President Obama praised Newark's efforts to remake the U.S. criminal justice system.
NEWARK -- Trying to remake the criminal justice system, President Obama went looking for programs to help former inmates return to society rather than prison. He wanted to look at efforts to treat drug addictions that helped fill up U.S. jails with nonviolent criminals. And he wanted allies in his effort.
He found everything he wanted in Newark on Monday. Groups in New Jersey's largest city are "accomplishing extraordinary things," the president said.
WHAT HE SAID: "Here in Newark, when it comes to rehabilitating prisoners and reintegrating former inmates into society, you've got organizations that are doing extraordinary work," Obama said. "They are accomplishing extraordinary things. And when you meet folks who are taking that step to break addiction and overcome great odds, and you see what they've already accomplished and what more they're going to accomplish in the future, you cannot help but feel hopeful about the future."
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WHO HE MET: He met with former prisoners. He spoke with people trying to overcome addition. He talked to law enforcement officers. And he spoke with public officials who support efforts to overhaul U.S. laws.
He visited Integrity House, which works with prisoners who have drug or alcohol addictions. Accompanied by Robin Shorter, director of the Women's Outpatient Programs and director of the Women's Halfway House, he met with three of the residents.
HIS CRIMINAL JUSTICE GOAL: "The goal is to prevent crime," Obama told a crowd of 226 at Rutgers-Newark. "The goal is to make sure that folks are fairly punished when they break the law. But the ultimate goal is to make sure that folks are law-abiding, self-sufficient, good citizens. And everything we do should be designed towards that goal. And if we're doing a good job there, then crime will go down and it will stay down."
Obama held a roundtable discussion at Rutgers-Newark's Center for Law and Justice before speaking at the campus, where participants included U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a Senate leader in efforts to overhaul criminal justice laws; and Dquan Rosario, a participant in the Re-entry into Newark, or ReNew program, which is overseen by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and provides support services such as job training and searching, housing, education and transportation. Rosario was singled out by Obama in his Rutgers speech.
Also participating were Amarilis Diamond-Rodriguez, who participated in the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons program in which prisoners take college courses and then continue their studies after being released; and U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Cox Arleo, involved in the ReNew program.
"As a nation, we need to shift our focus from incarcerating non-violent offenders to rehabilitating those individuals and helping ex-offenders find jobs and become productive members of society," said U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-10th Dist.), who greeted Obama when he arrived aboard Air Force One at Newark Airport.
FROM THE COMMUNITY: Obama's efforts were particularly important to spectators Bernice Greene of East Orange, who said the issue had a negative impact on her community as residents were imprisoned for nonviolent offenses.
"A mother has to be a mother and a father," she said, "For nonviolent crimes, I don't think you should spend 20 years in jail."
NJ Advance Media reporters Kelly Heyboer, Dan Ivers, S.P. Sullivan and Bill Wichert contributed to this report.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.