Andy Biggs Questions Witness About Integrating Correctional Officers Into Release Decisions

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During a House Judiciary Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) questioned Andy Potter, Founder and Executive Director at One Voice United, about release decisions of inmates.

Transcript

00:00And thank you to our panel again.

00:04So, Mr. Portell, you wrote,

00:07CEOs should be included more in the corrections process

00:09and their experience and insight should inform public policy.

00:13And Mr. Potter, do you agree with that?

00:17Absolutely.

00:18And Mr. Portell, you also wrote,

00:20no one has more insight into an inmate's likelihood

00:22of successfully reintegrating into society

00:25than the CEOs who interact with them daily.

00:28Do you also agree with that, Mr. Potter?

00:30Absolutely.

00:32Can you give me an example on where an idea that you think,

00:36as you represent CEOs, both on the policy

00:40and in particular, if you have,

00:44a policy on how to address inclusion of CEOs

00:48into the procedure of determining reintegration into society?

00:54Yeah, I believe any time there's a consideration for early release,

01:01I think you should include those men and women

01:05that know firsthand how that person has conducted themselves

01:10throughout their time.

01:12I can tell you from my own personal experience,

01:14I've worked with many people that I totally believe should have went home.

01:18They were ready to go home,

01:20but I was not allowed to weigh in on that decision-making.

01:26And I do believe that when you talk to those that are closest

01:29and that spend the most time with these individuals,

01:33sometimes 16 hours a shift, sometimes longer,

01:37they know more about that individual than anybody else in the system.

01:41Mr. Pertel, how would you integrate a CEO into that process?

01:49I do think coming up with a mechanism

01:50to have their voices input into that,

01:53I think that they can both be on an individual level

01:55within the institution on what that individual person is,

02:02what their likelihood is to recidivate,

02:04and what security level they need to be housed at

02:09and all of those things.

02:10I think that that can be taken,

02:12become part of the case file for the individual incarcerated.

02:16But I also think that their voice is at a more broader policy level.

02:21Let's get on the adjudication of whether someone should be released early

02:27and re-entry first before we get to broader policy.

02:30Sure.

02:30And so what I would suggest is that there's an action item

02:33for maybe all four of you,

02:35is to come up with a process and a procedure

02:38to be more inclusive of COs.

02:42And if I could, I'd ask you to get on that

02:46and get us something back.

02:49Maybe Mr. Potter, Mr. Pertel in particular,

02:51you can sit down and do something,

02:53because one of the ways that that happens

02:56is if Congress is aware of it

02:58and can actually build on that.

03:00So I would challenge you to do that.

03:05And Mr. Wild,

03:07what do you think are the factors that most likely predict

03:10whether an inmate will return to prison?

03:12So we often say that nothing magic happens upon release.

03:19What you were doing the day before

03:20is a good indicator of what you'll do afterwards.

03:23And so we've been purposeful

03:25in trying to implement communities of practice

03:27where people practice values of what we call good citizenship.

03:32They're seeking out pro-social community,

03:35that they're taking responsibility,

03:37that they're transitioning from being consumers to producers.

03:39No longer does the world happen to an individual,

03:43but they happen to the world.

03:45And, you know, that those are some of the greatest factors.

03:48And we're situated to come alongside

03:49and provide those skills as well as the support

03:52for people's change journeys.

03:54So, and you've indicated that you've had challenges

03:57perhaps working with BOP

03:59and getting into the system and using your program.

04:03Again, I would urge Mr. Pertel,

04:06I mean, I think that if we don't come out of here

04:11with at least a few action items today,

04:15we're not going to,

04:16we will not have achieved as much as we need to.

04:20And I would encourage us to find a way

04:22to work with both the COs and the faith-based

04:27to see how we can integrate them more fully into helping.

04:30Mr. Milton, do you think that might be helpful?

04:35Sounds like a good solution.

04:38Man, I've never,

04:39I've never heard anybody say that

04:40about any of my ideas before.

04:43Glad to hear that, Mr. Milton.

04:44Well, I appreciate your efforts

04:46and I hope that we can actually begin

04:49to take some steps to get some action items done

04:51and completed to facilitate

04:53certainly the reduction of recidivism

04:56because I think that would make all of us happier.

04:58So, there you go, Matt.

05:01Thank the gentleman.

05:02I will now ask the gentleman

05:03from the great state of Tennessee, Mr. Cohn.

05:07Thank you, Mr. Chair,

05:08and it's an honor to be here on the dais

05:09with a high IQ ranking member.

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