is his goal to lower taxpayer contribution to housing inmates as well as rebuild the families that crumble in the wake of handling a habitually-offending loved one.

“My interest in addressing this critical problem comes from several different points—as a commissioner, I need to be a steward of our communities financial resources. The entire scope of criminal justice is a huge percentage of the overall budget that we have to manage. I want to fix this and lower this cost to the taxpayers.,” Herier said.

“My second interest is the safety of our citizens. When folks leave our jail and attempt to become re-acclimated to society, it benefits us all to try to make them as healthy and productive as possible,” he added, also noting the impact on those who are “marginalized” by an incarcerated family member.

“Those families are important to me,” he said.

The committee will now assess the “extensive cost” of arresting, booking, and incarcerating 900 local people annually for minor driving infractions such as driving under suspension or driving without a license. Herier said other communities have processes in place that allow unlicensed residents to obtain a license again and start on the path toward becoming a productive member of society. He considered this to be “an economic development issue” as he is regularly approached by local employers who complain that they cannot hire certain individuals because of something as simple as having a driver’s license.

“As a lawyer and County Commissioner, I see firsthand the far reaching negative impact that (recidivism) is creating in our county,” Herier said. “I see families torn apart on a daily basis and recognize that there is a devastating human cost along with the financial cost. When families are torn apart by crime and drugs, they not only cost the county in terms of criminal justice, they also put their families at a much higher risk for being on public support, again straining local resources.”

Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said the number of average inmates housed daily in the county jail is at its lowest rate in nearly 20 years. Kelly said the behavioral therapy program in the jail called “Thinking for a Change” has been implemented for the past two years, and is already showing positive results.

“Individuals are finishing the program, they’re staying in therapy, and not being arrested or coming back to jail,” said Kelly. “They’re getting jobs--we had ten people find jobs in January--some for the first time in their entire lives...it’s a start. It’s a way for them to find their place in society and support their families--that’s what this program is all about,” he said.

The Sheriff noted that the average daily population in the Clark County Jail was 202 last year, saying these numbers are at their lowest since 1998. He said it is important for the county to take such a strong approach at preventing recidivism because “keeping people in jail is such a drain on every citizen in Clark County.” He also added that while most believe the average cost of housing one inmate per day is around $65 or $70, it is really more like $125 or $150 per day when salaries and medical expenses are factored in.