From Dan Tepfer, CT Post:
For the second time in two months police say a dangerous felon escaped from the Maple Street halfway house, just weeks after an inmate walked out and allegedly killed a University of Bridgeport student.
The news shocked the district’s councilwoman and a neighborhood activist who are now demanding that more be done to ensure residents are safe and secure.
“I am concerned about the safety of the neighborhood,” said Councilwoman Lydia Martinez, who had not been aware of the escapes until Wednesday. “I intend to talk to the mayor about it and see what we can put into place.”
Read more: here.
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*** The DOC and powers that be are not screening these inmates’ criminal history records well enough and are allowing inmates with too much time left on their sentence to qualify for these halfway houses. Anyone with a history of violence on their criminal records and with more than two years left on their sentence should not be at a halfway house! Also while at a halfway house these inmates must be kept busy with community service, drug and alcohol classes, education on preparing for and getting a job, job training, anger management classes, GED classes, Sunday religious classes, all with three strikes and you’re out back to jail rules and regulations. Supervised family support, visits, etc. should be encouraged by the facility. But it’s all about numbers and pushing inmates out in order to cut co$t without any real thought on public safety! ‘Til voters start calling and complaining to their local legislators and making political and legal noise, nothing will get much better but the excuses, no? ***