Alaska has the US’s highest recidivism rate and a programme will allow prisoners to work for last six months of their sentence.
According to a plan presented by Alaska Department of Corrections Commissioner, Dean Williams, certain inmates will be able finish their sentences working in seafood plants in Unalaska, Alaska as reported in the Artic Sound.
Williams said local support is needed for the program which will also allow inmates to live in bunkhouses during the last six months of their sentences.
“We do a lot of training behind the walls,” he said, adding that the seafood industry can provide life skills such as carpentry, welding, refrigeration, and heating and air conditioning.
Williams said one Unalaska plant is already interested and he had discussed the program with Trident Seafoods.
According to the Pew Research, Alaska has some of the United States’ highest recidivism rates, with many released prisoners reoffending within six months.
