Back into society

Prisons may be out of sight and out of mind to many, but the inmates in them are not locked away forever, for the most part.

“Ninety-six percent of the people in prison are going to come out and be in our communities,” says Anne L. Precythe.

Director of Community Corrections for the N.C. Department of Public Safety, Precythe visited Salisbury in the fall of 2015 and shared statistics with the Salisbury Rotary Club.

• 22,959 people exited state prisons in 2014, including 564 in Rowan, 388 in Cabarrus and 1,428 in Mecklenburg.

• 102,000 offenders are under some type of supervision statewide.

• 10,000 unsupervised offenders are sentenced to complete community service.

• 2,014 people are on probation in Rowan County, compared to 1,700 in Cabarrus County and 5,619 in Mecklenburg.

• 2,500 personnel work in community corrections statewide, including 61 in Rowan, 48 in Cabarrus and 172 in Mecklenburg.

The state has renewed focus on prison education and training programs to prepare inmates for re-entry into the community, Precythe says.

“The road begins the first day the person enters the prison system.”