Adjustment In Ex-Offenders

That the rates of imprisonment and criminal justice supervision have grown significantly in America is no longer a surprise to anyone. What has become one of America’s invincible elephant and unspoken problems is another form of criminal sanction, the network of laws that limit the rights and privileges of ex-offenders. These sanctions, called "invisible punishment," range from barriers to public housing for drug offenders to lifetime registration requirements for sex offenders. These sanctions reduce the chances of successful reintegration for ex-offenders.

Between 1980 and 2014 the number of incarcerated people in the United States quadrupled from 500,000 to approximately 2.3 million. At any given time, the United state incarcerates one percent of its population while another two percent are under extended supervision (Wakefield and Uggen 2010). In addition, the United States has faced a dramatic increase in its homeless and housing insecure population since the 1980s (Herbert, Morenoff, and Harding 2015). Reasons include a decline in affordable housing, foreclosure, poverty, eroding work opportunities, and also laws restricting certain populations from housing. This paper will address past and current challenges related to reentry, recidivism, and housing by analyzing relevant empirical research.

The definition of rehabilitation according to professor Mona Lynch, is “any discourse or practices that speak transforming or normalizing the criminal into a socially defined non-deviant citizen, including psychological programs, drug treatment programs, educational and work-training programs, work and housing placement assistance, and halfway houses.” This definition of rehabilitation is unique because it focuses on outcomes, encompasses an array of inmate services, and is more multidimensional than any of the preceding works. I believe that prisoners should be treated with exactly the same degree of respect and kindness as we would hope they would show to others after they return to society. People learn by example. The Timelist program showed that offenders hearing from ex-offenders who are on the outside and are doing well is very powerful. These rehabilitation programs; The Timelist, Edovo, and the GreenHouse Program all provide evidence to support the Prison Rehabilitation Act of 1965, which devoted full attention exclusively to the crime problem in the U.S. and the high numbers of population in our prisons, by providing more flexible rehabilitation programs. It would be beneficial to every man, women, and child in America, if we were to continue providing resources for existing rehabilitation

The courts are reducing punishment for non-violent offenders by putting them in rehabilitation programs (Berenji, B., Chou, T., & D'Orsogna, 2014).The reintegration will help these offenders to become new are whole again. However, resources may be limited these offenders should be offered the chance to participate in these programs. There are lots people who have been locked upon returning back into society it is hard for them to get a job, therefore, they go back to their life of crime. The people that are not violent criminals should at least be given a second chance. The program recidivism constituted studies by researchers to see if it has helped habitual offenders in becoming complete again (Rice, & Harris, 2014). Nevertheless, some may fall back into the system simply these intervention programs will be a great success for the ones who truly want to change their lives. The implementing of these programs is no guarantee that the convicts will not continue to violate the law. The statistic shows that age and sexual violent is a predictor of recidivism. The three strike law is ridiculous because stealing can be an addiction just like drugs are (Bohm, R. M. & Haley, 2011). The cons to the three strike law are that lots children that will grow up without their parents. The non-violent offenders should have mentors to help them get a job and put them in rehabilitation programs to reach the core of their addiction. The pros to this three strike law are that it will help some people to

The criminal justice system has four goals they strive for. These goals are discourage, punishment, damage, and rehabilitation. Of these four, discourage, punishment, and damage mean the same thing. When a crime is committed, punishment and rehabilitation is needed to correct a problem (Punishment vs. Rehabilitation: A Proposal for Revising Sentencing Practices, 1991). When the delinquent has departed from prison and enters the real life, they tend to get other issues other than the usual drug and alcohol use if they haven’t already been addicted.

Tittle goes on to suggest different definitions, equating rehabilitation to law abiding behavior and stating that lower recidivism rates can be seen as proof of successful rehabilitation (Tittle, 386). Over 95% over our current prison population will be released back into society (James). While all four goals of our criminal justice system are important, it seems as though rehabilitating our former prisoners to better assimilate back into a law-abiding society should be our biggest priority.

There are many interesting topics in Criminal Justice that can be discussed and are relatable to my experience at the Lorain/Medina Community Based Correctional Facility, but I thought that perhaps one of the most interesting ones to look at is recidivism in the correctional system. It is also a commonality in other aspects of the criminal justice system. I chose to research the topic of recidivism for many reasons, one of them is that it relates to my experience because many of the residents I interacted with this summer had been involved with the system more than one time and in fact many of them have been through the L/M CBCF’s program multiple times. One of the females who is currently going through the program had been to the facility five times prior to this one and many of the males have been through the program at least twice. Many of them also talk about not being able to stop themselves from relapsing once they are released from the facility and being through a lot of other rehabilitation and recovery centers. After this discovery I wanted to explore and research more about recidivism and why it is a common occurrence for most criminal offenders and what can be done about it. In order to do this I searched a lot of online databases’ and examined quite a few academic journals, articles and other scholarly documents and websites on the topic. I tried to find information on the success rate of Community Corrections versus other forms of corrections, how recidivism

A standout amongst the most imperative elements impacting an offender's effective reintegration back into the community is the social bonds and connections the offender has kept up all through his or her sentence. According to Visher and Travis (2003), the quality of family connections significantly affects the successfulness or failure of the post discharge arrangement. This is because, according to Naser and Vigne, released prisoners relied on family members extensively for housing, financial support, and emotional support. In spite of what the vast majority think, offenders have a tendency to have expectations of family backing and these elevated standards are generally met or surpassed after discharge (Naser & La Vigne, 2006; Benson et

Due to the positive feedback that I received in Unit 3, I remained on the topic of “Ex-Offenders Reform Programs. This is an important topic because I am an ex-offender and I utilized the resources Wisconsin Ex-Offenders Reentry Programs provided by The Department of Corrections.

