Community Corrections

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

The Berkeley County Community Corrections Program is a multi-faceted approach developed and aimed at tackling the opioid epidemic here in the heart of the Appalachia. It was initially formed with the intent to create a cost-effective and results-oriented alternative to jail time, which included the goal of reducing recidivism rates for those with substance use disorder. The Community Corrections Program works in partnership with law enforcement, the judiciary, government agencies and community resources to reduce the impact of drugs and incarceration by enabling offenders to support their community and facilitate their societal re-entry as an alternative to the negative impacts of isolation.Challenges in our area related to substance abuse have been increasingly difficult to address due to amplification by intense surges in population which have also been accompanied by increased drug trafficking. An intelligent and powerful program was necessary to combat the mounting obstacles with which we were faced. The Community Corrections Program serves this purpose, and has continued to help to mitigate the damage to our community while greatly reducing recidivism rates through continued work with those affected.By integrating community corrections programming into our existing public safety infrastructure, we’ve seen great results while simultaneously mitigating costs. It is a vital component which we have come to depend on and continue to nurture, grow, and improve upon with the intent of providing a successful model which another County may utilize to combat their own challenges with substance abuse.