Fewer IN inmates sent back to prison

CARLISLE, Ind. (WTHI) - Inmates in Indiana prisons are less likely to return to prison for new crimes than inmates in neighboring states, according to a new national report.

The Pew Center for the States reported Wednesday that 37.8 percent of Indiana inmates who were released from prison between 2004 and 2007 wound up back behind bars for new crimes within three years.

In Illinois, 51.7 percent were sent back to prison.

Those who work in Indiana prisons credited new educational, vocational and drug-abuse programs in prison for the state’s lower re-entry rate.

“If they leave with those tools, they have a much, much better chance of being successful,” said Jack Hendrix, assistant superintendent of re-entry at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle, Ind.

Jack Hendrix said new inmates are first evaluated and put into programs that meet their needs.

Among those programs is an education program supported by Ivy Tech College.

“You let them earn a little success and you've given them something that they can't buy or steal,” said Jim Hendrix, an Ivy Tech educator at the prison. “If there's anything we can offer that will make a difference in their lives, it's education.”