The Effects Of Recidivism On The United States

Many offenders who are released from prison encounter many obstacles which hinder their progress towards community re-entry. On their own, many fail to secure employment, housing, or complete education or training programs. Without guidance or assistance many offenders return to crime to support themselves. Fortunately there are number of organizations that see the need for services to assist offenders on their path back into the community. One such organization that has proven to be successful is the Safer Foundation.

Prison is a place where the criminal justice system put its entire hopes. The correctional

In the United States, each day approximately 1,600 adults are released from state and federal penitentiaries to reintegrate back into the community (Gunnison & Helfgott, 2013). Reentry programs have been created all over the nation to help offenders successfully transition from prison into society. Offenders are confronted with numerous obstacles when attempting to reintegrate back into society. Ninety-five percent of offenders are released to reintegrate back into the community (Davis, Bahr, & Ward, 2013). Upon release, ex-offenders realize that despite the fact that they are no longer incarcerated, they face many restrictions. The restorative justice development rose to address the disappointment of the criminal justice framework to manage victims, offenders, and communities in an integrated way. A core focus of this development has been to expand the role of the community in advocating changes that will avert the issues and conditions related with crime and the demand for a criminal justice intervention (Hass & Saxon, 2012).

The vast societal effects from mass incarceration have caused an increasingly alienated population to form in the U.S., which can be broadly classified in the dual areas of lasting effects and impacts to the family unit. First, the lasting effects of high incarceration rates are that they impact the rights of the convict, particularly African Americans. For example, noted civil rights attorney Michelle Alexander posits that the long term effects of mass incarceration operate to deny black Americans the future right to volte, the ability to obtain public benefits, the possibility to sit on juries, and ultimately the opportunity to secure gainful employment (Steiker, 2011), Moreover, professor Alexander argues that this mass incarceration together with the prior Jim Crow laws and the past practice of slaery in the U.S. operate to ensure that black Americans remain s subordinate class of citizens defined primarily by their race (Steiker, 2011).

Ex-offenders face challenges at every level when reentering back into society. These handicaps come in many forms that involve the community in the transitioning process. It is critical to involve the neighborhood in establishing a natural guidance in the criminal justice process (Young and Taxman, 2002). Informal agents and the community should establish an inherent connection with the offender through Re-Entry Partnership Initiative (Young and Taxman, 2002). The Re-Entry Partnership Initiative was designed to assist those facing significant barriers due to former confinement or other circumstances as they re-enter the community and the workforce. This sense of accountability and ownership is a powerful advantage. The neighborhood involvement sends a

In the U.S., our criminal justice system incarcerates more people than any other country on earth. Incarceration rates have skyrocketed over the past 30 years due to stricter laws and harsher penalties for drug use and possession. As a result of these high incarceration rates, many households and society, in general, has been adversely affected by the absence of men and women from their families and from their communities. While being in confinement is definitely tough on those incarcerated, the ones left on the outside are also greatly affected. Several studies have shown that this absence has had a dramatic impact on children as they struggle to survive without mothers and fathers. This is a significant sociological issue because this societal phenomenon can have lasting effects and create family voids that can contribute to the deterioration and arrested development of the offspring of those who are incarcerated.

Incarceration has been the primary means of punishment for criminals who have been convicted of felony offenses. While prisoners are serving the term of incarceration they face many difficult situations. Some of these situations can include committing new crimes within the system which could lead to prolonging the current sentencing. Those who are able to make parole after meeting the requirements set in place by the court are faced with new difficulties when trying to reintegrate in society. While inmates complete sentences ordered by the court, they have the opportunity to take advantage of Federal Aid including continued education, job skill training, employment opportunities and support programs. These programs are designed to lessen the struggle offenders’ face as they reintegrate into society by offering a positive direction upon their release. The overall goal is to achieve a reduction in the rate of recidivism.

There are numerous reentry services that are arranged to help ex-offenders to successfully transition back into the community: housing, employment services, education, family services, physical & mental health services, and substance abuse treatment just to name a few. Through effective implementation of these services, local governments strive to transform returning prisoners into to tax-paying and law-abiding citizens, and in turn, build safer communities.

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

The revolving door on American prisons is as bad for the communities across the nation as it is for the people being cycled through the system. In “Offender Reentry”, David Allender, delves into how recidivism affects both the criminals and the community. Americans are starting to realize that the current prison system is not designed to reform, only to punish criminals. Because of this many ex-convicts are released from sentencing and allowed back into the real world without the necessary social skills to properly reintegrate. The problem became obvous with sex offenders, followed by minor drug crime. Allender points out that “The limited funding for treatment programs, which occurs because no one can prove that criminal activity did not happen

Working with inmates, the program also incorporates working with individuals maintaining institutions, and communities on how to accept and help with inmates return to society and the social demands of everyday living. Learning how to cope with their community, inmates gain the necessary tools to coexist

Overall, the results of this study indicate that incarceration, at least for drug related offenses, does not decrease recidivism. Inmates sentenced to incarceration rather than other community-corrections sentences learn how to continue to commit crime. This is true because these individuals are housed with more serious offenders. The prisonization effect creates more criminality. According to the results of this study, one participant went on to commit murder while several offenders went on to burglarize or shoplift. On the other hand, community corrections (probation and deferred prosecution) appear to be much more beneficial to the community. Although half of the offenders sampled did recidivate, the most common repeat offense was a probation

Reintegration back to society for ex-convicts involves numerous hurdles to overcome. Each day, roughly 1,600 prisoners are released (Petersilia, 2003 pg3) back to their communities. Easier said than done, these individuals have to continue where they left off. The issues that come along with this all relate to how these individuals will succeed at their second chance. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2011-2012 an estimated 40 percent of federal and state inmates reported having chronic medical conditions (Berzosky, 2015). Other research suggests that 75 percent of inmates are illiterate at the 12th-grade level (Rosario, 2010). Medical conditions, lack of social skills, lack of work-training, and lack of education, along with a criminal history is a recipe for hardship that ex-convicts face; often leading to recidivism.

While rigid in its application, dynamic platforms are necessary to reduce recidivism, increase recovery, and create persons who once again can be productive to society. Becoming better trained and more educated in what actually works is imperative. Proper staffing, adequate funding, effective participation and program integrity not only offer the best predictor for success but reciprocally will be what dooms the program if not properly managed. Dedication to the idea that offender rehabilitation is viable and can work is the hardest part. It is beneficial to the lowest risked individuals, all the way to the most hardened of

Abstract - Offenders enter the criminal justice system and are introduced into a new world. While incarcerated offenders become a part of a new temporary community in which they must learn how to behave and interact with other inmates. Upon release prisoners must then relearn the new norms to reintegrate into the community successfully. When it is time to be released offenders face many barriers before and during their reintegration into the community. Former offenders lack the resources to reenter a community and depending on the offense the criminal will need a lot of support to deter them from reentering the prison system.