News for Immediate Release
Dec. 10, 2014
Corrections Department Secretary
Named to National Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections
Harrisburg -- Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, this week was named as a
member of the national Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections.
The committee members were announced in Washington, D.C., by Task Force
Chairman J.C. Watts, Jr. and Vice Chairman Alan B. Mollohan.
“Secretary Wetzel has led Pennsylvania’s
successful criminal justice reform efforts and I am confident that he will
bring new and innovative concepts to the task force table,” Gov. Tom Corbett
said. “I am pleased that a national organization is recognizing Secretary
Wetzel’s expertise.”
As
part of the nine-person, bipartisan, blue ribbon task force, Wetzel and other
members are charged with addressing the challenges in the federal corrections
system.
The
task force will:
-
Undertake a comprehensive analysis of relevant federal criminal justice data;
identify factors driving the growth in prison populations; study “lessons
learned" from successful state-level justice reinvestment initiatives; and
evaluate current and potential criminal justice policies, including the
cost-effectiveness of spending on corrections.
-
Examine overcrowding in federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities and options
to avert continued growth in the system population; measures to address
overcrowding within facilities; violence in the system, including gang
violence, and improved public safety measures; prison rehabilitation and
employment programs; and reentry programs and policies to reduce
recidivism.
-
Develop practical, data-driven policy options to increase public safety,
improve offender accountability, reduce recidivism, and control growth of
spending on corrections.
- Prepare and submit a report that contains
a statement of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Congress,
Attorney General and President, not later than 12 months after its first
meeting.
The task force, which will convene for
five meetings in 2015, will hold its first meeting in January. In
addition to the meetings, a number of roundtable discussions will be held to gather and understand the diverse perspectives and
experiences of relevant stakeholders, practitioners and national experts.
Funding
for the task force was approved Jan. 17, 2014, under the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2014, and it mandated that the Department of Justice
(DOJ) establish and support the operations of the task force.
The
need for the task force is due to the fact that the federal prison population
has grown by a factor of eight since 1980, with 214,000 prisoners at the close
of fiscal year 2014. While fiscal year 2014 saw the first reduction in the
federal prison population in 34 years, the consequences of the unprecedented
growth that predated that decline are both far-reaching and long-lasting.
“I
tasked Secretary Wetzel with improving our state corrections agency,” said Gov.
Corbett. “He and the hard working men and women of the Department of
Corrections have made significant changes that have resulted in Pennsylvania’s
prison system experiencing its first reduction in its inmate population growth
in more than 24 years. In addition, his use of incentive-based contract
language in the area of community corrections is beginning to show a reduction
in offender recidivism. It is an honor for Pennsylvania’s successes to be
shared at the national level.”
To learn more about the task force, visit http://www.colsontaskforce.org
Media contact: Susan McNaughton,
PA DOC, 717-728-4025
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