Greensboro, N.C. – To encourage and highlight United States Department of Justice efforts to improve federal reentry outcomes, the week of April 24 – 30, 2016, has been designated as National Reentry Week. Supporting successful reentry is an important part of the Department’s mission to promote public safety. If recidivism can be reduced by assisting individuals return to productive law-abiding lives, we can reduce crime across the country and make our neighborhoods better and safer.
Each year, more than 600,000 individuals return to our communities after serving time in federal or state prisons. There are another 11.4 million individuals that cycle through local jails every year. Almost one in four Americans has an arrest record, mostly for relatively minor, non-violent offenses. The impact of a criminal record often prevents motivated people from obtaining employment, housing, higher education, and credit. These barriers affect returning individuals even after they have paid their debt to society, turned their lives around, and are unlikely to reoffend.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina has been involved in efforts to assist returning individuals for over two decades. Partnerships across the Middle District communities involving courts, probation, law enforcement, schools, clergy, service agencies, and non-profits have demonstrated that recidivism rates can be greatly reduced when people work together. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina has ongoing reentry partnerships throughout the District.
The Middle District of North Carolina works with these partners using cutting edge evidence-based programming. By welcoming home and helping those reentrants who want to change and providing them opportunities, our communities grow stronger and we save tax dollars at the same time.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina will be participating in the following events during National Reentry Week:
Wednesday 4/27/2016: Cabarrus County Jail, 30 Corban Ave SE, Concord, NC 28025
10 AM Cabarrus Jail Reentry Graduation - presentation of graduation and certificates of completion to the successful graduates of this innovative locally-funded program of Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Brad Riley.
11-1PM Roundtable discussion with long-time resource providers from Cabarrus County about re-entry programming that has improved public safety in Cabarrus County.
Thursday 4/28/2016: Silverspot Cinema, 201 S. Estes Dr. University Place Chapel Hill, NC
9am-12pm North Carolina Middle District reentry meeting
Members of the Middle Districts Project Safe Neighborhoods Advisory team will meet to recognize successful reentrants and the agencies across the Middle District that serves them.
The media is invited to attend these meetings.
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