Family & Corrections Network
The
Second North American Conference on
Fathers Behind Bars and on the Street
November 6-8, 2002 St. Louis, MO
Banquet Address: Transcript of remarks
Gary D. Kempker, Director Missouri Department of Corrections
Thank you, and good evening.
It is really an honor to be here with you tonight. When I received this invitation and looked at the background information, I thought that this was really an important effort. I’ve only been working in the Department of Corrections for about a year and a half. I’ve spent about 25 years of career in traditional law enforcement doing everything from working in a prosecutor’s office to work as a police chief, to work as a street officer to running the Department of Public Safety. I will tell you I thought I knew a lot about criminal justice when I came to this position. And what I found out is that I know a lot about law enforcement, maybe. Maybe some people will argue with that, but certainly I only know a part about criminal justice. And I will be honest with you, I have had to reevaluate some of my attitudes and adjust some of my beliefs that I’ve held pretty firmly.
The work you do in your states is truly exciting for criminal justice. Not just for the program you operate, for criminal justice. I’m going to talk briefly about what I think are some attitudinal reasons why it’s important that we are supportive and involved in these type of initiatives and then Kathy is going to get more into the nuts and bolts of what’s going on in this state. I referred earlier to the criminal justice system, and in truth I would have to admit that it is probably anything but a system. A system indicates that there are various parts that all work together. And the truth of our criminal justice system is they don’t work together. As I mentioned, I worked for 25 years in law enforcement before I came over to corrections, and I would tell you I wish I knew a fraction of what I’ve learned in the last year and a half when I was a street police officer. So it has really been an enlightening position for me. This is one of the tougher positions that I’ve held for a lot of reasons. We were talking earlier about the stereotypes and belief that people who do what we do are uncaring bureaucrats that abuse authority and could care less about those we supervise and have charge of. And I learned very quickly over the years that that’s just not the case. And while we all have our poor examples in our professions, I will tell you that there are people in this country and in this profession that genuinely care about making a difference and helping people come back to their communities better than they left them. And that’s a charge that I take very seriously.
With the financial challenges we all face, it’s real easy to say that there’s just no money and therefore we can’t do anything. Our governor has challenged us, Kathy and I, and the other Department directors have told us this isn’t the time to throw up your hands and say there’s no money, we can’t do anything. This is the time you show leadership. This is the time you show what resources we have to be used at our best advantage. And many of the programs, when I look down the list at the topics or workshops that are being provided here, this is exactly what he’s talking about.
When I became a police chief back in the ‘80s, one of the things that I thought made more sense to me than anything I’d ever seen, was community policing. And without giving you a primer on community policing, I will tell you it’s the re-thinking of how criminal justice and policing fits into society today. And there are some basic principles, some of those principles go back to Sir Robert Beale of 1829, but things like, first of all we have to admit we can’t solve this problem by ourselves. Secondly, we have to recognize that we can do our job best by forming partnerships. Partnerships with people like you. And finally, we have to look at root causes that cause, that contribute to the problems we face today.
In the state of Missouri today there are about 48,000 people that are on probation. There are about 11,000 on parole. In our institutions, 21 institutions across the state, there are over 30,000 offenders incarcerated. About 90 percent of those are male offenders. Over 12,000 of these are fathers. And part of our charge is to recognize that 98 percent of those that are incarcerated are someday going to go home - to their community. And we have to realize that there are structures, and there are issues at home that can help them be successful.
Today we gain between three and four offenders in our system. And tomorrow we will gain somewhere between three and four again and we will continue to populate our prisons. Not because judges are sentencing more people, it’s because people continue to be unsuccessful when they. And that’s where the root cause issue really comes in. What structure and what issues contribute to the fact that they are not successful? One of those factors, we know, absolutely, are those family ties, to their children and to others that are important to them. If we don’t pay attention to that while they are incarcerated, as they make their way back home, and as they adjust back home, they will not be successful. We know that. So to ignore it is not only careless, it’s not good fiscal management. You have to realize that we have a limited amount of money and with the money we have, it’s in our interest, not just their interest, it’s in our interest to make sure we give them the best shot they got. And support programs that increase the likelihood that they continue can be productive.
We know that a bond between a parent and family is the glue that holds our entire society together. Not just those that have been incarcerated, our entire society. That’s the glue. If you look around here, and we know we have people here who have offended, and we have people who haven’t offended, one of the reasons some people have not offended is not because the threat of the law, it’s because of their family. Because of structures and things that are valuable in their life that has deterred them. The more we can contribute and the more we can support that, the less crime in this society will ever deal with.
I know this probably sounds a little strange from a former police chief that worked for the prosecutor’s office as I mentioned, and the roles that I filled. But let me tell you something. I went to a meeting last week and law enforcement is starting to talk about the same things. Because they’ve started to realize we’ve been doing what we’ve doing an awful long time, and we continue to see the people we’ve been seeing. And there has to be a way, a better way, to do it. I will also tell you that when times are good and there is a lot of money around, there’s not a lot of change. And our governor will tell you that. He’s told Kathy and I that. It’s when there’s no money when it forces you to look at what you’re doing in your organization and look at cross organizations. And that’s really the value of some of the programs you’re hearing about tonight and during the workshop, is its partnerships. And it goes back to what I said about community policing and the value of partnerships. It’s not what we can do as a Department of Corrections, its what we can do if we collaborate and cooperate with the Department of Social Services, or the Department of Mental Health, or the Department of Health, or whatever departments are out there. When we join hands and look for duplications, look for the philosophies that oppose each other, is when we have an opportunity to do a whole lot more than we’ve ever done with a whole lot less.
One of the programs that I was most impressed with was Long Distance Dads. And that’s a small part of the overall program that this conference is about, but I think it has those principles that are so important. And that’s an experience we have in Missouri that I think demonstrates the value of that program, and all other programs, which have that same philosophy. It started out in 2000 in the Department of Corrections and since that time has been expanded into seven more facilities. We have more than 150 offenders that have successfully completed that program and point to that as something that’s really changed their lives and given them that advantage that they didn’t have before. And I will tell you when you continue to support those activities, not just because it’s the right thing to do, and I personally think it is the right thing to do, it’s also fiscally responsible.
The National Institute of Corrections selected Missouri as one of two states that were to participate in the Transition from Prison to Community Initiative. And when I look at that program, I said that it’s. It is the kind of program that we need: to look at root causes; to form partnerships: to avoid duplication; to make the best of our resources. It is smart corrections, smart social services, smart help, and smart government.
So again, I welcome your partnership. I want to tell you we recognize that the way to future is through those partnerships and finding the best way to use the resources we have, putting our heads together to make the best of it. We are very proud of the partnership with Kathy Martin and the Department of Social Service. Elections were yesterday and if I were to tell a new governor anything I would say, when you select your cabinet look not only at their professional credentials, but also at their ability to work across party lines, to have an open mind, and a philosophy of doing the most they can with other departments.