Recidivism Effects Of Prison Based Rehabilitation

When thinking about prison, most criminologists also consider recidivism rates. Recidivism rates refers to the re-entry of offenders, some argue that recidivism rates simply mean “the percent who fail” (Wilson, 1996, p. 171). Typically, once a person enters the United States Criminal Justice System for the first time, it is not their last, partly due to the fact that they lack constructive and adaptive skills to function effectively in the community (Piotrowski, 2012, p.683). Offenders usually re-offend after they are released from supervision for their prior offense. It is important to know that some type of prison-based rehabilitation programs are in effect in most institutions around the country, but only about half of the incarcerated …show more content…
Recidivism rates in general have proved that once someone enters the United States Criminal Justice System once, they will likely offend and re-enter supervision again. More importantly, the recidivism rates of ex-prisoners who actively participated in prison-based rehabilitation programs can help criminologists better determine the effects of prison-based rehabilitation programs and the forms and focuses that wok best. Do prison-based rehabilitation programs actually reduce recidivism rates? Which prison-based programs reduce recidivism rates the most or at all? Does it depend on the inmate or the facilitator of the program for the outcome to be positive?
Research findings regarding recidivism rates for those inmates who took the opportunity and participated in prison-based rehabilitation programs are skewed. Many government reports state that rehabilitation programs do help to reduce recidivism rates for offenders, while other sources state otherwise. Many of the government sources that have found, through qualitative research, that rehabilitation programs do in fact reduce recidivism rates, base their research on educational and academic programs. As most of us know, the more educational training that one obtains, the less likely they are to become engaged in criminal activity. This holds …show more content…
The Florida Department of Corrections conducted a study that was completed in 2010 with findings that inmates who participated in prison-based educational rehabilitation programs have lower recidivism rates. Educational prison-based rehabilitation programs have an extremely positive impact on recidivism rates, whereas vocational training programs are only moderately successful in reducing recidivism rates (Piotrowski, 2012, p.686). Prison and court-based statistics confirm that access to prison-based rehabilitation programs due help to reduce recidivism rates, without access to these programs recidivism rates would be between 60-70% (Priorowski, 2012,