When conducting research, there are some problems that are seen and some that are unseen. Kempinen and Kurlychek ran into some issues that were unexpected and hidden. However, they did not change the scope of the experiment. In my opinion, the internal factor of instrumentation could have threatened the internal validity of the study. It became a concern when gathering the study referenced the gathering of the information about the convictions were missing from more than one-third of the cases, therefore having to use the previous arrest record as measurement rather than prior criminal record. The information is a crucial part of research because you have two variables in the study being measured, technical violations and new crime convictions. The investigators had to rely on the prior arrest, which is not as valid as prior convictions. The seriousness of the offender's new convictions was unavailable for the study (Kempinen & Kurlychek, 2003). Therefore having to leave that particular narrative out of the discussion on whether an individual who graduated from the boot camp or prison went on to commit more serious crimes. With the incomplete information, the investigators could be motivated to continue the study to monitor the progress of the participants over time. So the information about an offender's prior convictions and possible post serious convictions had to be left out of the study. Which also touches on the internal factor of testing pre and post.
Reference
…show more content…
A., & Kurlychek, M. C. (2003). An Outcome Evaluation of Pennsylvania's Boot Camp: Does Rehabilitative Programming within a Disciplinary Setting Reduce Recidivism? Retrieved April 8, 2017, from
The tension between rehabilitation and punishment has been increasing dramatically. This is because there have been sharp rises in the prison population and repeat offender rates. When one area is over emphasized in relation to the other, there is the possibility that imbalances will occur. Over the course of time, these issues can create challenges that will impact the criminal justice system and society at large. (Gadek, 2010) (Clear, 2011) (Gatotch, 2011)
By the lack of rehabilitation programs in the state and federal prison systems, the chances of convicts releasing and returning back to prison increases rapidly. The lack of rehabilitation is one of the most leading causes to an offenders relapse or to a new crime that will be committed within 3 years from the offender’s release. A rehabilitation program
Juvenile delinquency is a relatively new phenomenon. For this reason, society’s reactions and solutions to the problem of delinquency are also modern developments. The United States developed the first youth court in 1899 and is now home to many new and formerly untested methods of juvenile rehabilitation and correction. One of many unique programs within the Juvenile Justice system, boot camps are institutions designed to keep delinquent juveniles out of traditional incarceration facilities and still provide a structured method of punishment and rehabilitation. Boot camps developed in the early 1990s and quickly proliferated throughout the nation. Specifically, they are “…short-term residential programs modeled after
In a fight to reduce overcrowding, improve public health and public safety, and reduce the costs of criminal justice and corrections, federal, state and local leaders are constantly looking for alternatives to incarceration. A number of strategies have been put in place to save public funds and improve public health by keeping low-risk, non-violent, possibly drug-involved offenders out of prison or jail while still holding them accountable and securing the safety of our comminutes. These programs have been put in place to help those who don’t necessarily need to be in jail, get their priorities straight while also holding them accountable for their actions. They have been put in place to help reduce incarceration rates, but also help those who may have mental health issues or substance abuse issues that have caused them to make bad decisions (Treatment Court Divisions).
The United States of America is phrased by many, as being “the land of the free.” Yet, the Unites States currently has the highest per capita prison population than any other country. The United States makes up only 5% of the world’s population and of that 5%, 25% of our overall nation’s population is currently incarcerated. A few factors that attribute to our high rates of incarceration include, sentencing laws: such as mandatory- minimum sentencing, lack of initial deterrence from crime, the war on drugs and the presence of recidivism. With our ever growing incarceration rates and the cost of housing individual offenders averaging $22,000 a criminal justice agenda. Recidivism refers to a person 's relapse into criminal behavior resulting in rearrests, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner 's release (National Institute of Justice.) Many programs have been implemented in our prison system to help reduce the recidivism rates. Programs such as educational/ vocational programming, reentry programs, substance abuse programs and subsidized employment are among many programs in which have been proven effective. Yet, due to costs deficits, the clock is ticking to find evidence based programs to invest in. So, the question currently being sought after is, which method is most effective in reducing recidivism rates?
