I. “The National Institute of Justice reports that over 75% of released inmates are re-incarcerated within five years of discharge from prison; this high re-offending rate is due to many U.S. prisons focusing on punishment, rather than on rehabilitation” (Reich, 1). Criminal rehabilitation allows prisoners a second chance and the ability to transform their lives. The United States has used mass incarceration as a form of punishment for criminals over the past few decades. In 1968, President Richard Nixon’s view was “doubling the conviction rate in this country would do more to cure crime in America than quadrupling the funds for…war on poverty” (Kilgore, 18). Consequently, mass incarceration has been used to as a solution to treat issues involving poverty, racial issues, and crime during the past decades. Many of the incarcerated individuals are raised in underprivileged environments where they are exposed to crime.
In addition, many of these individuals lack a high school education which has caused them to either be unemployed or work in low-paying blue collar jobs. It was perceived that incarcerating offenders would rehabilitate although it did the opposite. This belief ended up doing more harm than good because the offenders were exposed to other criminals and did not have access to resources to change their lives. The idea of incarcerating convicts is an ineffective temporary solution and does not address the problem which is causing recidivism. Unfortunately, “…we [The United States] have 25 percent of the world’s prisoners with just 5 percent of the world’s population” (Kilgore, 1). This illustrates that effective rehabilitation services are essential within the United States to prevent the prison population from growing. It is imperative to establish rehabilitation services to address mental illness and substance abuse problems. Also, programs need to be created to increase the emphasis on education and developing marketable job skills.
II. Currently, many individuals in prisons across the United States are suffering from various mental illnesses and substance abuse. It has been found that in prisons the “….rates of mental illness [are] at least three times the national average (Benson, 1).” In some studies, it is documented that up to 50% of male inmates and 75% of female inmates complained of mental illness symptoms in the prior 12 months of committing a crime. With these staggering numbers, it is virtually impossible to reduce recidivism without rehabilitation, which is focused on the specific needs of each individual. Often times, the treatment of inmates is prioritized by their risk level, and therefore, all inmates do not receive sufficient treatment, Within correctional facilities, severe mental illness can disrupt the environment and lead to physical disturbances, conduct violations, and disciplinary action.
In most instances, the rehabilitation services available to treat inmates are lacking a variety of resources resources to meet the needs of prisoners. Within correctional facilities, psychologists tend to be the main care provider for all mental health services, and they are burdened with enormous caseloads. In addition, there is also limited staffing for psychiatrists, which is an additional issue. Psychiatrists are instrumental in diagnosing mental health illness, prescribing medicine, and collaborating with psychologists to effectively treat patients. The lack of mental health providers in prisons leads to inmates not being effectively treated, and therefore they are not adequately rehabilitated. The limited treatment options in many prison settings are directly reflected in the greater number of disciplinary problems, rule violations, and physical assaults among those who have mental health disorders.
It is very prevalent for federal and state politicians to prioritize rehabilitation funding as a lower necessity compared to other programs such as providing government financial assistance to college students. A traditional way of thinking has been that prisons are intended to incarcerate and not a rehabilitation facility, which is a primary issue and exposes society to a less safe living environment.
III. ‘Right now there’s such a focus on punishment–most criminal justice or correctional systems are punitive in nature–that it’s hard to develop effective rehabilitative programs,’ (Benson, 2). In addition to effective methods to rehabilitate criminals, it is imperative that additional financial resources are allocated to hire trained professionals in the area of psychological rehabilitation. Upon employing qualified personnel, they must be specifically trained in psychotherapy methodologies which are focused on criminal rehabilitation, since it is different than general population therapy. As a result of the significant amount of mental illness in prisons, treatment plans must be recommended based on individual needs. In providing psychological services to individual prisoners, some areas which must be considered are the type of crime, triggers, transitioning back into society, and avoiding common roadblocks. All of these factors will benefit prisoners towards making positive changes.
However, a common counter argument is that recidivism will occur in a majority of prisoners at some point. After being released from a correctional facility, criminals often return to the same negative influences such as drugs, alcohol, unhealthy living environments, and spending a majority of their time with other criminals. With proper treatment and rehabilitation, it is possible for any criminal to positively change their lives, but obviously, it is ultimately up to each individual person and their future choices.
IV. “Studies show vocational trade or academic degree increases the likelihood (a parolee) won’t come back,” said Brian Freeman, principal of the school building program for the Michigan Department of Corrections. “We don’t want them to come back.” The percentage of inmates released from prison at some point is 93 percent. Therefore, job training and skill development is a key factor to reduce the probability of returning to prison. If a prisoner does not have the opportunity for effective job skill rehabilitation, the reoffend rate is as much as 40%. In previous decades, such as in the 1980’s, prisoners had more opportunities to earn two year degrees or complete other specific job training. This created an opportunity to be employed in higher paying blue collar jobs upon being released. Unfortunately, this is no longer occurring in many facilities any longer and inmates are frequently wait-listed for training programs. Consequently, with significant idle time, it creates boredom, chances for depression, and misbehavior leading to negative repercussions.
It has been proven that an effective work release program is beneficial for prisoners and allows them to partially transition back into society, and it significantly reduces recidivism rates. By providing a large variety of enhancement programs within institutions, it creates better opportunities for inmates to receive full-time employment earning a satisfactory hourly wage and breaking the cycle of poverty. In addition, it reduces the chances of being exposed to familiar negative influences which creates a safer society. If some type of job or vocational training is completed, there is a 28% chance of being employed upon release. Currently, the primary issues deterring job skill development is lack of funding at both the federal and state levels, which leads to higher chances of re-incarceration and prison overcrowding.
V. It is common for an individual to not have any proper rehabilitation services that reintegrate them back into society effectively. Convicts often are released from prison with little to no job skills or education, and are therefore now facing an economic hardship, especially when they may have families to support. Many of the men and women in this position may not have a high school education which limits their opportunities significantly. They not only now have a limited education, but they also have a criminal record on their job applications. If they are fortunate enough to receive a job, it will most likely be minimum wage pay which is simply not enough to support a family in this day and age.
This is the cycle that many criminals go through which leads them to commit a crime to make an quick income and then get arrested again. Prisons nationwide must implement rehabilitation programs that focus on education and job skills to break this cycle. It is important for criminals who want to change to have access to programs where they can receive their GED or a college education leading them to a modest wage that will support them when they are in society. A study has shown that “getting a college degree while in prison is the only program that has ever been shown to be 100 percent effective for years or decades at a time in preventing recidivism” (Gilligan, 3). In other words, our nation must implement educational programs in prisons and jails across the country to reduce the rate of recidivism.
Of course, many will probably disagree on grounds that rehabilitation services would be incredibly expensive to implement. While it will be an upfront investment to implement such educational programs, it will pay off in the near future. Currently, the government spends majority of its correctional budget on housing prisoners. Implementing educational and job training programs would require a significant amount of funds to be established. These programs would lower the recidivism rate reducing the amount of funds that would need to be allocated for housing. It is important to note that of course some people will not work change, although many want to and just have not ever had the chance.
Providing rehabilitation services will not only reduce the amount of government funding spent on corrections, “…it will also help previously incarcerated individuals become stronger players in the market—through taxes and purchasing power—and more self-sufficient citizens less reliant on government programs (Bender, 3). This explains that it will also contribute to an increase in the economy due to more people paying taxes and more consumers to purchase goods.
