CJS/230
August 18, 2013
Rehabilitation Past and Present
Many years ago, rehabilitation was a priority in the prison system. After the focus shifted to punishment, it was clear to see that rehabilitation is necessary in the criminal justice system.
“Rehabilitation is the result of any planned intervention that reduces an offender’s further criminal activity, whether that reduction is mediated by personality, behavior, abilities, attitudes, values, or other factors” (Foster, 2006, p.382). Prisons use rehabilitation in an attempt to retrain offenders in a way that they are no longer a threat to society, but instead, turn them into productive, law-abiding citizens.
“Until the mid-1970s, rehabilitation