Prison Reform

With the U.S. having the highest incarceration rates in the world, Americans are slowly inching towards realizing the effects of this and beginning to think about prison reform. Before any solid, concrete change is to occur, we need to be able to look at the different aspects of the criminal justice system which affects every single person in this country. We must be able to look at what leads up to someone being incarcerated (early life, family ties, social position), the legal proceedings and interactions with law enforcement. We need to be able to look at how people are being sentenced, and what “correctional” really means when it comes to using the term “correctional facilities”. We also need to look at why we have such high recidivism …show more content…
If we are able to research and get data on things like this, we will be able to use this information as a platform to build programs that would be able to tackle these issues more effectively than the ones in place today. Ideas like this could be centered around restorative justice campaigns which could also involve technical job training on the inside as well as improving the educational programs that exist within the prisons. I think job placement is important because without a flow of income and job security, many of the individuals who have reentered society may feel pressured to slip back into their old ways of life and do things that might result in them going back to prison. Learning about who continues this cycle and why people decide to hire individuals could play a role in deciding if public opinion and knowledge is something that needs to change. Maybe this study would result in a campaign to help change the stigma around prison and a movement to try to help people get to a better …show more content…
This type of data is the right choice for my research question because it will allow me to have a larger sample size than interviews or observations would allow due to lack of time and a presence of geographical obstacles. Also, I think that surveys will allow me to develop, review my questions, and ask my respondents in a uniform matter. I have decided not to use interviews because I am not an experienced interviewer (or researcher for that matter), and may begin to ask leading questions or questions that are framed poorly without being able to catch it as it is happening. With this survey, I will be utilizing both multiple choice and short answer questions. The short answer questions will allow individuals to elaborate more on their thought process and their personal experiences. This would give me a happy medium between a straightforward multiple choice survey and a conversational interview. I will also allow respondents to remain anonymous so they will not have to worry about judgment from the researcher (me); therefore, the anonymity of this survey may significantly reduce social desirability