The Post Gazette reports today that the state is revisiting the whole sentencing guidelines and incarceration frenzy there has been for the last twenty or so years.
The Aleph Institute and other faith based agencies have a proven successful track record of lowering recidivism. This success rate is documented and recognized by the prison officials nationwide.
The courts should be encouraged and required to work with the community based agencies, as an alternative to imprisonment, or in more severe cases together with imprisonment.
Besides being financially more effective alternatives to imprisonment provide necessary rehabilitation of the individual, helping them become productive members of society. In addition it does not have the negative impact on the many family members on the outside affected, and certainly does not have the negative influence on the children of these individuals, as some experts fear we are seeing now as second generations of those incarcerated are imprisoned.
The focus should begin to be rehabilitation and the community based agencies is the address.
See the article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10002/1025303-454.stm