A report says hiring additional probation officers, creating a tax credit for businesses that hire offenders and expanded training programs can help Arkansas reduce the number of former inmates who go back behind bars.
State Community Correction officials on Tuesday detailed two dozen recommendations aimed at reducing the number of prisoners who re-offend after being released. Legislation signed into law last year required recommendations to cut the state's recidivism rate, defined as the number of former inmates who return to prison within three years of release. The state's recidivism rate is currently 42 percent.
The report recommends hiring 201 additional probation and parole officers, a move officials say would ease the workload currently faced. It also calls for creating a tax credit for businesses that hire former prisoners.
