The Pros And Cons Of Prison Rehabilitation

The United States have the highest number of incarcerations in the world. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics The United States has 2.3 million people incarcerated and China’s estimated prison population totals to 1.6 million. Instead of The United States incarcerating so many people they should focus on providing rehabilitation to prevent re-offenders. Rehabilitation is the re-integration into society of a convicted person and the main objective of modern penal policy, to counter criminal recidivism. Rehabilitation would help reduce the rate of recidivism and also be able to help with mental problems and substance abuse problems they are facing. The United States does not have a strong focus on rehabilitation of people who have
Also prisoners can contribute to the economy at relatively low cost, and provide services for the government that lowers taxes, such as making license plates and street signs. Criminals being locked away makes society safer, and people worry less. They believe if we continue to incarcerate people it will have a significant effect on the rate of crime. According to Allison Schrager the prison system does not deter crime it encourages it especially for people who spend more than a year in prison. It increases the chances of small criminals becoming career criminals. Sending people away for petty crimes such as theft, and drug possession, and placing them with serious criminals gives them ideas to do worst crimes and makes them more dangerous because they are being placed with people they have to adapt to. 30% of adult offenders that are released from state prison are rearrested within the first 6 months of their release from prison. Which should make us realize the simple problems being they can not find work because of their criminal record so they go back to their old lifestyle which ends them back in the system. As of 2014, 65 million Americans have a criminal records which can make it difficult for them to find
The United States spent $80 billion on incarceration in 2010. Imagine if they spent half as much money they spend on incarcerating people to provide rehabilitation for offenders when they are released from prison or substance abuse programs before we sentence people to prisons. Rehabilitation programs are much more cost-effective than incarceration. Intensive supervised treatment have shown to reduce recidivism 16.7% opposed to 5.7% from treatment in prison. Taking a step from incarceration to think of the other options that will do the long term goal of keeping them out of the criminal system ever again, by helping solve the problem ahead of time should be the goal not to just continue causing a permanent