Preview

Recidivism In Prison Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
495 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Recidivism In Prison Essay
With recidivism rates soaring, the establishment of prison GED programs should be a standard way to rehabilitate prisoners who’d otherwise have no future outside of bars. An example of a character from the book who would benefit from the GED program would be Crazy Eyes, a hard timer from the FCI, who’d graduated up the hill. Outside of Danbury, Crazy Eyes was a high profile drug dealer and a career criminal experienced with the nuances of prison. If she had the access and willingness to complete the GED program, Crazy Eyes could use the qualification as a step toward reintegrating properly with the outside world. Therefore, by offering GED programs in prison, inmates like Crazy Eyes can be slowly rehabilitated toward permanent freedom while …show more content…
(Durose 2014) This high recidivism rate indicates how the prison system is failing across America and highlights a fundamental question. How do we stop prisoners from coming back? Traditionally, punishment for crimes was deemed the most effective method, however with the current system in place it clearly doesn’t work. Recently, the latest penal schools of thought have been shifting toward rehabilitating prisoners toward permanent freedom instead of retribution punishment. Education, they argue is the way forward in modern rehabilitation in prisons. Which has been proven according to Aos, Miller, and Drake (2006), “[Who] cited several studies that collectively indicated a 5 percent reduction in inmate recidivism for participants in ‘basic adult education programs’ ”, which further demonstrates the effectiveness of GED programs and their equivalents. Therefore, by establishing GED programs in prisons an inmate like Crazy Eyes could theoretically have a higher chance of staying

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    People may think that just because we give an inmate education they will never change in life. I don’t agree on that George Chochos is a person who went jail to Yale and his story will prove all my 3 points. Chochos was first arrested when he was 18, serving only 8 months he got out and as months went on he was in and out of jails and colleges. On October 1999 chochos was sentenced to a 14 year sentence for bank robberies. Chochos spent the first 10 months in the Rensselaer County Jail, and then was transferred to Downstate Correctional Facility for 10 days until eventually he was sent to the sing sing correctional…

    • 117 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs in America. In 2016, the amount of annual drug arrests in America outnumbered all violent crime arrests combined- most of these arrests being African American men.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many people would agree that continuing an education is key to surviving in society. Therefore, education is very vital for every individual to maintain, regardless of how or where they obtain it. Even though people believe that education is important, many people disagree with education being taught in prison. Prison education is providing inmates with an opportunity to enhance their education. They are offered general education courses needed to attain a G. E. D, and courses they need for a higher education. Many of the inmates are high school dropouts or have an eighth grade education or less; therefore, they need to receive an education. For that reason, by educating prisoners it provides an opportunity for them to learn how to become better readers and expand their knowledge. As stated by James Vacca in his article “ Educated Prisoners are Less Likely to Return to Prison,” “their reasons for dropping out of school included a greater rate of grade retention, school transfers, misbehavior, poor attendance, and poor grades. Inmates also experienced less time in extracurricular activities and very little time with a school counselor during their time in school” (301). For many people to succeed they have to be motivated , it’s always hard to stay focused when so many obstacles are put in front of anyone. Education can reinforce goals people have, their culture beliefs, and how important education really is. Many people lose that focus when they feel that they are not meeting up to the expectation given to them, once that occurs they lose their desire to have a gratifying and productive life. Therefore, by providing prisoners opportunities for education benefits society as well as inmates because education will help them adjust to civilization, reduce inmate recidivism rates, and improve their social skills.…

    • 2842 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In, “Beyond the Prison Bubble,” published in the Wilson Quarterly in the winter 2011, Joan Petersilia shows different choices about the imprisonment systems. The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any free nation (para.1). The crime rate over a thirty year span had grown by five times since 1960 to 1990. There are more people of color or Hispanics in federal and state institutions then there are of any other nationality. The prison system is growing more than ever; the growth in twenty years has been about 21 new prisons. Mass imprisonment has reduced crime but, has not helped the inmate to gradually return back to society with skills or education. But the offenders leaving prison now are more likely to have fairly long criminal records, lengthy histories of alcohol and drug abuse, significant periods of unemployment and homelessness, and physical or mental disability (par.12).…

    • 259 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Education is a powerful tool that can transform an individual’s life and provide better options. The crime rate may also decline if a greater number of individuals are educated. The objective of incarceration should be rehabilitation, not punishment. Studies have shown education programs and rehabilitation methods in prison to be effective in terms of preventing re-offense. Rehabilitation is a goal that all prisons should try to achieve. Education and job training for prisoners can result in positive outcomes, including greater stability, independence, and lower recidivism.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People start in a hard place and then end up in prison. That could have been avoided by simple funding of schools. Then, while detained, prisoners’ minds become distorted as the adjust to this new environment. When set free, the released inmates do not receive help from the government in attaining a job or proper social skills. Lastly, they end up back in jail and the sequence continues to repeat. The only way to break away from the cycle is through rehabilitation. The PORTAL, Honor, and GED programs are just a few of the many possible programs that will significantly help the recidivism rates sink. By implementing these ideas in society inmates will be released and be capable of maintaining a safe and productive…

    • 2668 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the 1970s disturbances were common in the correctional system; riots would break out in order for inmates to express their desire for reform and changes in rules. Inmates didn’t approve of the crowded living conditions, harsh rules, poor food, excessive punishment, and guard brutality. Inmates demanded change in the correctional system starting with those involving basic conditions to those concerning basic rights. The prisoners were not given the opportunity to express their feeling of deprivation in the correctional system that was until the upcoming of the ombudsman (Allen, J., & Ponder, 2010).…

    • 2612 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Recidivism Rates

    • 3560 Words
    • 15 Pages

    The recidivism rates come into play when looking into providing an education to prisoners. Recidivism rates are the rates that “refers to the relative number of prisoners who, after being released, return to prison or jail because they have committed another crime” (USlegal.com, 2001-2012). The whole point of conducting this study is to determine if first the prisoners are willing to be educated and second if the education provided will help lower the recidivism rates.…

    • 3560 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    United States of America has the largest prison population in the world, what is wrong with our prison system. Many prisoners are repeat offenders in America. Also many criminals are in prison for nonviolent crimes, plentiful have a large prison sentence. Why does America have so many problems in their prison system and how can it be resolved? Problems such as, why are so many prisoners repeat offenders, why do people with a mental disability or drug addicts don’t receive help, how come that there is so many prisoner incarcerated for nonviolent crimes and are giving harsh crimes, why does America spend so much money on their prisons instead of trying to find better methods, and why is the prison population so high and is there a way to decrease it.…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The juvenile justice system needs to better prepare youth to enter the adult world and workplace. Per Virginia Performs, “Within twelve months 49.1% of the juvenile offenders released will be rearrested.” This is almost fifty percent. The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice records recidivism by tracking rearrests, reconvictions, and reincarceration for twelve months after release from a juvenile correctional center. Recidivism is the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. The juvenile justice system does not prepare youth to enter the world and workplace because youth who enter the system lack intellectual development, emotional maturity, and preparedness to transition out into the community successfully. Recidivism rates are a…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prison Recidivism

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The shift from deinstitutionalization to criminalization for mentally ill offenders has further added to the complexities occurring within United States prison system. The number of mentally ill inmates has continued to increase significantly as public psychiatric hospitals have continued to close. In addition to overcrowding, budget constraints and allegations of mistreatment among inmates with psychiatric disorders correctional facilities have been given the task of providing treatment to the large percentage of inmates with serious mental illnesses. A recent study found that over one million offenders diagnosed with a serious mental illness are under “correctional supervision” and these offenders are highly more likely to be rearrested…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I agree with Wilbert Rideau’s argument that the United States penal system is ineffective and can be fixed. Rideau claims “The only effective way to curb crime is for society to work to prevent the criminal act in the first place” (217). Prisons collect criminals but it won’t stop crimes from occurring. A bad criminal would be someone who was properly cared for and educated but, they crave to hurt others. Many prisoners from poor environments are not always bad and they deserve a second chance. I knew a boy from a dangerous side of town who took a bus daily, just to take a college level networking class at a different high school. He bragged about being in a gang and fights. Although he studied well for class, ironically he had poor grammar and he had never heard of Jim Crow laws that had hurt his ancestors. I believe education is poor in areas with high crime rates. If all of the youth are poorly educated, they’ll be easily influenced by other uneducated people who make poor choices.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recidivism and Education

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages

    After analyzing the literature review the reader can draw their own conclusion on the hypothesis: inmates who receive an education while incarcerated are less likely to recidivate when released; compared to those who are released without having received an education. That being said, the purpose of this research design is to present clear and concise methods on how the hypothesis will be tested and consequently validated.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The departments of corrective services in Australia and many other countries are using education and training programmes for reducing recidivism. Study in prison and learning at workplaces cut downs the cost of imprisonment, policing and other legal costs serving best in community’s and interest. Education and learning at works places in prisons not only gives specific and useful life skills but also successfully promotes the social aspects of life. (Giles, Whale, 2013). Prisoners leaving with an associate degree break the generational cycle of incarceration by supporting themselves their families and are less likely to victimise others in community (Larson, 2015). On the other hand, we know that violence…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    One argument against the main idea that people in prison can dispose of an opportunity to be educated is that “if people often commit crimes and these are quite serious, they deserve to be in prison”. It is also believed most of them have been given a lot of opportunities and they are drifting into crime again.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays