CRJ303: Corrections: Prison Life and Strategies to Reduce Recidivism

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Prison Life1Prison Life and Strategies to Reduce RecidivismSandy Diaz (Echon)CRJ303: CorrectionsInstructor: Scott AxtonJuly 26, 2012Analyze the experiences of prison life and evaluate strategies to reduce recidivism within U.S.correctional systems. In your analysis, consider the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs, theimpact of prison conditions, and policy implications. Support your arguments with relevantresearch and case studies. (Word Count: 1500-2000 words)

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Prison Life2Prison Life and Strategies to Reduce RecidivismIntroductionAll societies in the world acknowledge the fundamental role that prisons and jails play inensuring that law breakers receive the punishment they deserve. At the same time,prisons offerthe offenders an opportunity to reform and become better people in the society.In the UnitedStates, an estimated two million inmates are housed in jails and prisons of the country. Statisticsindicate that a large percentage of these prisonersarecomprised of people who have beenimprisoned in the past,as well as,those who have not been inmates in the past.The issue of prison conditions and the impacts they have on the future lives of inmateshas attracted significant interest in the American society.One of the most important trends in theU.S justice system is that out of 600, 000 inmates that are released from prison each year, abouttwo-thirds end up being rearrested after three years(Chen & Shapiro, 2007).In this respect, theobjective of this paper is to discussprison life andstrategies that can beadopted in prisons toreducerecidivism.Analysis of the Purposes for Prisons in the U.S Justice SystemThe correctional facilities in the U.S are principally meant to ensure that the sentencesthat have beenprescribedby the Courts on offenders are implemented to the letter.Nevertheless,correctional administrators in the modern correctional facilities have been enlightened in thatthey recognize a broader responsibility and mission of prisons.Protecting the society fromcriminal actsby offenders serves as thecomplete mission of corrections in the U.S justicesystem.In order to accomplish this mission, prisons have to use a combination of strategies forsurveillance and control of offenders, in addition to rehabilitative and treatment services. At the

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Prison Life3same time, inmates need to be incapacitated during the time which they are serving theirsentences.In a nutshell, prisons serve five main purposes geared towards protecting the society;thesearepunishment,rehabilitation,deterrence,restitution,andincapacitation(Wilson&Wilson, 2011, p. 383).It is worth noting that,from the mid-1970s onwards, punishment became a highlyregarded function of prisons in the U.S while rehabilitation started being viewed as lessimportant(BENSON,2003).Nonetheless,prisonadministratorshaverecognizedthatpunishment and rehabilitation must go together for levels of recidivism to go down. Moreover,punishment only considers the crime that has been committed without giving much attention onthe circumstances or the factors that led an inmate to commit a particular crime.This is where rehabilitation comes in, as it considers the needs and circumstances thatinfluenced an inmate to commit a crime, be they educational, psychological, economical, orsociological. Prisons also serve to deter inmates and other individuals in the society fromcommitting crimes. Nonetheless, for deterrence to beachievedthe punishment given must bevisible and the public must be convinced that the law will act with no partiality once a personcommits acrime(Smith, 2010).For example, people will not be deterred if criminals who havecommitted serious crimes such as murder buy their way out through bribes.Incapacitation comes in the form of restrictions that come about through incarceration. Inother words, once offenders are imprisoned, their freedom of movement is curtailed and thusthey have less or nocontact with the outside world(Gleissner, 2010).Consequently, the societyis protected from any potential harm from the offenders.Restitution,on the other hand involvesgiving offenders an opportunity to correct their wrong deeds or repayingtheir victims or society

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