Is there a path to a successful and productive life after imprisonment?

On July 8, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson announced the formation of a new task force focused on helping those formerly incarcerated or with a criminal history seek productive futures when they return to society.

The Advocates for Restorative Communities in Savannah (ARCS) will bring together experts, including formerly incarcerated people, who currently work with those in the justice system.

The goal is pooling their collective experiences to best serve those returning to Savannah from prison and help them toward a path of success.

Georgia Southern University's Maxine Bryant, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, is playing a lead role in the task force.

According to Bryant, about 4% of all those in Georgia’s prisons call Chatham County home. Bryant says last year Georgia’s Department of Corrections reported there were around 53,000 people inside their prisons.

“Four percent, that’s about 2,000 people, people who are currently incarcerated are probably going to be returning back to Chatham County,” said Bryant. “You add that year after year after year, and then it becomes clear that if we don’t do something, we are a part of the problem, and not the solution.”

Bryant added two out of every three people who are released are rearrested within three years.

“Not all of those arrests are new crimes,” she said. “Some of them are technical difficulties, technical violations. They couldn’t pay a fine because they didn’t have a job.”  June 08 - WTOC TV

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Maxine Bryant’s research interest specifically focuses on factors contributing to the successful community reintegration of released prisons. Specifically, she has written and presented on transitional jobs for newly released prisoners, the role of the Black church in successful offender reintegration, the impact of unaddressed childhood trauma and barriers to successful offender reintegration. She is available to speak with media any time – simply click on her icon to arrange an interview today.