Introduction
The seven basic philosophies of corrections are retribution or just deserts, deterrence, incapacitation, restorative justice, rehabilitation, reentry, and early intervention (Cullen & Johnson, 2017). The rehabilitation policy to help with crime prevention will be covered in this review. The one that assures reintroduction into society and lowers the recidivism rate more is rehabilitation when you consider each of these theories and how each contributes to ensuring that the disciplinary process is effective. A brief review of disciplinary policies and how rehabilitation affects them is provided in the following paragraphs. The long-term implications of rehabilitation’s success will also be covered. The analysis concludes with a comparison to The New Jim Crow, authored by Michelle Alexander.
Book Analytics
Due to a lack of funds and the getting tough in-crime approach, recently adopted in the US, rehabilitation has suffered in favor of certain jails. This has resulted in lengthier prison terms for criminals while serving their terms. An outstanding illustration of these legal developments, notably in the federal system, is the rise in drug offenders receiving mandatory minimum sentences for jail. Most significantly, the United States adopted punishment and refused rehabilitation in all prisons as the preferred method of structuring the criminal justice system (Cullen & Jonson, 2017). This resulted in overcrowding in prisons from repeat offenders. Only used in the US, punishments like life without parole and three-strike legislation are deemed cruel.
Correctional staff is put in danger while dealing with convicts inside the prison walls by these harsh penalties without any attempt at rehabilitation. Studies have revealed that the number of people imprisoned in the United States has substantially increased over the past thirty years. It is, therefore, customary to mention “mass” incarceration at the outset of publications. The “culture of control” is a term used to describe the massive growth in the prison population in the US, where deterrence and incapacitation have replaced rehabilitation as the official aim of some institutions. While some offenders are housed in specialized facilities “that evoke the rehabilitative ideal and a preoccupation with inmate services and treatment,” most are still in confinement facilities at state prisons.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander is an uncompromising analysis of the racial prejudices ingrained in the American penal system. The book contends that even though America is now legally a colorblind society, treating all races equally under the law, several factors combine to deeply engrain racial weighting into the legal system. Additionally, the book is named after the laws that upheld racial segregation in the southern United States until the mid-1960s. The US now has the highest rate of imprisonment globally, and African-American men make up a disproportionate share of incarcerated people. According to Alexander, several legal variables have come together to make African Americans more likely to be the targets of police harassment and to incur lengthy prison terms for their offenses.
The New Jim Crow book has a brilliant illustration of the reasoning abilities that convey ideas convincingly, even if many of Alexander’s arguments and figures can be found in other books and writers’ work. Alexander possesses the core abilities of critical thinking reasoning: gathering information, analyzing opposing viewpoints, and combining it into a cohesive, convincing argument. “The objective is to intervene to modify the causes that are leading offenders to disobey the law,” according to the rehabilitation viewpoint (Cullen & Johnson, 2017, p. 12). Corrections policy is heavily affected by rehabilitation. Jonson and Cullen are both strong proponents of rehabilitation. This assists prisoners in their desire to develop and change while removing them from the circumstances that first set them on the route to committing a crime.
Rehabilitation is not a significant deal in the US, and funding may contribute significantly to this spectrum. Sweden and other nations place much emphasis on rehabilitation. In Sweden, the focus is on rehabilitation rather than punishment, and millions of dollars are spent on jails with cells designed to seem like dorm rooms. Rehabilitation positively affects policies by teaching prisoners a new skill or way of life, giving them a purpose, and making them feel important (Alexander, 2010).
They will be less likely to commit crimes in the future if they do this. While the commitment to rehabilitate criminals revealed that high-risk offender recidivism decreased, high recidivism rates suggest that many offenders were not motivated by jail to remain out of trouble. Rehabilitation is restorative justice based on a Christian concept of human nature, atonement, and the community. Implementing these rehabilitation programs may lead to a structural transformation of the criminal justice system and forge strong connections to Christian theological concepts.
Since jail environments do not provide a therapeutic environment and not everyone is created to be rehabilitated, they should still have a chance (Cullen & Johnson, 2017) noted). Rehabilitating offenders through correctional programs makes sense to treat their problems (Cullen & Johnson, 2017). The author opposed the concept of a new caste structure (Alexander, 2010). She was motivated by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to use her newly acquired freedoms to enroll in law school and practice as a civil rights attorney, where she fought to uphold affirmative action victories and abolish remnants of the Jim Crow system. The stigma associated with being a felon contributes to the marginalization of these Black men.
Despite being marketed as a culture of equality, American society is highly class-conscious. When individuals put in enough effort, they make their ventures productive in a democratic place. However, the law denies these Black males any tools to attempt to “move up” (Cullen & Johnson, 2017). Their failure often serves as a barometer for the minority community and reinforces the stereotype that “Blacks are lazy.” In turn, this makes it possible for society to lose interest in the predicament of the trapped Black males.
Conclusion
For prisoners and correctional employees, a healthy way of thinking, especially with actions, will have long-term consequences on prison rehabilitation. Thinking styles and cognitive behavioral therapy are required for behavior modification. Being imprisoned can be distressing for some people, which can cause mental health problems and make it difficult for them to reintegrate into society. Prisoners are left defenseless, lonely, and dealing with a loss of self-worth due to having to endure separation from loved ones and a lack of personal control. As a result, an inmate’s ability to function effectively as a spouse, parent, and employee after release can be jeopardized by their entire prison experience.
Despite being overburdened by population growth, rehabilitation initiatives can have long-term benefits. Both cost-effectiveness and crime reduction are possible with rehabilitation. Vocational training, education, and reentry programs are the first steps toward successful reintegration. Long-term policy changes in the United States will encourage the adoption of rehabilitative practices, lowering incarceration rates and allowing ex-offenders a fresh start when they reintegrate into society and deal with new problems.
References
Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow. New York, NY: New Press.
Cullen, F. T., & Jonson, C. L. (2017). Correctional theory: Context and consequences. Sage Publications.