The correctional system’s primary purpose is rehabilitation, and it is founded on the notion that criminals can be cured and deterred from committing crimes. Mental health, substance addiction, and educational assistance are all included in the rehabilitation process. Specialized programs have since been designed for women, those condemned of sexual assaults, and those under parole supervision. However, the rehabilitation programs in prison fail to work due to ineffectiveness during implementation. For this reason, correctional facilities play a poor role in rehabilitating offenders. This research paper aims to discuss the various situations that show failure on the part of prisons to rehabilitate prisoners in Canada.
Drug use and distribution have long been illegal, yet the substances continue to find their way into jails, which are supposed to be safe havens for law enforcement. Drugs enter prisons in various ways, causing a myriad of issues for the institution. Prison personnel must be ready to keep up with convicts’ ingenious and imaginative methods of drug trafficking into prisons. A third of Canadian convicts believe it is simpler to obtain narcotics in prison than outside, jeopardizing prison security and leading to violence. The most common substances abused in Canadian jails are cocaine, depressants, marijuana, and heroin (Brym, 2020). Drugs in correctional facilities make it difficult to rehabilitate drug offenders because they find it hard to quit the addiction. The Union of Canadian Prisons needs to develop stricter rules and measures to counter the growth of drug use in prisons.
Education can open doors to economic and social advancement. However, many people who are now incarcerated in Canada are denied this critical opportunity. Despite their professed purpose of rehabilitation, Canadian jails lack excellent education and employment training programs. The jobs that are accessible to inmates do not promote marketable skills. Many offenders will leave prison unsuitable for a pro-social existence because there is a noticeable lack of skill development. Within a few years of release, about half of the people freed from correctional institutions are arrested again, while most of those convicted are sentenced to prison (Brym, 2020). Implementing a proper education system in prisons will save taxpayers about five Canadian dollars for each dollar invested in prison education compared to the cost of incarceration.
There are well over ten million inmates globally, and the frequency of all researched mental diseases is more significant than in the general public. While the magnitude to which Canadian prisons promote the prevalence of mental illnesses is unknown, there is substantial evidence of low percentages of psychiatric condition diagnoses and management. Prisoners are a higher threat of all-cause fatalities, self-harm, suicide, violence, and persecution, and some risk variables are controllable. There have been few high-quality therapy treatments for psychiatric problems in convicts, and improved mental health services will minimize the likelihood of unlawful behavioral traits (Silva, 2017). Criminals learn how to manage their mental disorder and practice social skills by challenging harmful thought patterns and forming healthy relationships.
It is common knowledge that eating a well-balanced diet is essential for excellent health and welfare, and it is one of life’s most significant social joys. However, far too many individuals in jails eat a terrible, nutritionally deficient diet. According to a study, almost half of the food offered for sale in some Canadian prisons is rich in sugar and fat (Davison et al., 2019). Consuming excessively manufactured and sugary snacks might cause abrupt highs and lows in an individual’s blood sugar levels. This can lead to exhaustion, irritation, nausea, anxiety and is even a predictor of depression, especially in men. In addition, jail meals have been regarded as unappealing, sparse, and devoid of delight. Poor nutrition can affect concentration and learning and lead to violent or angry outbursts. Compared to the general community, a poor diet can give rise to higher incidences of poor physical and mental health in jail.
For legal authorities and penitentiary officials, gangs have long been a source of concern. Many gang-related problems seen on the street, such as violence, chaos, and terror, are amplified in establishments like prisons, where gangs play a central role in the social order. In several Canadian prisons, gangs control the businesses for contraband and protection while committing overwhelmingly high rates of inappropriate conduct (Brym, 2020). Gangs threaten a prison’s orderly supervision by engaging in criminal activities such as drug sales, extortion, robbery, and prostitution for the group’s financial gain. The poor security system in prison institutions in Canada makes it easy for gangs to operate, threatening the provision of rehabilitation services.
The high proportion of Indigenous imprisonment is a well-known issue across Canada. This topic is frequently portrayed in mainstream discussions as a legacy or impact of colonization, which has resulted in institutional racism and socio-economic and cultural inequality among Indigenous peoples today. Black and Indigenous inmates are twice as likely to be subjected to excessive force, labeled as high-risk, placed in preventive detention involuntarily, and denied parole (Chartrand, 2019). Denying rehabilitation services to inmates because of their race fails to help the offenders change their criminal behavior patterns. Implementing effective measures to curb systematic racism in correctional institutions will provide equality among inmates and minimize violence. Such initiatives create a positive environment for offenders to accept reformation services.
Over 118 countries’ prisons have reached their maximum capacity, with national jail systems holding more than twice as many people. Overcrowding results from criminal justice policy, not rising crime rates, and it jeopardizes prison systems’ ability to satisfy basic human necessities like healthcare, food, and housing. It threatens to undermine the availability and efficacy of rehabilitative services and technical and occupational training and recreation career options (Brym, 2020). Unnecessary pre-trial detention and the overuse of prison for insignificant, petty offenses are significant contributors to prison population growth. Overpopulation and related issues, such as a lack of confidentiality, can exacerbate or create mental health issues and increase rates of aggression, self-harm, and suicide.
Under the influence of external or internal pressures, some employees cross the line from law-abiding citizens to lawbreakers. Bad environmental conditions, such as dealing with the continual danger of personal harm, interacting with negative coworkers, or feeling unloved by administrators, have a significant impact on acts of misconduct. Management can better adopt efforts to avoid unethical or unlawful activity if they comprehend why people become corrupt (Brym, 2020). Controlling corruption necessitates a commitment from jail administration to enhance and upgrade the overall correctional environment, including staff working conditions. This shields employees from political influences and substitutes complacency with a desire to be held accountable. Implementing rehabilitation services becomes smooth and successful when correctional officials undertake their duties effectively.
In conclusion, many issues deny prisons to effectively manage rehabilitation programs to change the inmates’ behavior patterns. Some of the problems that restrict the reformation of prisoners include systematic racism, drug and substance abuse, poor nutrition, overpopulation, mental health challenges, poor education, and corruption cases among staff. If the challenges are not addressed, correctional institutions will fail in their duty of rehabilitating offenders.
References
Brym, R. (2020). New Society (Canadian) (9th ed.). Nelson Thomson Learning.
Chartrand, V. (2019). Unsettled times: Indigenous incarceration and the links between colonialism and the penitentiary in Canada. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 61(3), 67-89. Web.
Davison, K. M., D’Andreamatteo, C, & Smye, V. L. (2019). Medical nutrition therapy in Canadian federal correctional facilities. BMC Health Services Research, 19(89). Web.
Silva, D. S., Matheson, F. I., & Lavery, J. V. (2017). Ethics of health research with prisoners in Canada. BMC Medical Ethics, 18(31). Web.