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Add to FavoritesThe concept of prison as a reformatory for criminals is one that has long been inaccurate. In truth, modern prisons are more training grounds for career criminals and gang members, and the overwhelming majority of convicts who are released from prison return within two years and usually for more severe crimes and longer sentences, perpetuating the cycle.
The most vital contributor to the disappearance of any hope for reform is the control that violent gangs have taken in most American prisons. In fact, the senior membership of many of the most dangerous gangs are serving long terms in prison, and it is estimated that as much as 80% of the prison populations in the United States are active gang members, though many were not members until they began serving their sentences.
In truth, the inmates truly do run the asylum of the modern American prison. To survive without gang affiliations is nearly impossible, but once a criminal is embraced by the protection of a gang, he is conscripted to perform violent acts to cement his status. So if the inmate was wrongly convicted and had not performed the crime, prison actually teaches him to BECOME a criminal. If the convict had only committed a relatively minor crime, chances are very strong that he will have committed a capital crime by the time he is released. Modern prison is truly a kill or be killed environment, and inmates must go to extreme lengths to survive.
But if by some miracle an inmate manages to escape being forced or cajoled into committing more crime while in jail, what does he have to look forward to? Upon release, it is nearly impossible to find a good job with a felony conviction on your record and the experience and contacts you make in prison make working with or for them when you are released extremely tempting. Essentially it is more profitable for a felon to turn to crime full-time and take the risk of being arrested again and returning to jail, which is usually the case. The fear of prison as a punishment has largely been removed by surviving the previous sentence.
There are indeed some success stories of convicts who find God or get their diploma/degree (or both) and manage to make something useful out of themselves, but it requires tremendous character and a lot of support, something that convicted felons rarely have in great supply. Systemically, American prisons have little to no incentive to reform criminals, no budget for programs to educate them or improve their futures, and no mandate to even try to do these things.
The reality of the modern prison is that it is far more likely to develop the criminal to a greater degree of hostility toward the outside world and provide him experience and contacts that improve his ability to commit more crime than it is to help him become a good citizen. It is far better at developing criminals than reforming them.
Learn more about this author, Benjamin Lomax.
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Yes
As a psychologist at a prison, I could have written from either view point as to whether or not prison reforms criminals. Compared to the past, a great deal more is done to help reform criminals to prevent future re-offending. In the past, criminals were simply locked up and kept away from society until they did their time, then released back into the big wide world, without a single bit of help or intervention along the way. These days things are very different.
Working in a prison has opened my eyes to a great deal. Of course there are aspects that I find extremely frustrating which I believe should be done better. In many ways, much more should be done to help rehabilitate and reform criminals, but there is only so much money available to fund these resources and it is not an area that many pro-social citizens what their tax going towards. However, in saying that, there is a lot that is done.
There are certain offenders within the prison system who will not rehabilitate. Some individuals have deep ingrained problems or psychopathies that will prevent them from ever understanding the wrong they have committed. This is especially true for sex offenders, who do not seem to get a great deal from prison. That is also a big reason why their chances of getting parole can sometimes be a lot more difficult than a murderer, and often their release is still conditional, with supervision and frequent reporting.
Some individuals benefit greatly from the available help that is offered within the prsion. There are numerous behavioural programs on offer here in Australia, ranging from substance abuse, violence, sex offences and just general offending. These programs offer an alternative viewpoint to the offence and help the individual to identify alternatives to their actions and develop insight into their own behaviour. These programs can be beneficial, but it all just depends on who they are working with.
Many of these programs are compulsary for offenders serving a period of over twelve months. For this reason, eagerness to participate can be low, but there are programs also available on a voluntary basis and these programs are very successful. Many individuals will speak of the benefits they have gotten from these particular programs and the skills they have learnt.
However there are negatives involved in these programs as well. For starters, the statistics reveal that offenders who are either an extremely high risk or a low risk do not benefit from the programs. It can infact work in the opposite manner. They are instead designed to moderate to high risk offenders. Also, the biggest complaint of all I personally have is that many of the specialised offending programs, particuarly violence and sexual offending, are not actually completed until the offender is towards the end of their sentence. This means they are living their day to day prison life for 10, 15, even 20 years before their criminogenic needs are addressed. It makes it far more challenging to change a person's way of thinking if it is left this late, however again, the statistics seem to support this method.
Overall, prisons can do a great deal to reform a criminal. This is especially the case for first time offenders who have committed something that might not even seem too severe, like repeated traffic offences. Generally that loss of freedom is enough to scare many of them from making the same mistake again. And for those individuals who want to change, there are certainly the available facilities to do so. It all depends on the individual and their willingness to change. However, as the saying goes at our work 'Every interaction is a chance to initiate change'.
Learn more about this author, Holly Rogers.
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