EXIT Pod: Slowing the Jail's Revolving Door Through Community Partners

About the Program

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

Year: 2020

A collaborative pre-release program is tackling both recidivism and jail overcrowding, while saving tax payers money. Since 2015, the Hamilton County Justice Center population has operated approximately 17% above capacity and recidivism hovers around 35% each year in Hamilton County. The Exit Pod, created in 2017 as a pilot project to address these concerns, creates pre-release plans for 16 men housed at the Justice Center. The Exit Pod employs evidence-based practices such as cognitive restructuring while connecting inmates to community-based resources to reduce recidivism and ease jail overcrowding. The success of the Exit Pod is noteworthy – a 9% recidivism rate for men who have been released for 12 months from the Pod. The Exit Pod model not only reduces recidivism, it is also cost effective.