Intro:
The corrections system in the United States has been under scrutiny over the years. Since the early 1900’s the inmate population in the United States has continued to grow. No other country in the world has such a high percentage of its population incarcerated. Roughly 750 out of every 100,000 people are incarcerated in the U.S. The world average is only 166 per 100,000, proving that we are extremely high (Webb, 2007). It is known that one of the main reasons for our high number of inmates is recidivism. As a 2012 report by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated, approximately 65% of inmates released from California prisons return within just three years; as criminal justice majors know this number hasn't …show more content…
Bureau of Justice, there are more than 650,000 men and women released from federal and state prisons every year. These individuals return to their communities with the hopes of landing a job and possible home, while avoiding prison in the process. However, unemployment rates among ex-prisoners are between 25-40% so for a lot of these ex-cons success after prison is often unfavorable. In addition as Boyce explains, all prisoners who have been out of jail for no more than a year have around a 44% chance of returning (Boyce, 2013). Some wonder why rehabilitation is so closely linked with recidivism.
Rehabilitation is linked with recidivism because its purpose is to lower it. While some experts believe rehabilitation is the key to lowering recidivism, others feel that it is not. In this essay I will be discussing various expert opinions on whether rehabilitation reduces, or increases recidivism. …show more content…
The information from the California department of rehabilitation and Boyce tells us that within three years of being released from prison, 44-65% of these individuals will recidivate. These numbers are ridiculously high and suggest that our penal system is failing at achieving its goals of rehabilitation, and deterrence. In recent years, America has focused on punishment more than rehabilitation by implanting more in home sanctions via electronic monitoring, boot camps, and diversion programs. Recent research suggests that these methods don't work effectively, instead we should be rehabilitating offenders through classrooms, and educational programs. As Immarigeon and Lewin explained, rehabilitation programs are proven to lower recidivism much more than incarceration alone. Although it is true that our current philosophy is to incarcerate and separate offenders from society; the fact that California distributed $500 million for rehabilitation programs suggests that we are making an effort to give rehabilitation a legitimate chance in our prisons. If the experts are right, California should see at least a 10 percent decrease of recidivism in these 15
The corrections system in the United States has been under scrutiny over the years. Since the early 1900’s the inmate population in the United States has continued to grow. No other country in the world has such a high percentage of its population incarcerated. Roughly 750 out of every 100,000 people are incarcerated in the U.S. The world average is only 166 per 100,000, proving that we are extremely high (Webb, 2007). It is known that one of the main reasons for our high number of inmates is recidivism. As a 2012 report by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated, approximately 65% of inmates released from California prisons return within just three years; as criminal justice majors know this number hasn't …show more content…
Bureau of Justice, there are more than 650,000 men and women released from federal and state prisons every year. These individuals return to their communities with the hopes of landing a job and possible home, while avoiding prison in the process. However, unemployment rates among ex-prisoners are between 25-40% so for a lot of these ex-cons success after prison is often unfavorable. In addition as Boyce explains, all prisoners who have been out of jail for no more than a year have around a 44% chance of returning (Boyce, 2013). Some wonder why rehabilitation is so closely linked with recidivism.
Rehabilitation is linked with recidivism because its purpose is to lower it. While some experts believe rehabilitation is the key to lowering recidivism, others feel that it is not. In this essay I will be discussing various expert opinions on whether rehabilitation reduces, or increases recidivism. …show more content…
The information from the California department of rehabilitation and Boyce tells us that within three years of being released from prison, 44-65% of these individuals will recidivate. These numbers are ridiculously high and suggest that our penal system is failing at achieving its goals of rehabilitation, and deterrence. In recent years, America has focused on punishment more than rehabilitation by implanting more in home sanctions via electronic monitoring, boot camps, and diversion programs. Recent research suggests that these methods don't work effectively, instead we should be rehabilitating offenders through classrooms, and educational programs. As Immarigeon and Lewin explained, rehabilitation programs are proven to lower recidivism much more than incarceration alone. Although it is true that our current philosophy is to incarcerate and separate offenders from society; the fact that California distributed $500 million for rehabilitation programs suggests that we are making an effort to give rehabilitation a legitimate chance in our prisons. If the experts are right, California should see at least a 10 percent decrease of recidivism in these 15