Experts review US prison system

WASHINGTON » President Donald Trump has promoted a tough- on- crime agenda at the White House. But he says the nation needs to find ways to help inmates eventually re- enter society.

Searching for conservative solutions on criminal justice, Trump convened a group of governors, faithbased leaders and experts on Thursday to “break this vicious cycle” and find ways of bringing job training, mentoring and drug addiction treatment to the nation’s prison population.

“We have a great interest in helping them turn their lives around, get a second chance and make our communities safe,” Trump said at the White House. He added, “Wewill be very tough on crime but we will provide a ladder of opportunity for the future.”

The round-table discussion, which included Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Republican Govs. Matt Bevin of Kentucky and Sam Brownback of Kansas and others, focused on finding ways to help non-violent prisoners learn new skills to help themtransition from incarceration.

Bevin pointed out that 95 percent of the nation’s prison population will eventually be released. “What are we doing as a society, at the federal level, at the state level, at the local levels, what are we doing to ensure that they have been rehabilitated and they can be reassimilated?” Bevin asked. “We’re good at removing but we need to do more than simply remove people from society.”

The steps are aimed at reducing the rate of recidivism. As Trump noted, the Justice Department has reported that approximately two-thirds of the more than 650,000 exoffenders released from prison every year are rearrested within three years.

Trump discussed potential changes to the prison system with lawmakers and Cabinet members at Camp David earlier in the month.