Mitchell Byars' article (Daily Camera, Feb. 16) on the Boulder County FOCUS program brought much-needed attention to the issue of prisoner reentry.

In the 1970s our criminal justice system experienced major philosophical shifts away from the ideals of rehabilitation to more punitive approaches centered on incarceration. Detention and incapacitation became the principal strategies for public safety, and legislators created new laws -- mandatory minimums, truth-in-sentencing,

zero-tolerance, three strikes -- to "get tough" on crime. The result was a massive increase in the prison and jail population throughout the U.S., which currently sits at about 2.5 million people -- the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world.

But the irony is that these policies aren't tough on crime. Instead they are tough on families, communities, and government budgets, and often make crime easier and more prevalent. That's because 95 percent of people currently behind bars will be released and they will return to their communities with significant disadvantages: restricted employment eligibility, limited access to welfare and other subsidies, and often untreated addictions and mental health issues. Two-thirds of those released will violate the terms of their parole or commit another crime within three years of release, sending them back to prison or jail at a tremendous cost to taxpayers and governments, as well as untold damage to families, local communities, and overall public safety.

Despite their ideological

appeal, there is limited evidence that "tough on crime" policies actually reduce criminal behavior. Concerned more with supervision and control -- not rehabilitation -- these policies create a regulatory environment that increases the likelihood that people will recidivate based on technical violations, not criminal activity. Any misstep (like missing a child support payment or failing a drug test) constitutes a parole violation and can send people back behind bars. From 1980-1998 the number of people reincarcerated for violating parole or other conditions of their release increased sevenfold.

This is why reentry mentoring programs like FOCUS are so important. Post-release involves a complicated arrangement of responsibilities to a variety of disconnected agencies, making these obligations very difficult for ex-prisoners to achieve despite their best intentions. Requirements for employment, housing, and rehabilitation, for example, often have conflicting schedules and separate reporting agencies located throughout the county. Mentors help ex-prisoners navigate this territory. And because the program is voluntary, mentoring reduces the adversarial relationship that comes with mandatory post-release requirements.

I've been studying the FOCUS mentoring program for several years to learn more about their success. Along with my colleague Brittany Peterson from Ohio University, we talked with numerous people involved in the FOCUS program, from mentors and ex-prisoners to police officers and correctional officials. In a study coming out later this year in the Journal of Applied Social Science, we found that mentoring programs like FOCUS are effective because they address the underlying causes of recidivism, not just the visible effects. We argue that recidivism is primarily a communication breakdown of being cut off from networks and meaningful relationships that provide the necessary social capital needed for successful reintegration. Obeying the law is not simply a function of choosing not to commit crimes; it also results from having sufficient access to resources and opportunities -- social capital -- that make criminal activity unfavorable and less likely.

The concern for most ex-prisoners, however, is that incarceration has cut them off from networks that provide social capital, making it difficult to manage the complexities of post-release life. Most face a "communication deficit" because they have few people in their lives that provide a safe context for meaningful and constructive dialogue. This is where mentors are most helpful. Mentoring provides a supportive context to offset to the punitive and controlling aspects of the criminal justice system and increases the chances that ex-prisoners will reintegrate into society more successfully.

Whether you're concerned about human dignity, safe communities, or balanced budgets, reentry mentoring programs are something we can all support. The partnership between FOCUS Reentry and the Boulder County Jail is one such example to provide a best-practice model for other communities.

Matthew Koschmann is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder.