As the intensity of the economic crunch continues to weigh down on more and more countries, the poor citizens continue to experience hardships in their day-to-day lives. Skyrocketing food prices, expensive medication, high cost of housing, job lay-offs, etc are continuing to ruin the lives of poor citizens. Consequently, they are forced to devise methods that would assist them to earn a living. Unfortunately, they cannot afford to get a decent job that could enable them to earn enough money to raise their families. This leads to indulgence in other dubious means of earning a living. What repercussions do this offer in return? The results are swelling and an increasingly swelling number of inmates in prisons. This eventually forces the government to devise some strategies that would help the increasing number of inmates to gain something above the normal corrective measures that are the ultimate role of imprisonment.
This essay will discuss the programs offered to inmates and show how they are of importance to not only the inmates but also the general citizens of the United States of America. The essay will discuss how equipping the inmates with appropriate skills will serve as a more powerful corrective measure in addition to the other punitive measured employed by the government. In addition, the essay will also discuss how programs such as caring for the family of the incarcerated can help reduce cases of trauma due to increased economic hardships and the stigma. These and other discussions in this essay will therefore make the reader understand that the programs offered to the inmates are of great benefit to the socio-economic welfare of the United States.
Statistics and Demographics
To make appropriate programs to assist both in preventing further arrests and reducing re-arresting those who have completed their jail terms, it is important to understand the common denominator among the inmates to have a clear insight of the reasons that highly contribute to imprisonment. This calls for the inclusion of clear prison demographics and statistics. The demographics will therefore give an insight into what back grounds the inmates had and consequently the reasons that are likely to have caused the arrest of the person. This can assist to help prevent more arrests in the future. By helping reduce the arrests, the general security of the country becomes better.
The most common and pronounced relationship between prisoners is their history of poverty (Clark pg.61). Other most common features of inmates are that most of them are children of single-parent families. Thirdly, most of them are people whose ethnicities are not white and finally, a good number of inmates are those people who exhibited difficulties in learning and reading abilities. It is therefore important that one understands such traits before considering the government initiatives towards the inmates.
By the year 2005, the total number of inmates stood at two million across the United States according to the Bureau of Justice (Clark pg.61). 66% of these were either in state or federal prisons while the rest were in local prisons. It is important to note that these were the cases that were imprisoned but the number goes up to 6.9 million with the inclusion of those on probation and parole. These statistics show that at that point, one out of every 32 American adults was in prison. if the statistics hold some water, one out of every 15 American adults will have served a jail term at some point in his lifetime this not including many other millions who might avoid prison but have a stint in jail and those who serve through community corrections and also those on probation.
Clark (p. 62) further goes on to distinguish the inmate population with their identical characters.
- In his statistics, 46% of the growth of the American inmate population was accounted for by people between the ages of forty and fifty-four. That was between 1995 and 2003. 66% of the prisoners by the end of 2003 were younger than forty.
- More than 50% of all inmates had attained a high school diploma or a GED.
- More than half of the convicted inmates confessed to having committed their offenses under the influence of drugs and the state prisoners, 83% confessed to having used drugs at some point during their lifetime.
- Of the entire population of inmates, 16% of them are female half of which report having been abused either physically or sexually.
- Sadly, more than 50% of all the inmates are parents to minors. Of these minors, half of them are below the age of ten years.
The statistics listed above show that with such distinguishable characteristics in inmates, there can be a way of coming up with strategies that will assist the inmates and also their families. It was from this point of view that organizations came up with programs that were aimed at facilitating the correctional activities of the inmates. This pulls us back to the main argument. Are these programs worth it or not. To answer this question, a good understanding of the programs is essential.
Among the most extensive programs to be adopted has been the use of education and work programs. To the inmates, this program is important because it gives them skills that will lead to a more decent life after prison (Jrank par.2). This program is based on the belief that education and appropriate skills are very important to a person’s ability to acquire employment. This eventually translates a once unproductive person into a productive citizen. According to research, this program has contributed greatly to the reduction of post-release recidivism especially when targeted to a specific group of inmates like those with low skills. Basing on the statistics shown, the common denominator among almost all the inmates was poverty. This means that they had no means of attaining basic needs eventually engaging in drugs which are a major bypass into crime. By giving inmates skills, they are likely to change their behavior because they would be in a position to get a decent job. In 1996, one survey pointed out that more than 14,532 inmates received two-year associate’s degrees while 232 other inmates received bachelor’s degrees.
Furthermore, this education and work program equips inmates with life skills training. This is a very integral part of society’s well-being. It does not only offer life skills to the inmate thus making him able to live properly with other members of the society after his release, but it also gives the society a chance to live with former inmates without having to be afraid of their safety. According to Jrank (par.4), the chances that most of the released prisoners do not have basic skills of survival upon their entry into society are so high. This is the reason why they are given skills like a job application and interview, money and household management, how to maintain a healthy life, parenting and being a spouse, etc.
Secondly, the education and work program ensures that inmates do not recidivate after their release. Research has shown that several education programs given to the inmates have armed them with appropriate skills that have highly reduced their chances of recidivating. According to Lappin (pg.4), research carried out showed that all the inmates who had undergone training through the Federal Prison Industry had a 24% chance of not recidivating. In addition, inmates who had undergone training in the vocational and occupational fields stood a chance of 33% of not recidivating, for those who had undergone educational programs, they had a chance of 16% less likeliness of recidivating and finally, inmates who had completed the residential treatment of drug abuse had a chance of 16% likeliness of not recidivating and above all, they had a 15% chance of failing to relapse into drug use after three years.
