American society seems to be fighting its own best interests, when the realities of incarceration are examined. The guiding ideas behind prison sentencing go to both punishment and preparing inmates to return to society as productive citizens. What has long been in place, however, is a system that simply does not work. The media continually reports on prison overcrowding, just as gang cultures and issues with prison staffing promote environments where punishment and abuse dominate. As will be seen, there is some evidence that reform and rehabilitation programs are widely used, and success has been supported. At the same time, however, there is no escaping the high recidivism rates threatening the society, and that many offenders, sentenced for ‘victimless’ crimes such as drug abuse, further crowd the prisons and are negatively influenced by the extreme conditions of the facilities. As the following affirms, then, it is necessary that American prisons make significantly stronger efforts to teach and rehabilitate inmates, and because the society would then be serving the interests of both offenders and itself.
Argument
In recent decades, both the ‘war on drugs’ and the public insistence on harsh sentencing for violent offenders have gone to prison populations exceeding the capacities of the facilities, and this must have the effect of weakening any efforts to rehabilitate inmates. The evidence is clear: ‘67.5% of prisoners released in 1994 were rearrested within 3 years, an increase over the 62.5% found for those released in 1983’ (BJS, 2015). Adding to the problem is the ‘Three Strikes Law,’ implemented in the 1990s. Even as the Supreme Court recently ordered states to revise their versions of the law, it still requires mandatory life sentencing for violent offenders convicted of third crimes, and in most states. As this has inevitably gone to overcrowding, it is documented that prisons in California and other states have resorted to prematurely releasing other offenders. Many of these are offenders charged with misdemeanors, but more serious criminals are released as well (Walsh, 2007, p. 110). Given this reality, rehabilitation opportunities are virtually denied, and recidivism is actually encouraged.
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There is no way to guarantee that a former inmate will achieve success once released, no matter what training is provided. At the same time, the high recidivism rates support that efforts to rehabilitate are lacking, and that the concept of the prison as a ‘correctional facility’ is being neglected (Price, Morris, 2012, p. 162). It is both a failure in ethical responsibility and in pragmatic concerns, and it also strongly goes to missed opportunities. Young offenders have the greatest potential to be rehabilitated, by virtue of the simple fact that they are new to crime. What is seen, however, is that prison cultures encourage violence and virtually prepare young offenders for ‘careers’ in crime. The Justice Department, for example, found that teenage offenders at the Riker’s Island prison in New York are frequently beaten by other inmates and in solitary confinement for excessive periods (Brown, 2014). None of this can possibly go to preparing young offenders for new lives upon release; instead, this prison culture may be said to promote recidivism, as the young offenders are physically and psychologically abused. What emerges is that the penal system is not able to control prison environments, and this failure then contradicts the principles of correction itself.
Some research does indicate that efforts are being made and that an emphasis on rehabilitation is very much in place in the system. For example, surveys of wardens nationally reveal commitment to education and rehabilitation, and: ‘State corrections departments have continued to build and support community corrections facilities, drug and alcohol treatment, and facilities for sick, elderly, and mentally ill inmates’ (Phelps, 2011, p. 54). At the same time, however, the realities of prison life still defy success here. For example, the presence of prison gangs is a growing ‘ and extremely dangerous ‘ concern. Gangs are sometimes even supported by guards and wardens, and because they create a kind of order and redirect violence that would otherwise be directed toward staff. The gang culture is then such that prison officials face almost impossible challenges in weakening its effect and promoting rehabilitation, if only because the penalty for leaving a gang is often death (Ax, Fagan, 2007, p. 283). This being the case, and rehabilitation efforts notwithstanding, a widespread commitment to educate and rehabilitate offenders is all the more urgent. Essentially, the focus of the system must be revised in ways reinforcing actual correction, so that the society be less threatened by released offenders likely to commit crime again.
Conclusion
It is not only ethics that demands a greater focus in the penal system on rehabilitation. This is an important element, as the system is supposedly in place to prepare inmates for a return to society, even as it punishes. Equally important, however, is the practical side of rehabilitation. In plain terms, the more inmates are counseled, educated, and assisted in building new lives, the more likely it is that fewer will resort to criminality upon release and the society is actively working to protect itself through reducing crime. The equation is simple, but far more is needed to make it a reality. Ultimately, and as consistently high recidivism rates support, it is vital that American prisons make significantly stronger efforts to reform and rehabilitate inmates, and because the society would then be serving the interests of both offenders and itself.
- Ax, R. K., & Fagan, T. J. (2007). Corrections, Mental Health, and Social Policy: International Perspectives. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas publishers.
- Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). (2015). Reentry Trends In The U.S. Retrieved 15 Oct. 2015 from http://www.bjs.gov/content/reentry/recidivism.cfm
- Phelps, M. S. (2011). Rehabilitation in the punitive era: The gap between rhetoric and reality in US prison programs. Law & Society Review, 45(1), 33-68.
- Price, B. E., & Morris, J. C. (2012). Prison Privatization:The Many Facets of a Controversial Industry, Vol. 3. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
- Walsh, J. E. (2007). Three Strikes Laws. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
