The Salvation Army:

Less than $10,000.

That’s how much the Salvation Army reckons it costs a year to keep a person out of prison.

If they fail, the cost to society to house that person in jail is closer to $100,000.

Luckily they don’t fail too often. Even when dealing with hardened criminals.

Glen Buckner heads the Army’s Reintegration Services.

His reintegration team is 32-strong and spread around the country, from Invercargill to Auckland. That small group works with about 500 released prisoners each year (it was 40 only 11 years ago) as part of a contract they hold with Corrections to support prisoners who have been inside for two or more years.

It’s one of five contracts the Army has with Corrections.

Buckner’s team helps those released to find accommodation, but also supports them in the kind of things that most other people take for granted: opening bank accounts, getting IDs, jobs, even rebuilding relationships with their own families.

‘‘We don’t have a plan that fits everybody,’’ says Buckner, ‘‘we interview the individual, we get referrals while they’re in prison predominantly, so we can build relationships with them while they are in prison, find out what their needs are.’’

Those needs are often the same as anybody else’s: shelter, warmth, food and work. And above all, stability.

It’s just that they are a great deal harder for people who re-enter society with few ‘‘tools in their kitty bag’’ when things don’t go well.

‘‘Bank accounts are a huge issue for our clients,’’ says Buckner. ‘‘Winz can be quite a closed space for our guys as well, due to past experiences . . . some of the debt that they already have.’’

Housing too; it’s hard enough for most people these days, let alone someone with a criminal record.

Some of those supported by the Salvation Army will get their own property, others will share theirs with fellow released prisoners.

‘‘We rent properties around the country, with nearly 100 beds that we rotate anything up to four times a year, because the clients can stay up to three months. Sometimes they stay less, sometimes they stay more.’’

It’s not free. ‘‘They pay a dollar value towards the rent to live there; it’s definitely not market rent.’’

With stable accommodation sorted, Buckner and his team can then help the person with other support in the community, including access to mental health and addiction services, and reconnecting with family, friends and their children.

They can also help them find a job. That’s another huge obstacle.

‘‘One of the biggest challenges is the community and the [offenders’] access to employment, their access to finances and support because of the prejudice, which is in all levels of their engagement.

‘‘The person they deal with at the doctor might have a prejudice against them, the person at the bank, the person at Winz, who they first go and sit in front of. You’ve got all these main contributors to their success being roadblocks at times.

Buckner thinks that’s a shame, because support and reintegration works.

‘‘Our success rate is over 70 per cent for keeping our clients out two years or longer.’’

That’s an extraordinary success given that Corrections’ own figures show that 60 per cent of its total inmate population are back inside within two years of release. And all for the cost of less than $10,000 per person.

It’s not about the Salvation Army, says Buckner, it’s simply about providing support. ‘‘The bottom line is that if people come out of prison and get adequate support they are more likely to stay out of prison,’’ he says.

Not every person leaving jail is supported by the Army or the other agencies. A large number fall by the wayside.

Buckner is convinced, however, that the number would be a lot smaller if society was more concerned with offering some assistance rather than simply locking up more people. ‘‘One of the biggest issues is that people want people locked up in New Zealand, which is really sad. We need, as a community, to take more ownership of what’s happening in our communities, to stop people making wrong choices. If we can help our clients make better choices then there’s going to be fewer victims.’’