The prison system often proves ineffective at reconditioning prisoners to free life due to the high potential of recidivation soon after release, the decrease in education and other programs in prisons, and the physical and emotional results of the conditions in which prisoners live. Although some may argue that the threat of a prison sentence deters potential criminals from pursuing a life of crime, the experience of prison may result in increased criminality, subverting the goal completely. Firstly, many prisoners recidivate, or reoffend, soon after release. Of released prisoners, “44 percent... were rearrested within one year and 68 percent were rearrested within 3 years” (Mears). Since nearly one half of prisoners committed another crime in one year after their release, the rate of recidivism indicates that the prisons fail to recondition inmates to free life. This may be due to the failure of rehabilitation programs offered in prisons; many recently released prisoners end up back in prison soon after release due to the limited reentry programs (Pager 2). Rehabilitation efforts in prison aim to reduce recidivism by changing a person's mindset from one of crime and criminality to one of compliance with laws and consideration for others; however they do not often accomplish this goal well, if at all. Rehabilitation efforts in prisons produce less positive effects than those offered in the community (Clear 132). The lack of results likely stems from the poor environment

The United States criminal justice system has failed to rehabilitate criminals. Even after being penalized for their crimes, prisoners continue to commit crimes without learning that what they did was wrong from being incarcerated and are sent back to prison. Jails are set up to aid those imprisoned by helping them obtain skills that will hopefully reduce future incidences and allow them to act like the citizens they should be. However, punishing criminals is not as productive as many think it is. This is shown by the increased imprisonment rate from 250,000 in 1976 to almost 2 million by 2003 (Lynch 26, 49). Instead of learning how to work towards handling their problems, inmates are expected to learn from their mistakes by being isolated from society and even sometimes from human contact. Since the prisoners are unable to learn from their delinquencies after doing time in prison, many recommit offenses and find themselves back in jail. Prisons should become more education based, to achieve this goal the overall costs of prisons has to decrees. According to Shadd Maruna, director of the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice for Queen’s Law, “of the more than 100,000 released from prison each year, 70 percent will return to prison.” The re-incarceration is mainly due to the incapability of these convicts to re-adapt into society. After being detached from the real world, it is problematic to adjust to changes, depending on how long the prisoners were

Obligations the criminal justice system beyond containment, prosecution and punishment in my opinion would be to work on rehabilitating the offender. This can be a very difficult task at times. For one, funding is an issue to incorporate programs into the prison system.

Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prison and to find other ways for a penal system to be more effective without incarceration (Leher, 2013). The effect of prison on ex-inmates has a negative influence when trying to interact with society. According to the National Institute of Justice, about 68% of prisoners go back to prison within 3 years of their release. Prisoners may not know how to integrate back into society in the sense where, they do not have the correct training in how to communicate with society. Society views prisoners as a criminal that would never change or improve their lives. This view results in stigma. Stigma is the judgement made by society to those who may have a negative reputation in the general public (Angermeyer & Schomerus, 2012.) I propose a program where a group of prisoners, according to their crime, be appointed to a counselor that has a fully understanding on the crime and their potential mental state. Also, there would be a federal reform where prisoners can learn how to interact with society, along with getting a job when released.

never implemented as intended. Although the contours of the correctional system changed—the juvenile court, indeterminate sentencing, probation, parole, and discretion became integral features of this system—the resources and knowledge needed to provide effective treatment to offenders were in short supply. Cullen and Gendreau (2000).

With the highest incarcerated rate in the world, does the United States prison systems offer quality rehabilitation or just punishment? According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there was approximately 706 prisoners per 100,000 residents, or about 2.2 million prisoners in 2012 and within 3 years, almost 6 out of 10 released inmates will be rearrested and half will be back in prison. According to data from www.gpo.gov , the vast majority of prisoners are not rehabilitated. Two-thirds of released prisoners are re-arrested and one-half are re-incarcerated within three years of release from prison. Rates of recidivism rise to approximately 75%-85% of released prisoners are likely to be re-arrested within a decade of release. Successful rehabilitation is vital when releasing an inmate into the community as it produces a significant reduction in criminal recidivism. The purpose of incarceration is to protect the public and punish as well as rehabilitate the criminal. It is designed to change an inmate's view of life and alter their future behavior when re-entering society. Prisons offer education, labor, and other rehabilitation sources to inmates, so why is the recidivism rate so high with these programs in place?