Director, Corecivic
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.
“Preparing inmates for reentry into the community is a very high priority of the Bureau of Prisons. Our mission is three-fold: to protect the public, provide a safe environment for inmates and employees, and to offer programs that help inmates adopt a crime-free lifestyle upon return to the community.”
“We are currently implementing the inmate skills development initiative which will unify inmate programs and services into a comprehensive re-entry strategy, based on rigorous research showing that participation in work, vocational, education, and substance abuse treatment programs reduces recidivism.”
“The Bureau of Prisons uses community-based residential reentry centers, also known as halfway houses, to help inmates adjust from custody to community life by providing supervised environments, job placement counseling, and other re-entry initiatives.”
“For the one-year period ending March 2009, we released 30,120 inmates through halfway houses, which is 80% of the 37,635 inmates appropriate for such placement prior to their release as part of community-based programs.”
FedCURE-8 | Second Look | Panel Four | Good Time, Community Corrections and Re-Entry | Harley G. Lappin, Director, Federal ...
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