Prison Confinement Analysis

The idea of spending a portion of their lives in a prison confinement is a distressing thought for most people. However, for those offenders that have already spent a large amount of their lives within one, the notion of departing from confinement panics them. When a person is confined in a secure containment, they have limited responsibilities and resources. Thus, they begin to rely on the resources provided to them and once freed, they are unable to reason for themselves. The pain of re-entry is an extreme issue that a majority of criminals face as they try to adjust to a normal life upon release from incarceration (C.T Griffiths and D. Murdoch, 2014). The expectation from the prison system is that once the offender is released, they are …show more content…
It has been discussed that the first three months after release is when people are the “most vulnerable to re-offend (as cited in Langan & Levin, 2002)”. A majority of ex-convicts are convicted again of a criminal offence within three months of release. Some ways that the offender re-offends is through drugs and substance abuse, fighting and resumption of friendships with former criminal association. There are many reasons to why a past criminal will re-offend. The term, post-incarcerated syndrome (PICS), relates to the condition that offenders suffer from by prolonged exposure to the dynamics of life inside the correctional facility (Griffiths 2015). The symptoms include anxiety and depression. This condition hinders the individual’s adjustment in the community. The most frequent problems for one to re-offend is, a lack of education, lack of housing, absence of family, drug and alcohol problems, and a low self- esteem. These problems are produced from a disconnection of the prisoner to society. Many things become lost or taken away once an offender is incarcerated. Family members may distance themselves from the offender, which may create self-esteem issues, resulting in the offender to seek unlawful coping mechanisms such as drugs or …show more content…
Research provides evidence that it is arduous and problematic for offenders to reintegrate themselves in smaller communities compared to large ones (as cited in Weisheit & Wells, 1996). When the reintegration of an ex-convict into the community fails, the pains of re-entry occur. Employment is essential for people who have just been released from prison. It allows one to recover and provide stability for themselves. Nonetheless, small communities offer less job opportunities and are more resistant concerning those who have criminal records when hiring (as cited in Ghelfi & McGranahan,