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Date Posted: 11/ 3/07 5:36pm
Washington Prison Chief Coming To Mass.
Patrick Asks New Chief To Focus On Training, Re-Entry Programs
BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Harold Clarke, the prison chief in Washington state, to be the new commissioner of the Department of Correction in Massachusetts.
Patrick said he tapped Clarke after a nationwide search. He said Clarke will bring strong leadership to the public safety post.
"I think the nominee, designee, is a terrific professional. He has depth and experience and judgment in the area of corrections management. We need strong leadership in our corrections," Patrick told reporters.
Patrick offered Clarke the job late Thursday and gave him a mandate to revamp the Massachusetts prison agency, with more emphasis on re-entry programs and staff training.
"We made some reforms that were thoughtful, proposed by a commission that my predecessor put together, that still need to be implemented," Patrick said. "And we have to start dealing with the fact that we must have a criminal justice strategy which is both firm and fair, which is to say we want swift and certain punishment for the bad guys and girls.
"We also have to deal with the fact that 90 some-odd percent of the people who are in corrections facilities will be released one day, and they need to be released prepared to rejoin a productive society," Patrick added.
The Massachusetts system has 11,000 inmates, 18 facilities and a $500 million budget. That is somewhat smaller than Washington's system, which has 18,000 behind bars and 25,000 offenders under community supervision.
Massachusetts Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke said Clarke "understands public safety needs, the community's needs and how to fix the system."
"We're privileged to get someone of his caliber," he said.
Patrick is the state's first black chief executive. Clarke will be only the second black to head the Massachusetts prison system. Clarke also is president-elect of the American Correctional Association. The first black corrections commissioner in Massachusetts was John O. Boone, who last served 33 years ago.
Clarke, has been acclaimed as one of the country's top corrections officials but has also been a lightning rod in Washington state.
Clarke had been Nebraska's longtime prison chief when Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire Gregoire chose him to join her cabinet when she was inaugurated in January 2005. His wife, Marie, has been an assistant attorney general.
Clarke came under fire over the deaths of three King County lawmen at the hands of ex-cons last fall. Two Seattle police officers were killed in separate car crashes with ex-convicts, while a third ex-convict shot and killed a county sheriff.
Shortly thereafter, Clarke faced criticism for the release of dozens of convicts, mostly in King County, before they served their full jail sentences for violating their probation.
Clarke also was criticized by the corrections employees, who complained about prison overcrowding and Clarke's own style and performance. Some union workers had called for a no-confidence vote, but it never was taken.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts correction officers' union did not immediately return a call for comment.
Gregoire accepted Clarke's resignation Friday and thanked him for his "significant contributions to public safety in Washington."
Gregoire, like Patrick a Democrat, has been assailed by her Republican critics for the administration's handling of prisons, particularly for the crimes committed by ex-felons who return to the streets.
Gregoire did not request the resignation, her staff said, but she was clearly distressed at being seen as bumbling on the public safety issue. She served 12 years as Washington's attorney general and has long considered crime-fighting one of her strengths.
She made glancing note of the controversy in her statement. "This has not been an easy task for Harold or his family and on behalf of the people of Washington, I thank him for his service," Gregoire said.
The governor did credit Clarke with designing a re-entry program for inmates who return to their home communities and said he has improved the state's 15 prisons.
Clarke's resignation is effective Nov. 23. He'll take over the top post in Massachusetts shortly thereafter.
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