Prison Programs Need Leadership
Bob Sipchen’s magazine review of May 7 has one allegation that calls for response. The headline “The Riots Behind Us, Let the Debates Begin” invites it.
On Newsweek and Chief Daryl Gates, the review says: “ . . . any working cop would agree with him that parole and probation don’t work. ‘They’re useless,’ Gates says. ‘A recent study by the Rand Corp. determined that within two years, two-thirds of those released in probation commit crimes that lead to their rearrest.’ ”
But parole and probation do work when given effective leadership with trained and adequately compensated correctional officers. Probation and parole save people and costs, compared to imprisonment.
The same principle applies to public education, health care, environmental protection, civil-rights advocacy, economic justice, delinquency prevention, police service, police-community relations . . .
J. WALTER COBB
Los Angeles
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