Recidivism

problem of overcrowding. Prison overcrowding has led to even greater problems like increased levels of violence and conflict, security and control difficulties, the well-being of inmates and staff and failure of rehabilitation resulting in a higher recidivism…

The United States- a country that in the past few years has ranked top 10th in Global Market competiveness, Personal Individual Wealth, and Retirement Security according to Ranking America (Sec. #11,#33,#44), also carries a stain on its resume. Growing up in the States we practiced a ritual every morning in school, all the students stood up, faced old Glory, placed our right hand over our hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge ends with the phrase “with liberty and justice for…

This article focuses on the extreme practices of solitary confinement that maximize isolation and the sensory deprivation of prisoners in the United States. While on record the largest prisoner hunger strike, was a result of a protest to California's use of indefinite solitary confinement and the cruel punishment it ensued. Although the strikers failed to reach their central goals they did bring focus nationally and internationally to the troubling aspects of a failing prison system. The hunger…

“Scared straight!” was a program design by the prisoners of Rahway State prison in New Jersey to aid prevent juveniles from continuing a life of crime that would lead them to eventually enter a prison system. The film shows the program in action with seventeen adolescents and follow up interviews with the juveniles and the inmates who ran the program, twenty years after the event. The “Scared Straight” program depicted a high success rate, but it did not take into account outside factors.…

The major issue we’re seeing in our incarceration system is re-offending. Prison is intended to be a final measure of punishment (Criminal Justice Policy Group, 1998), and acts as a deterrent. Yet, as figure 1 shows, we’re seeing high levels of recidivism from released inmates (Nadesu, 2009), so it follows that this ‘last resort’ punishment is becoming increasingly ineffective. This is problematic, as our current Corrections budget is increasing yearly, and currently stands at 1.7 billion…

The goal of a criminal justice system is to make the offender better, instead in the United States offenders are coming out of prison and jail worse off than when they went in. When it comes to the subject of our criminal justice system, most we readily agree it is necessary. Where the agreement ends, however, is on the question of being our justice system working. Whereas some are convinced that we are doing everything we can, others maintain that there has to be a better way. Essentially, I am…

Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and respiratory infections are just some of the chronic conditions that are seen in prisoners. Inmates are thirty percent more likely to have asthma, fifty percent more likely to have diabetes, and 90 percent more likely to have a heart attack. (Cecere, 2009) Eighty-nine percent of the deaths in prison are due to illnesses. Some of the major contributors are heart disease, liver disease, respiratory disease and cancer. (Noonan, 2015) Outside of jail,…

The first drug court was established in Miami-Dade, Florida in 1989 (National Association of Drug Professionals). Drug courts were established because of the “revolving door of drug use” and increasing recidivism rates. Drug courts have the ability to change a person’s life for the better by teaching them how to beat their addictions while providing the proper treatments for each offender. As a result, of the ongoing development of drug courts, it is unfair to expect the system to be…

India is one of the countries with the highest preventive detention, 249,796 people in overpopulated prisons. During police custody, they suffer beatings, sleep deprivation and electro-shock (all of this in violations of their constitutional rights). Subject to degrading and inhuman treatment, it is an example of large-scale human rights abuses. Every day, four people die in both police and judicial custody for these abuses. Many of these deaths could be avoided if the cases were resolved faster…

In the article, “Putting Public Safety First: 13 Strategies For Successful Supervision And Reentry” strategy number sixth, which is Supervise Offenders In Their Communities, seen to be the most promising strategy that allows and make offenders accessible to many opportunities to change their lives. Offenders have the opportunity to be accepted in their community once he or she is involved in rehabilitation programs, community service, Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities, Breaking…