Prison: Rehabilitation or Punishment?
By: Lizbeth Rodriguez
The Rise of Modern Prisons
In our society nowadays we see a lot of our youth falling under the pressure of drugs, violence, and shoplifting. This rise of crime has spun a new era of a non working prison system. Many of the criminals repeat their offenses and keep joining the system once more. The recidivism rate is now at all time high. This is due to budget cuts, less rehabilitation programs being implemented, and the overcrowding of our prison system.
How did it get so bad?
At the start of the 1970s, a lot of the nation began to go downhill due to numerous issues such as hard drugs being introduced or the downfall of our officers at this time. It was a time of “getting tough on crime”. This meant officers and government officials began to enforce stricter rules on crime and drugs or else increased punishment would be brought forth.
What can the lack of rehabilitation cause?
Without proper rehabilitation programs the rate of recidivism only grows higher and higher due to the lack of criminals being able to take programs or classes and learn from their mistakes. This results in more dangerous communities and the downfall of our prison system. Rehabilitation programs are currently underfunded due to overcrowding of our prison system and numerous budget cuts.
What are the main issues with the system?
The system faces too much overcrowding, the overcrowding leads to a shortage of money, the shortage of money leads to more crimes being able to be committed and sprees of crime that can happen. Overcrowding begun in the 1990s when the uprise of drugs and violent crimes came to an all time high. This rise of drug use called for the arrest of many more individuals. This then lead to their eventual recidivism. In the U.S. the increase of more inmates being brought through the system called for the conversion of their halls and roaming areas into bedrooms. With a lack of space more tension grows within the facility and decreases the conditions and inflow of food, toiletries, and basic necessities that make criminals feel human and allow them to focus on rehabilitating and changing their ideas. With these resources being diverted towards housing and keeping more inmates much less can be focused on rehabilitation.
Why can the lack of rehabilitation back fire?
The lack of rehabilitation can be issue when it comes to improving our economy and nation as a whole. Too many crimes being committed at once and arrests being made can lead to high incarceration and recidivism rates, which will cause for the communities throughout the nation to be more dangerous and less safe for kids, families, and businesses. The issue with perpetrators being incarcerated and then released with no rehabilitation leads to an endless cycle of violence, drugs, and overall a bad crime life. This helps no one in the situation.
How can this system be changed?
Change can start by attempting to get more money from the federal government for prison reform. By providing key evidence as to how rehabilitation programs and classes can help improve outcomes of inmates lives and especially those with drug abuse issues or violence within gangs, and also taking note of how other countries with low recidivism rates such as Norway handle their prison systems. This can then lead to communities being safer and inmates finding new hobbies and habits to keep them out of trouble.