The debate as to whether criminals can be rehabilitated has been ongoing due to the difference in opinions as to inmates’ capacity to receive support and guidance when they had none their entire lives, which led to dire consequences for them (Lieu, 2010). Personally, I cannot wholly agree with the opinion that prisoners cannot be rehabilitated because they have not been previously ‘habilitated.’ Rehabilitation is a complicated and entirely personal process, and I believe in it, but it would be hard to institutionalize and adhere to rules and legislations that are rigid and cannot be adjusted to personal needs. The current rehabilitation programs need improving as they are often ineffective at reducing recidivism among criminals; moreover, the approach to measuring program performance is often flawed.
To improve the current prison programs, there is a need to establish an evidence-based practice that would provide a useful report detailing whether the rehabilitation programs are research-based. It is also important to measure the actual cost-effectiveness of the programs, and such an evaluation can track the processes and determine the possibility of recidivism. Besides, it is necessary to target high-risk and highest-need inmates that are the most likely to recidivate. Finally, it is important that rehabilitation programs improve the performance measures to implement regular oversight, such as by requiring the reporting of particular measures of performance, including the inmates with unmet needs who are near their release (Legislative Analyst’s Office, 2017). The rehabilitation programs and procedures must be individually-targeted and allow for some room for adjustment based on the unique needs of the inmates participating in them. If the programs remain rigidly structured, they are less likely to provide the expected results.
References
Legislative Analyst’s Office. (2017). Improving in-prison rehabilitation programs. Web.
Lieu, T. (2010). Ted Lieu on the need for rehabilitation for state prisoners [Video file]. Web.