Prison bosses from 72 nations meet at Colorado Springs conference

COLORADO SPRINGS — Hosting an international conference of prison leaders would have been a highlight of Tom Clements’ life; instead his murder, allegedly at the hands of a parolee, became a stark example of the limitations of prisons.

The memory of the reform-minded former chief of Colorado prisons was repeatedly invoked Monday at the International Corrections and Prisons Association conference in Colorado Springs — often to recall his passion for fixing broken lives.

“He was so excited about this conference coming here,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “He was a great believer in the potential and redemption of people. …Tom would love this. He would love everything you are doing this week.”

More than 500 delegates from 72 countries from Namibia to the Netherlands are attending the week-long conference in large part to look at ideas for reducing a world prison population of more than 10 million inmates — one out of four from North America alone.

The conference’s theme is “Thinking outside the cell: reducing the use of imprisonment.” Among the attendees was William R. Brownfield, the U. S. Secretary of State’s assistant secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Brownfield noted in an interview with The Denver Post that assisting foreign nations in developing effective corrections programs is the last phase of a 40-year initiative by the U.S. to curtail the international drug market. It started in 2006 and includes a training center in Cañon City supported by his federal department.

In many countries, drug lords essentially run prisons, which doesn’t give rehabilitation much of a chance of success, he said. Corrections is often the weakest link in a chain that includes law enforcement and the judicial system. If prisons are weak they will “cough” offenders out who are “more hardened and dangerous criminals. It’s a vicious cycle,” he said during a keynote address Monday.

Tineke De Waele of Belgium, the executive director of ICPA, said conference workshops are focused on alternatives to prison and ideas for moving inmates safely into the community.

While prisons are crucial for keeping citizens safe, they are costly and often serve as learning centers for other types of crime, she said.

“It is important that all countries look for alternatives to incarceration,” De Waele said.

Ruben Fernandez Lima, director general of prevention and social rehabilitation for the state of Mexico in Mexico, is attending the conference with a large group of Mexican prison experts. He said his country is seeking ways to rehabilitate offenders, rather than imprison them.

“I do believe that at this point in the world, prisons are at a breaking point,” Fernandez Lima said, referring to the rapidly expanding prison population. “We need to decide what kind of prisons we want for people who commit crimes.”

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kmitchelldp