The issue that I plan to take on in this research proposal is rehabilitation for minors. I mainly want to focus on minors 16 years of age or younger. The question I wish to answer more specifically is, does boot camp benefit or harm a troubled minor? I also wish to learn the short and long term affects of these camps, do they just create a short term solution, or do they in fact shape minors into law abiding citizens that can contribute to society? I plan on answering these questions using past and present research from experts in this field. I chose this topic because I believe it is very important that society handles their minors in only the right manner, they should be guided not punished because one day they will be running the nation
To ascertain whether practitioners attribute the desistance of young people from offending behaviour to the effective practice of targeted youth programs. Young offender’s recidivism has been said to be the consequence of ridiculous control programs attracting reduced compliance from young offenders according to (Kempen and Young 2014). Practitioners competences has been put under scrutiny with critiques such as (Andrews, Donald and James 2010) and (Petrosino et all 2010), alleging that they sometimes deviate from their professional requisites. Much of the criticism was specifically for the private practitioners rendering inconsistent treatment regime, lacking commitment to the recommended practice. Thus, this evident knowledge gap has failed young offenders to satisfy the targeted programs aims of desisting from antisocial behaviours and other criminal activities (Woods et al
The prison population in the United States has been growing steadily for more over 30 years, a great portion of this population are returned offenders. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports, each year more than 650,000 offenders are released into communities with at least 5 million of the ex-offenders being under some form of community-based supervision (James, 2010). In an attempt to curtail the rate of recidivism, the Bureau of Prison contracts with Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs) to assist inmates approaching release. RRC’s provide safe, structured, supervised environment, as well as employment counseling, job placement and financial management assistance (Prisons, 2017).
Also, we need data and additional detailed information on the participants who were not satisfied. As stated in the article, “What Works in Reducing Recidivism”, the “Treatment Principle”, states “the most effective programs are behavioral in nature” (Latessa, Lowenkamp, p523, University of St. Thomas Law Journal). The report provided by staff does not clearly identify how many participants in each program and which program had the lower success rate and least
When the term corrections is mentioned, the thought of incarceration is the first to come to mind. This is the case for as of the end of 2013, there were 1,574,700 people serving time in state and federal penitentiaries (Carson, 2014, p.1). This alarming number gives reason for the need of alternatives to incarceration. Avoiding imprisonment does not translate to a lenient punitive sentence for the alternatives can just as easily repair harms to the victims, provide benefits to the community, treat the drug addicted, and rehabilitate offenders (FAMM, 2013, p.1). The use of programs that offer an alternative to incarceration can reduce the amount of people in the prison system that is living on taxpayers’ dollars.
Shrum uses analysis of previous studies to suggest a series of correctional practices that have been shown to be effective in reducing rates of recidivism. Harvey Shrum has a Doctorate of Education and has worked as a Re-Entry Teacher at Folsom State Prison. He has written a book, Search for Meaning at the Broken Places, on Logotherapy, Intensive Journal and the stages of grief. Shrum focuses on three significant factors to address criminal behavior: addiction, “will to meaning” and education. Shrum recommends a variety of intensive, 18-24 month long rehabilitative programs that have been shown to dramatically reduce recidivism rates, including substance abuse programs as a part of parole, the use of Intensive Journal as a part of re-entry
Abstract: This research proposals seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of Maryland’s Correctional Education program, by examining Maryland’s Criminal Justice Reinvestment program. The goal of the reinvestment program is to reinvest freed funds from closing select prisons back into the criminal justice system and use them to improve correctional education and rehabilitation programs. The end goal is to have an ex-offender that is able to provide for themselves without returning back to crime. Studies have shown that those who complete a correctional educational or rehabilitative program are less likely to recidivise than inmates that do not. The focus of the study will be to examine the implementation of the program, and to track inmates during the first three to five years after their release. From previous research we have learned the most likely causes of recidivism, yet with this study we will be able to examine the potential of decreasing recidivism to acceptable rates below 10%.
Criminologist and politicians have debated the effectiveness of correctional rehabilitation programs since the 1970’s when criminal justice scholars and policy makers throughout the United States embraced Robert Martinson’s credo of “nothing works” (Shrum, 2004). Recidivism, the rate at which released offenders return to jail or prison, has become the most accepted outcome measure in corrections. The public's desire to reduce the economic and social costs associated with crime and incarceration has resulted in an emphasis on recidivism as an outcome measure of program effectiveness. While correctional facilities continue to grow, corrections make up an increasing amount of state and federal budgets. The recidivism rate in
When it comes to the topic of recidivism, most of us will readily agree that crucial reforms are needed in the correctional system. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of effective punishment. Whereas some are convinced that the “get tough,” three-strike programs are effective in corrections, others maintain that a rehabilitate approach is necessary for the prevention of recidivism by providing ex-convicts with the means necessary to live life away from crime. However, despite the popular and unpopular opinion; the primary goals of the correctional system are retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.
Robert considered the probability that the discoveries suggest that culprits should undergo treatment outside prisons, but he immediately dismissed that idea. While reviewing, Martinson and his colleagues did not find any evidence that outside prison treatment was more efficient compared to in-prison treatment. In fact, one of the studies discovered that these treatment programs were worse especially for boys and they stated that the latter was true for other alternatives such as parole with rigorous supervision.