Second Chance Society to help people get Connecticut jobs
Posted on February 8, 2015
The state has just unveiled Second Chance Society, a program that has initiatives to continue the progress being made in reducing the state’s dropping crime rate, which is currently at a 48-year low, as well ensuring nonviolent offenders are being reintegrated into society, a move that will help ex-convicts get Connecticut jobs.
Governor Malloy is proposing to take action on five key areas:
Reclassifying certain nonviolent offenses
Eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug possession
Streamlining our parole system to make it more efficient and effective
Streamlining our pardons system to give ex-offenders a greater chance at employment
Creating real job and housing opportunities for ex-offenders
Over the last four years in Connecticut, a number of new initiatives have been implemented that are having a strong impact on reducing the crime rate in the state. These include:
Reforms to the juvenile justice system, working to close the school to prison pipeline
Restoration of the state’s crime lab to eliminate backlogs and restore it to best-in-the-nation status
Integration of federal, state, and local law enforcement into communities through community policing and programs such as Project Longevity
Removal of dangerous guns from the streets with gun buy backs, and approval of gun violence prevention legislation
Targeting violent offenders in communities and putting them away for longer sentences
“Because of these policies, fewer innocent people have been victimized and violent offenders are serving more time in prison than ever before,” Governor Malloy said. “But we can’t be a perpetually punitive society. We have to do better in Connecticut. We have to become a Second Chance Society where we don’t permanently punish nonviolent offenders, swelling our prisons and creating lifetime criminals out of people who made one mistake. Let’s focus on effective solutions that break the cycle of crime and make our communities safer.”