The role of these education and work programs to former drug addicts cannot be undervalued. Education offered in the program allows former drug users to be equipped with enough knowledge on how to avoid drugs and in addition, arms them with the knowledge that can prove essential when they complete their prison terms. These programs which are meant for both residential and nonresidential inmates usually offer education in subjects that promote the reduction of anti-social peer associations, positive relations promotions, improvement of self-control, self-management, skills in problem-solving, stopping of drug abuse, and the replacement of anti-social behaviors like aggression with other socially acceptable alternatives (Lappin 4). Nonetheless, the work skills provided gives an inmate something to occupy him after serving his sentence and therefore earn some living. This will help him keep off drugs. It should be noted that most drug and substance abuse cases come as a result of disillusionment in life, idleness, and peer pressure. Therefore, working will ensure that one’s time is occupied assisting him to avoid being idle and spending too much time with friends who can easily lure him back to drugs. Also, by working, one will have a future thus being less disillusioned.
The second extensive program to be offered by the government was the program aimed at ensuring that the family of the incarcerated person is cushioned from physical and mental pains that are usually associated with such situations. To bring out a clear picture of the importance of this program, one can also consider the following scene. Katia Dukes was only nine years when her father killed her mother in cold blood and was arrested and sentenced to serve a 20-year prison term. Imagine what little Katia was to undergo with a dead mother and an incarcerated father. Therefore, one of the most welcome contributions of these programs was the putting in place of programs that would give children and women of incarcerated fathers a chance to live in a more welcome environment both physically and emotionally (Treadwell par.2).
In a study dubbed “silent victims,” several truths were revealed that truly called for intervention in the lives of the victims of incarceration. According to the study, more than 1.2 million inmates had children who were at that point struggling outside to earn a living either single-handedly or with foster parents who were having financial constraints (Treadwell par.2). The number of children in the whole country who were having their parents in prison was estimated to be 1.5 million. Just to complete the story of Katia, she was separated from her other three siblings who were placed under different guardianship at different places. This subjected her to loneliness and anger that eventually led her into serious mental and physical abuse.
As a form of remedy to this, the study gave recommendations that law enforcement agents should come up with strategies to take care of children when their parents were sent to prison. In addition to this, the study recommended appropriate re-entry programs which could assist the inmates who have completed their terms to be in a good position to reunite with their families and also to provide the members of families whose one member is in prison with enough counseling that would assist them to cope with the stigma that is associated with the situation.
Apart from providing counseling, there was the need for reforms in the guidelines to the process of parole and sentencing. In criminal justice jargon, the word guidelines could have two meanings (Levinson, 1476). The most important one is the comprehensive meaning which is, “rules that are more specific and precise…show expected sentences for convicted offenders but permit (or even encourage) judicial discretion when special circumstances are present.”
In the early 70s, sentencing guidelines were made to ensure that they provided for fair parole decision-making. Also, they were to reduce or even remove all forms of disparities and uncertainties in the decisions, encouraging rationality in the parole decision making and finally providing a means of describing policies and a way of changing them should need to arise. To come up with appropriate decisions, the matter was then to be viewed from two perspectives; the gravity of the offense and the risk involved. This trend continued until sentencing commissions came up. These commissions were found to be ineffective, loaded with unfairness and discretion. Later, the powers were then divided between parole boards, defense lawyers, prosecutors, and also the administrators of prisons (Levinson, 1477).
With such provisions, it makes the government programs even more important because it will be made easier for the parole decision-making as these programs will fill up in the cases that require special treatment. Consequently, this will reduce instances of disparities, the uncertainty of the punishments, punishment disproportionality, etc.
The above-named programs among others have had a great contribution in the reduction of expenditure by the criminal justice system through costs that would have been accrued in terms of the correctional programs and also saving citizens from losses, both monetary and property wise, that they would have accrued in cases of recidivism (Lappin pg. 5). According to the study, the benefit to cost ratio of about $5.65 would be experienced per every invested dollar in the case of adult basic education, $6.23 for correctional industries, and finally $7.13 for vocational training. Therefore, these programs are important in saving the taxpayers a good amount of money from the government which can use the same for other productive uses and also, they save the citizen from undergoing losses that could come up as a result of theft and other losses that would come as a result of a relapse into crime.
In conclusion, the programs that the government started for the inmates were of great importance not only for the inmates but all the citizens of the United States. This is as a result of saving money that could have otherwise been wasted in correctional programs, helping the inmates come out with skills that would assist them to get a job that would enable them to support themselves, providing a way in which the families of the incarcerated people would access assistance both physical and mental, providing a remedy to the discrepancies in parole decision making, etc. therefore, much should be done to encourage these programs which offer a great future for Americans.
References
Boufis, Christina. County Jail Teaching. The Chronicles. 1998. Web.
Clark, Sheila and MacCreaigh, Erica. Library services to the incarcerated: applying the public library model in correctional facility libraries. Libraries Unlimited: New York, 2006.
Drug rehabs.org. Washington Senate Approves Changes for Inmate Rehabilitation. 2009. Web.
Douglas, Frederick. Learning to Read and Write. Gibbs Magazine. 2009. Web.
Die Gelbe Rose Carriage. Help Save the Wild Horses Inmate Program. Web.
Jrank. Rehabilitation– Correctional Programs in the United States. Web.
Maltz, Michael. Recidivism. Michael Maltz: New York, 1984.
Lappin, Harley. Federal Prisoner Reentry and the Second Chance Act. Federal Bureau of Prisons. 2009. Web.
Levinson, David. Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. SAGE: New York, 2002.
Treadwell, Henry. Children of Incarcerated Parents : Helping the Silent Victims. Web.