Prevention Works

The Prison Entreneurship Program

PEP Program Prevents Recidivism

A great number of inmates in U.S. prisons possess entrepreneurial skills that they learned on the streets. These inmates, who are former drug dealers, hustlers, and gang leaders, understand the business process. The nonprofit Prison Entrepreneurship Program is dedicated to channeling these ex-offenders’ skills into executive positions in legitimate businesses.

PEP keeps our communities safer by keeping these ex-offenders from returning to lives of crime. The program helps these people become legitimate business people, so that their former illegal business is no longer their only path to success. The organization is effective because it connects ex-offenders with business talent by providing mentoring and MBA-level business courses and by fostering entrepreneurial enthusiasm.

It is fortunate that these former criminals can be part of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Without the skills to get new jobs or start their own businesses, they might not be able to earn a salary, since ex-offenders rarely find employment after they get out of prison. This is because of the reluctance of employers to hire ex-offenders. The problems that many released offenders face in finding employment and obtaining money may lead them back to a life of crime. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at least 650,000 offenders will be released from prison in the coming year, and two-thirds of those people will be rearrested for repeated criminal activity within the next three years. These statistics contrast with the experience of PEP graduates. Of all PEP graduates, only 5 percent have recidivated.

The program upholds the concept of moral decision-making and the importance of spiritual discipline. PEP connects the ex-offenders enrolled in its program with others who have taken a similar path, providing them with a brotherhood that shares a common past and a common goal.

And yet, should people who were criminal entrepreneurs be rewarded for the skills they picked up in their illegal activities? Is it safe to trust these people and put them back in business? Can we be sure that they will not secretly use their legitimate businesses as a cover for more illegal dealings?

The Path to Crime Prevention

Everybody talks about preventing crime, but most of us have no idea how to accomplish that goal. But preventing crime is within your reach, and so is showing that path to others. Here are some suggestions that will help prevent crime and victimization

1. Write to lawmakers and civic officials and express your concerns about victimization.
2. Organize a local group of interested people into an action team, and discuss ways to raise awareness and reduce victimization.
3. Everybody should share instances of victimization they observe through crime prevention websites or blogs and keep aware of what’s happening around them.
4. Remember, when citizens within their own community become actively involved in watching, caring, and protecting their neighborhood, criminal activity is reduced! Active participation is the only way crime watchers can effectively deter criminal behavior.
5. It’s never too early for children to learn about crime prevention. Parents can encourage children by teaching them to read articles about crime prevention.
6. Teachers should also get involved in educating their students in crime prevention activities by conducting crime prevention events (visit www.ncpc.org/training for ideas).
7. Support organizations that help people bring awareness of crime prevention activities by donating to them.
8. Think of crime prevention itself. That will keep you away from crime.
9. Government should work toward recidivism. If offenders are uneducated and unskilled, they will be likely to commit crimes again.
10. We should not only think of crime prevention, but also try to control the factors at the root of crime. The causes of crime include economic situations and poverty and poor social environments and family structures. Children are closely linked to these factors; the offender of tomorrow is often the vulnerable child of today. So we need to teach our children about acceptable social behavior and be supportive of them in any situation.
11. Education is a companion that no misfortune can depress, no crime can destroy, no enemy can alienate, no despotism can enslave.

Cell Phones Gone Wild?

You have heard the stories about sexting in the news lately. Most of the stories take place in schools and involve teenagers. But, what is sexting? Sexting is described as the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between cell phones.

Roughly 20 percent of teens admit to participating in “sexting,” according to a nationwide survey by the National Campaign to Support Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Sexting occurs many times each day. These photos and messages can end up on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, where in many cases they are out there for everyone to see, including law enforcement. In the eyes of law enforcement, many types of sexting are crimes, and sexting can lead to criminal prosecution.

The media has focused attention on sexting cases in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. Ohio’s case involved an 18-year-old girl who committed suicide after a naked picture of herself, which she had texted, was forwarded around her high school.

It is important to teach kids to proactively protect themselves online and through cell phone communication. The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication (I.R.O.C), a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization, helps communities protect themselves through one of their programs. You can also practice the following tips in your home.

• Set up the home computer in a common area.
• Purchase filtering, monitoring, or software blocking tools.
• Only post information that you want everyone to know or see.
• Teach respectful online communication.
• Trust your instincts.  If someone or something online makes you feel uncomfortable, notify your parents or a trusted adult.

