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Home  Solutions Client System for Children Mission Statement
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Mission Statement |
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To make Philadelphia a better, safer, more financially responsible
city, we will develop and promote pragmatic and concrete measures to
enhance participation in society of men and women leaving the
Philadelphia Prison System. We intend that these measures will
encourage accountability, preserve neighborhood safety and ensure that
victims of crime are respected, protected and restored.
Executive Summary
The Problem: They're coming back, whether we like it or not. In a city
of 1.5 million people, over 35,000 men, women and youth will go through
the Philadelphia Prison System this year and return to our communities.
If current trends continue, two-thirds, or almost 23,000 will be
rearrested within three years, and over 14,000 will return to jail,
having committed new crimes, or parole violations. If we could reduce
recidivism rates by only 10%, Philadelphia would save over $6.8
million a year in jail costs alone. In the community, the loss of
security and the fear that one could be a victim of crime has a
debilitating effect on the quality of life in our city. In addition,
the high rate of recidivism speaks volumes about the reentry experience
of men, women and youth who, after a period of incarceration, find
little hope and even fewer resources to help them change their lives
for the better.
The Group: In March 2002, a diverse group of public and private sector
organizations, agencies and individuals met in Philadelphia to address
this problem. The group, called the Philadelphia Consensus Group on
Reentry & Reintegration of Adjudicated Offenders, was comprised of
representatives from the courts and the prison system, the police
department and attorneys from Community Legal Services, as well as
service providers, and faith-based and community organizations that
work in the Philadelphia jails and the community to meet the needs of
returning offenders. Our membership also included the unlikely pairing
of the District Attorney's Office and the Public Defenders' Association. That
this group was able to meet at all was unusual. That we could find
common ground on over 40 findings and recommendations for improving
the current system is unprecedented. While we have substantial
differences on criminal justice issues, what we share is a deep
commitment to Philadelphia. Early on, we agreed to a mission statement
as an expression of that commitment.
To make Philadelphia a better, safer, more financially responsible
city, we will develop and promote pragmatic and concrete measures to
enhance participation in society of men and women leaving the
Philadelphia Prison System. We intend that these measures will
encourage accountability, preserve neighborhood safety and ensure
that victims of crime are respected, protected and restored.
The Process: The consensus process was initiated by Search for Common Ground, a
Washington D.C.-based conflict resolution organization, at the
invitation of former Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode, Sr.. The
process was facilitated by John Good, a Senior Associate of Search for
Common Ground, Philadelphia native and seasoned mediator and Marie
Williams, a Search for Common Ground Senior Project Manager.
Over the
course of a year, we met under agreed-upon consensus ground rules. All
parties had the opportunity to participate as equals, regardless of
organizational influence or status. All interests and concerns were
given equal weight, and ultimately, no proposal was approved without
unanimous consent. Our approach was to understand our differences, and
work on our commonalities. The preliminary result of this consensus
process is a blueprint for action for the community.
The Recommendations: In the early stages of the process, we identified over 60
significant barriers to successful reintegration faced by offenders,
including poor employment skills, drug addiction, homelessness, lack of
positive support systems, and outstanding legal issues. Our
recommendations cover a wide range of issues, grouped into five general
subjects areas: Personal Responsibility; Pre-release; Legal;
Employment, Education & Training; and Community Integration. The
findings and recommendations are reflected in the following five
general principles:
1. The Philadelphia criminal justice system must rededicate itself to
achieving three related goals: public safety, offender accountability
and the development of competencies necessary for successful
reintegration of offenders into the community. The achievement of better and more coordinated services, including
comprehensive pre- and post-release planning, is crucial for offenders
in order for them to successfully reintegrate into their communities.
2. The Philadelphia criminal justice
system must examine and eliminate legal and administrative barriers
that unduly inhibit successful offender reintegration.
3. The Philadelphia
criminal justice system must find better ways to coordinate and
cooperate.
4. The Philadelphia criminal justice system must engage with members
and leaders of the community to assist them in rethinking, and playing
a more active role in the reintegration of offenders.
We understand that these principles, and the recommendations that
follow, are only a starting point. It will take the commitment of many
more partners, including the community, to bring them to fruition. In
that process, we will inevitably face our differences once again, but,
as we have here, we can maintain our separate convictions, engage in
principled and productive dialogue and find solutions that advance the
greater good.
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