Rethinking Rehabilitation David Farabee Summary

David Farabee – Rethinking Rehabilitation

Public Perception
David Farabee starts off by looking at crime rates and the public’s perception of crime from the media. The media focuses on high profile cases for severe acts of crime which is not that common compared to other criminal acts. He states that the society’s reaction from the media produces an affect that the crime rate is increasing at an alarming rate. The public’s perception and voice has major influence on what happens with the criminal justice system. Society wants the policy makers to aim for rehabilitative and counselling efforts rather than locking up the criminals. They would rather see them be back on track and reintegrated into society to have a better life. What the
The reason why they offer education is because they assume that because the offenders lack education it makes them likely to be unemployed which in turn, they end up resorting to crime. They assume that it will work so they continue to use this program method, yet no studies have proven it to be an effective method to reduce recidivism. Life skills based programs are available to help offenders with the challenges they may face in society. It is supposed to be used so that once out of jail they will use these skills and not have to worry about turning to criminal acts. Although it may be helpful for some offenders because they lack these skills, it is not proven to deter them from committing these acts once released. The cognitive behavioural program seems to have different approaches at different institutions. Some may be helpful, others not so much. This strategy aims to change the way offenders think because they are seen as thinking differently than the average person. Faith based programs have research that fails to include dropouts, etc. One study shows that this program has even made criminals more likely to commit more
People think that crime is produced by one single factor, which is not the case. It can be caused by many, and is different with every person. Instead of focusing on one major aspect that they feel has been deteriorated from the offenders lives, they must intervene with as many ways as possible, doing whatever they can. Multifaceted programs must be used in order to be beneficial. These programs being offered are done so in hopes to be rehabilitative and reduce recidivism rates. Farabee states that these programs are just helping with prison management and keeping order. He further states that they should be continued but not with the hopes of being