Share your thoughts on this subject. Is sexting just another fad in the wave of new technology? Has it been a subject of concern for years and cases now just being called to attention?

How Many Bars Do You Get Behind Bars?

A prisoner, already incarcerated for a drug conviction, was found guilty of using a contraband cell phone from jail to order the murder of a witness in another upcoming trial. The victim, 38 year old Carl Lackl Jr., was gunned down in a drive-by shooting outside his home in Baltimore, a week before he was to testify in that trial. This crime is the most heinous outcome of a growing and startling problem—cell phones and their availability to prisoners behind bars.

Recent simultaneous prisoner disturbances across the country were coordinated through illegal cell phone calls by an incarcerated gang leader in an attempt to establish dominance for his gang. Other crimes, including threats and murder, have been traced back to prisoners ordering “hits” from prison by use of cell phone to intimidate witnesses or settle gangland scores. It would seem a simple solution to jam such signals within the prison walls and nip that kind of communication in the bud. But it is not that easy. The Federal Communications Commission’s regulations prohibit just that. Since 1934, when cell phones were a fantasy of science fiction, it has been illegal to interfere with signals regulated by the FCC. Two bills currently in Congress are intended to address this problem. The Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009 (House bill H.R.560 and Senate bill S.251) propose to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to allow the jamming of cell phone signals within prison walls. Proponents say this would eliminate the illegal conversations that allow drug lords and gang leaders to continue their criminal enterprises while locked up.

CTIA – The Wireless Association (The International Association for the Wireless Communications Industry) sees that proposition differently asserting that (1) such jamming would needlessly inconvenience nearby consumer and public safety wireless users, and (2) it is against the law. CTIA’s questions are: How are prisoners getting access to contraband cell phones? A recent intercepted shipment to a corrections institution from a food services delivery truck that contained 26 cell phones and chargers and other contraband shows us one method.

Another technology, called Intelligent Network Access Controller or INAC, may come to the rescue. This technology enables allowable wireless communications in a prison (or other locale) to an approved subset of users— say, users a warden would approve. While everyday cell phone use is a marvel of today’s technology, their current use by prisoners to access their outside networks and continue to work their nefarious deeds while locked up is unacceptable. We’d like to “hear you now.” Post a comment below and tell us your thoughts.

Have A Safe Summer!

It’s that time of year again; the time that people, especially children, look forward to the most. Yes, you guessed it – it’s summer break time! The time when families go on vacation, children are out of school, the weather is warm and inviting, and the beach is calling. It’s a much needed time for children and parents to relax from the demands of school and work. It can be a time when one may let his or her guard down and not be as attentive as he or she should be.

Unfortunately, criminals do not take a break. Many times, criminals may see this as an opportunity to take advantage of relaxed vigilance. In recent weeks in the Washington, DC, area, sexual predators have entered unlocked doors and windows and preyed upon women. A high school student was sexually assaulted and almost abducted while walking on a wooded path to high school. And in Prince Georges County, a county just outside of the District, home invasion robberies have doubled.

As summertime kicks in, let’s remember to be safe and to teach and remind our children how to be safe. On NCPC’s website, there are hundreds of safety tips directed toward every audience and almost every topic. Below are just some of the examples:

Travel Tips

• If you are about to travel, check out our vacation tips (pdf) and our preparedness guide (pdf) for travelers.
• Don’t let your guard down when driving or filling up the car for that road trip. Look at these tips for car theft (pdf) and gas station theft prevention.

Safety Tips for Children and Youth

• Have your children check out the bike safety and streetwise tips (pdf).
• If your child will be home alone, share these tips with them.
• Review these facts with your teens about how NOT to be a victim of crime.

Safety Tips for Parents and Adults

• If your children will be spending more time on the Internet this summer, share these tips with them to help keep them safe.
• Before you go on vacation, use these convenient checklists for apartments (pdf) and homes (pdf) to help prevent intruders.
• If you want to prevent yourself from being a victim of violent crime, check out this list.

The bottom line is that we all need to continue to be attentive to our surroundings. Protect yourself and your loved ones by reducing the chance for criminals to victimize you and your family. NCPC wants you to have a fun and safe summer!