Va.’s recidivism rate still among lowest in country
RICHMOND — Virginia’s recidivism rate remains among the nation’s lowest for a fifth year.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday that the state’s current rate is about 24%. Virginia’s rate remains among the lowest of the 42 states that report reincarceration of state-responsible inmates within three years of release.
During the 2016 fiscal year, more than 12,500 state-responsible inmates were released and fewer than 3,000 of them were reincarcerated within three years.
The Virginia Department of Corrections customizes its programming and supervision to address each person’s risks and needs and offers more than 125 programs to offenders in prison or under community supervision. The programs include substance abuse treatments, mental and behavioral health services, career and technical education, skills training, and employment and housing assistance.
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Mental health impairment and drug use are associated with recidivism. Inmates with a history of testing positive for drugs such as opioids or cocaine have a much higher reincarceration rate than those without such a history.
Hampton University to help 2020, 2021 grads financially
HAMPTON — Hampton University will give financial assistance to graduates in the classes of 2020 and 2021.
WAVY-TV reports that university President William R. Harvey announced the assistance in a letter to graduates on Friday.
Graduates with federal student loans will be given $500 toward repayment of their loans. The payment will go directly to the U.S. Department of Education loan servicer that oversees their loan.
Students who do not have federal student loans will be reimbursed their graduation fee of $150.
The pandemic has taken a toll on all aspects of campus life and a virtual commencement that wasn’t up to the university’s standard of excellence only added to concerns, Harvey said. He understands what graduates missed by not having an in-person ceremony, he said.
Graduates will be honored at an in-person ceremony on-campus in December. Students will be provided details by the end of June.
Va. Beach lifeguards pulled 75 from water last weekend
VIRGINIA BEACH — Lifeguards in Virginia Beach rescued dozens of people from dangerous rip currents last weekend.
WAVY TV reported that more than 75 people were pulled from the water Sunday. Chief Tom Gill with the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service said it was an unusually busy weekend for May.
“Today is normal for a weekend in July, not the week before Memorial Day,” he said.
“Our total number was about 260 people we pulled out last summer,” he said.
A storm over the Atlantic prompted a high-risk warning for rip currents along Virginia and North Carolina’s coasts. Red flags popped up along many Hampton Roads beaches.
Gill urged people to talk to lifeguards if they see a red flag on the beach.
“The other thing we’re seeing already, and we saw a number of them last year, is some serious spinal injuries,” he added.
Spinal injuries can occur when people dive into water that is shallower than they expect.