Offenders Recidivism

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).

I chose an article from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. The title of the article is Predicting recidivism for released state prison offenders. Since I started my career in law enforcement, it seems like our detention facility has always been a revolving door. Our detention center routinely interacts and deals with the same offenders. Recidivism is an issue that affects our entire nation. This article was written by Gerald Stahler in February 2016.

This paper will demonstrate whether the length of prison stay for an inmate effects recidivism. Determining whether the prison sentence for an inmate will deter the criminal from any criminal activity or if they will recidivate is a key component to see if a prison sentence keeps a criminal from engaging in any criminal activity. The paper will discuss whether the longer the prison sentence will reduce recidivism or if the minimum of a sentence will have a higher recidivism rate. The research conducted will help determine whether a prison sentence has any effect on the relapse of criminal offenders. This research could help a judge determine to give the appropriate prison sentence to a criminal. The research conducted comes from a

The data from the study demonstrated that therapeutic community theory substance abuse treatment in a correctional facility was, “Effective in reducing the recidivism and that the time spent in treatment was positively related to greater periods between re-arrest and to a greater probability of positive outcomes. (Wexler, and Williams, 1986, Wexler, Falkin, and Lipton, 1990)

researchers had conducted and gaining a statistical analysis of the researches, a meta-analysis is often one of the best tools to ensure a positive impact on recidivism “meta-analysis is the principal source of information for "effective principles” (Gendreau, 1996, p. 120). Often times these intervention programs are intensive and behavioral based, which are vital to the program. Behavioral Programs, should target the criminogenic needs of the offender, which has better results when it is paired with the offender’s risk level.

An inherent marker of this case’s problematic nature can be demonstrated within the representation of the defendants by prosecution. The defendants had their socioeconomic status and previous interactions with the ‘justice’ system flagrantly used against them. They were characterized as those people, the others, the ones who commit crimes – preying on implicit jury biases*1. Their background and the neighborhood they grew up in was used as an excuse to typecast them for a role in prison. It seems obvious that in any case, the class roles of any participants should be irrelevant unless their crime explicitly involves the matter. Instead, theirs were touted as evidence. Additionally, the defendants’ previous transgressions were brought up in an attempt to further incriminate them. Though recidivism rates are essentially astronomical in the United States, this argument is beyond irrelevant and at its heart a fallacy that should make this information irrelevant. (If the defendants had interacted with the justice system before and they were convicted of anything, then the system has failed them. It’s clearly ineffective given that in the eyes of the state the defendants were far from rehabilitated).

Parole is a huge problem in america as of current. This is because the odds of the offender staying out of prison are very low. This happen because the offender does not respect the privilege of parole, to them it is just an excuse to get out of jail.

The jail population in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg City has increased to the point where action needs to be taken. While there has been an increase in crime rates over the years (CITATION), many of whom are responsible for the recent increase are’ revolving door’ offenders. Offender labeled as ‘revolving door’ have been incarcerated several times and represent more than one third (90%) of the current jail population. As a result, the Harrisonburg –Rockingham County community has realized that the problem must be dealt with, and in the most efficient and effective way.

Two programs that either “do not work” or “make things worse,” in terms of offender recidivism are correctional boot camps and the “scared straight.” Although, both of these programs are popular they are not 100% effective. While reading the book, the authors makes a very good point about programs and why they are not effective. They state that “they only send a message about what the offender should not do; these approaches do not each them the skills that they need to address high-risk situations in the future (page 14.)” I agree with that because how do you expect someone to actually learn from their mistake, if they are not put into that situation. It only shows them what it could possibly be like instead of what it is like.

Just as the number of people in prison grows, so too does the number of people leaving prison. Research shows that 95 percent of all prisoners in the United States are released at some point (Katel 2009). The Department of Justice reports that more than 600,000 prisoners are released each year (John Oliver 2015). This means that hundreds of thousands of people reenter society and are expected to have learned from their time behind bars. Unfortunately, most of these people released back into society are not properly prepared. As a result, they end up back in prison.

This paper will discuss facts regarding the prosecution process, the concepts of incapacitation and deterrence as methods of reducing crime rates, the network of people that the prison system exposes criminals to, and the assimilation of criminals back into society as seen through recidivism rates, for the purpose of analyzing the ethical scope of the effectiveness of the process of remediation as a whole.

According to (Florida tax watch, 2016), the prison population in Florida is among the largest in the United States, and the figure is expected to expand depending on the current trends. For instance, a one in every four freed inmates returns to prison in under three years. It is for this reason that the research seeks to address the problem of recidivism and in the long run, reduce prison population significantly while at the same time bringing down crime rates around Miami (FL). i.e. the research recommends a change in the federal criminal justice system because the currents one seemed to be out of touch with the emerging trends. The report also seeks to address two catalysts of increase of insecurity within the state of Florida i.e recidivism

The division provides offenders with support mechanisms needed to transition successfully back in to the community, while at the same time monitoring their activity to prevent recidivism.

Most prisons provide the average high school education; thus, inmates can be academically prepared. In the GED Program, inmates participate and engage in their studies to make academic progress. The GED Program provides inmates the educational knowledge preparing them to overcome the difficult obstacles that come after being released from prison. GED inmates are motivated to break the cycle of recidivism to successfully integrate back into society. Lahm (2009) explains, “…the majority of research regarding prison education programs center around their effect upon recidivism…” but educational programs most likely provide statistical results from a small percentage of inmates from the total population (p. 39). With limit inmates and resources, the GED Programs provide positive results.

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?