Harley Lappin

Director, CORECIVIC INC

Search every verified Harley Lappin interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Harley Lappin, then Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, spoke at the FedCURE 8 event on September 17, 2011, about reentry and the Bureau's use of community correction centers. Lappin stated that preparing inmates for reentry is a high priority and described the Bureau's three-fold mission as protecting the public, providing a safe environment for inmates and employees, and offering programs to help inmates adopt a crime-free lifestyle. He noted that the Bureau was implementing an inmate skills development initiative to unify programs into a comprehensive reentry strategy, citing research showing that participation in work, vocational, education, and substance abuse treatment programs reduces recidivism. Lappin discussed the use of residential reentry centers, or halfway houses, to help inmates transition from custody to community life. He reported that for the year ending March 2009, 30,120 inmates were released through halfway houses, representing 80% of those appropriate for such placement. Lappin identified limitations including the number of existing contracts and beds, tight budgets, and public opposition to halfway houses in communities. He added that the Bureau was conducting research on whether extended halfway house placements lead to increased failures and would continue balancing individual inmate needs with the duty to use limited resources.