KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A cutting edge criminal justice reform program that is preventing crimes, saving Kalamazoo County taxpayers money, and turning lives around is at risk of being cut.
Kalamazoo County Community Corrections Director Ken Bobo says the local Cognitive Behavioral Treatment program is the largest in the state.
Bobo says the “I Must Think” program use the same methods as the diet plan Noom, working to change the mindset of repeat offenders. He says a new five year study shows it’s working.
The Western Michigan University research project shows over half of the CBT program graduates, many of whom were career criminals with multiple arrests, do not re-offend. The study estimates its prevented thousands of crimes over the last three to four.
Bobo says the program has run out of the money for the restorative justice program, and unless he can convince the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners to approve more money, it may have to be eliminated. He says they have the support of the courts and Prosecutor Jeff Gettings.
The five year study tracked program participants and compared their recidivism rates with offenders who failed to show up, or dropped out. It shows at one year intervals, participants were twice as likely to have stayed out of trouble.
Researcher Patrick Cundiff from WMU’s Sociology Department described it this way in his study. “Offenders who graduated from the program were 65% less likely to have been rearrested. This program continues to demonstrate a significant impact on recidivism and has proven successful at reducing the likelihood of reoffending over a considerable period of time.”
Comments