Mentors Can Help Parolees Avoid Crime : Lancaster council backs a networking program that can help save taxpayers money

These days, it’s easy to find folks who feel that prison inmates have it too easy. The refrain: too much cost, too many privileges, too many conjugal visits, too much gym time that merely allows them to become bigger, stronger criminals. But such thinking can go too far.

The goal must be to punish and offer a better chance for the parolee on the outside. If we ignore the latter, chances are greater that they will prey on other innocents, and that we will have to pay to keep them behind bars again. One who understands that better than most is Ron Deady, pre-release coordinator for the state prison in Lancaster.

Deady, an ex-Air Force pilot, counselor and high school teacher, is launching the Lazarus Project. The idea is simple: provide a selected number of parolees convicted of relatively low-level crimes with “mentors” on the outside.

“This country has a huge network of service clubs, clubs, church groups and other organizations. I believe its members can be the key to attacking the crime problem,” Deady has said. He added that the mentors “will meet regularly with the ex-inmates. They will give the parolees advice, counseling and contacts.”

First, Deady sold the program to the Lancaster Rotary Club, of which he is a member. The Lancaster City Council also has voted its approval, and two council members will be mentors. This week the first group of 10 mentors will take a class. They will be warned of potential pitfalls, such as manipulative ex-cons who see the mentors as a source of financial aid. Our one concern here is related: that these mentor-parolee meetings be conducted in a safe environment.

Deady is realistic about the chances for success, and wants a university to study Lazarus’ effectiveness. Parole officers and the City Council ought to follow along closely, too. The good news is that every parolee who succeeds from Lazarus would represent thousands of dollars in annual taxpayer savings on future incarceration. That’s a goal worth striving for. If this program can be conducted safely and successfully, we hope other groups decide to get involved.