Reintegration and Recovery
What has the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office done to stop recidivism? In August of 2007, the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center experienced a soaring recidivism rate of 70-75% among the overall inmate population. With public outcries to reduce tax burdens, limited funding resources, and the population explosion plaguing the county jail, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa began to look at options for reducing the recidivism rate. The population explosion had a common theme—substance use and/or abuse. With this in mind, the Reintegration and Recovery Program evolved to address these problematic behaviors. Selected inmates are offered a therapeutic environment developed specifically to reduce the recidivism rate among offenders through a multi-systemic approach encompassing education and case management specific to the offender’s identified issues that led to the offender’s criminality and substance abuse.