Review state’s work-release program

In Iowa, some prisoners are granted permission to participate in a work-release program with the stipulation they return to their correctional facility upon completion of their work. But increasingly, it seems, that isn't happening.

State records show the number of prisoners escaping from Iowa correctional facilities while on work release has been increasing during the past four years. For example, the escape rate jumped from 8.8 percent in 2011 to 14 percent in 2014.

Last year, there were 305 work-release escapes in Iowa. Through June 13 of this year, there have been 192 escapes. Based on those figures, officials project there will be 361 escapes in 2015 - another record-breaking year. Obviously, this trend must be reversed.

It is worth noting that the increase in escapes has mirrored an overall increase in participation in Iowa's work-release programs. Whether that increased participation is the cause is something Department of Corrections officials must investigate.

The general concept of work release has a lot of merit - it can provide a helpful transition from prison to parole, helping offenders reacclimate to communities that, often, have changed while they were away. They can provide a less expensive alternative to incarceration for offenders who present little risk to public safety.

But those benefits - societal and budgetary - cease to exist when prisoners walk away from the very program intended to ease their transition to a life without crime. The cost of apprehending, charging, convicting and incarcerating escapees is not insignificant. And although work-release participants generally are not the system's most violent offenders, the risks that escapes could pose to public safety should not be lightly dismissed. Increased participation in work-release programs should not mean an increase in the number of prisoners who walk away and do not return to their correctional facility to serve the remainder of their term.

Corrections officials must waste no time in identifying ways to ensure the program works as intended and protects the public.

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