"We must find the proper balance between punishment and rehabilitation," said NH Supreme Court Chief Justice John T. Broderick, Jr., addressing the first-ever Consortium on Justice & Society, presented by the NH Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College on April 29. The group's first meeting focused on restorative justice initiatives taking place in NH, with speakers providing national perspectives and examples of successful programs from nearby states.

Restorative justice is an approach that emphasizes attempts to "heal" the aftermath of crime, including the obligation of offenders to make amends for their crimes with the involvement of all the parties affected, including the community. Restorative programs can be applied at any stage in the administration of justice: before filing charges, as a part of sentencing, or in helping in the transitions following incarceration.

Anne Broderick Botteri (no relation to the Chief Justice), the executive director of the NH Institute of Politics, said the newly formed Consortium aims to launch a dialogue on innovative approaches to justice, with the hope of developing a statewide strategic planning task force.

Chief Justice Broderick, the initial speaker, addressed the sheer size and societal impact of the corrections system in the nation and in New Hampshire.

Nationally, the prison population stands at more than 2.1 million with some 900 new inmates added each week, he said. Perhaps even more startling is the fact that one person in every 138 in the nation will spend time in prison sometime during his or her lifetime. (See related article focusing on the remarks of Alan Elsner, author of Gates of Injustice, who also spoke at the Consortium meeting.)

Over the past 20 years, the money spent by New Hampshire to maintain its prison system has grown from $5 million dollars per annum to $66 million, the chief justice said, adding that counties spend additional millions. It costs the state $25,000 a year for each inmate and the rate of recidivism is extremely high. If restorative programs could bring down this rate, not only would the state save money, but also the impact upon the lives of inmates and their families would be dramatic, he observed.

Broderick said the system wrestles with many problems - many offenders have mental health issues and end up in prison where little help is available; many inmates have less than a sixth grade education, and, again, educational resources in prison are not plentiful. "With little money and little education, it's no wonder that when people do get out of prison, they often have no place to go and very few opportunities for employment," said Broderick. "But there are some promising restorative efforts being made."

Restorative Justice and Detention Reform

Two panels, the first, Restorative Justice & Detention Reform, presented information on New Hampshire's efforts. Goffstown District Court Judge Paul H. Lawrence, who has handled juvenile cases in the district courts for over 25 years, and principal author of the NH Detention Assessment Screening Instrument and the NH Youth Development Center Eligibility Guidelines, briefly discussed the evaluation of juvenile criminal behavior.

John Perry, director of planning for the Vermont Department of Corrections, outlined a series of programs put into place in his state to match a new "bottom line" for outcomes for the prison system. Perry said that while the Vermont legislature was willing to make more laws that put more people in prison, it was unwilling to spend more money to support that outcome. To obtain support for appropriate funding, he decided to look at the prison system as a private business. Maybe, he thought, talking about the "bottom line" would make more sense to the legislature-and to the community at large.

In surveys, the people of Vermont, addressed as "customers" of the justice system, said they sought safety, not just punishment; treatment, not just harshness and deprivation; restitution, not just accountability; value added, not just increased cost; amends, not just damage repair. New restorative programs in Vermont's prisons were begun; they seek to help offenders address the needs of victims; make amends to the community; learn about the impact of crime; and learn ways to avoid re-offending. Perry presented tracking charts for the past few years to show that the new programs are working.

John McDermott, acting director of the NH Corrections Department's Division for Juvenile Services, sees signs of progress in New Hampshire, particularly with the proliferation of diversion programs for juveniles. He said the 36 diversion programs so far created statewide have increased the number of temporary juvenile detainees but lowered the number actually incarcerated.

A second panel focusing on" Substance Abuse & Drug Courts," was composed of: the Hon. Edwin K. Kelly, Administrative Judge of the District Courts, who is based in Plymouth; Theresa de Langis, executive director, NH Commission on the Status of Women, and Joe Diament, director of the Adolescent Treatment Initiative, New Futures. The panel was moderated by Gale Burford, professor of Social Work at the University of Vermont and editor of the forthcoming Broken Icons: Essays on Child Sexual Abuse.

Impact of Drug Courts

These single-issue "courts" typically are pre-indictment programs, often -but not exclusively- for juveniles that provide intensive monitoring and access to substance abuse treatment services. Successful participation in treatment and compliance with other requirements-such as looking for a job or providing restitution-can lead to the elimination of charges.

New Hampshire has serious drug and alcohol problems, particularly among young adults. Drug and alcohol problems among juveniles are correspondingly high on the state's list of concerns. Unfortunately, treatment services are at the bottom of available initiatives right now. Such services are sorely needed, since 85 percent of the inmates in the state prison alone have drug and/or alcohol problems, Kelly said.

But although the system is still chiefly retributive, there are many restorative efforts being made. Drug courts have been established and are bringing with them very positive results and there is now a mental health court-a unique and very necessary innovation.

"No child can address alcohol or drug problems without the help of family and community," said Kelly. Look at the family, he urged, and keep them involved in the community; make sure any existing treatment services become available to the most vulnerable-and that swift but appropriate consequences follow violations. "Most of all, juvenile offenders need to know that everyone wants them to succeed," he concluded.

Women Prisoners' Singular Needs

Theresa de Langis, recently part of a coterie of commissions that studied the women's prison in Goffstown, identified several "systemic problems" regarding the treatment of women inmates. Among them are: 1) parity-the programs in the men's prisons are superior to those offered to women; 2) gender responsiveness-women can't be treated in the same way as men; if you use the same techniques, you may re-traumatize already-damaged women. Special problems faced by women in prison include trying to parent while incarcerated-their children suffer greatly and are at greater risk of becoming offenders themselves, she said.

Most women are regarded as low risk and therefore good candidates for programs other than prison, but they have few resources available to help them find those programs; 71 percent plea bargain and 96.9 percent use public defenders. The rate of recidivism is 50 percent because there is so little opportunity to get a new start on the outside. "There is a pathway to prison for women," said de Langis. "The vast majority have been victims before becoming offenders; many suffer form mental illness and/or substance abuse; usually their addictions begin with self-medication. And many have been assaulted." Both a substance abuse program and further educational opportunities are badly needed at the women's prison.

Funding for New Programs Encouraging

Joe Diament of the adolescent alcohol and drug treatment program, New Futures, began his comments with Einstein's definition of madness: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." It's time to change our methods-doing the same thing over and over isn't working. Especially encouraging is the news that innovative drug court programs have been funded for Laconia, Plymouth, Berlin-Gorham, Lebanon-Claremont and Keene.

Drug courts must work with the whole child, he said-family, schooling, vocation. "Our effort must be strength-based, a holistic treatment that leaves the child stronger and more resilient and we must deal promptly with any traumas, sexual or otherwise."

Prisoner Re-entry a Top Priority Nationally

Mike Thompson, Director of Criminal Justice Programs for the Council of State Governments' (CSG) Eastern Regional Conference, spoke during lunch. Thompson works with policymakers from across the nation to develop bipartisan recommendations regarding the corrections system, prisoner re-entry in particular. As a national legislative priority, he mentioned HR4676-the Second Chance Act. To find out more about the Act, interested parties may visit www.re-entrypolicy.org.

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