This prison program is designed for the rehabilitation of those individuals who committed gun crimes. The methodological assumptions of the rehabilitation program are based on the individual stages approach elaborated by Prochaska and Diclemente in their stages of change. These stages are widely differentiated through the implementation of different tasks and activities needed for those who committed gun crime’ rehabilitation. The notion of rehabilitation in law enforcement is of crucial importance and needs comprehensive understanding. It is analogical to ‘medical rehabilitation’ but with reference to criminals. They are regarded as socially dangerous and thus, need to be improved. The rehabilitation theory governs from the assumption that human behavior depends on the environment and thus can be improved. This allows criminals to be returned to society and start normal life (Tonry, 2000).
Gun crimes are very widespread in the contemporary United States. A big number of gun crimes are mostly violent offenses against other people and thus, the rehabilitation of gun offenders as one of the most dangerous criminals should be regarded as one of the primary tasks of the justice system (U.S. Department of Justice, 2001). The use of firearms in offenses is higher than other weapons which give one more example of the abovementioned phenomenon (U.S. Department of Justice, 2003).
The elaboration of the current rehabilitation program for the gun offenders is heavily indebted Prochaska, DiClemente (1992) wheel of change to rehabilitation which regards as a reflexive process of changing a person’s patterns of thinking, cognition of reality, and behavior. These authors regard offenders as being ‘frozen’ in negative and the purpose of rehabilitation is to ‘unfreeze’ them. The behavioral change is addressed through the consistent number of phases during which the offender’s personality is changed but before applying them to this program it is important to note that the first phase of the rehabilitation process is not behavioral change but analysis of the criminal behavior.
Before starting a rehabilitation program it is important that counselors thoroughly analyze the reasons for the offender’s dangerous behavior through the prism of the moral and cognitive principles and social conditions in which he lived. This analysis should be personally tailored rather than presented in a ‘one size fits all manner’. It is important that members of the offender’s native community and family be engaged in this initial phase of rehabilitation. This program also suggests involving professional psychologists specializing in gun crime offenders to take necessary steps for creating mental and mindset characteristics of an offender. His personal peculiarities such as the level of IQ and language barrier for the development of effective conditions for rehabilitation.
The next step of the rehabilitation process is the realization of the individual stages of the change model through using the concept of the wheel of change.
During the first stage (pre-contemplation) criminals are passive in changing their behavior and do not aware of the problematic character of their behavior. During this stage it is important to adopt a careful approach to gun offenders governing from the principle – ‘do not harm’. It is recommended that giving psychological services was a necessary activity for all gun offenders no less than 2 times a week following the first months of detention and on an individually tailored timetable in the course of imprisonment.
Contemplation. As a result of psychological and other activities, some changes occur to gun offender’s self-perception but he/she still resists changing his/her behavior and thus the continuation of the program is needed. New activities such as socially useful work. Duly organized socially useful work changes the lifestyles of the people and makes them more responsible and psychologically stable. It is necessary to ensure that realizing working activities be awarded accordingly so as to inspire people to realize set tasks and responsibilities. If the process is duly prepared then the working hours spent by prisoners together improve their interpersonal communication and helps to avoid different forms of sociopathy and prison violence that are so widespread in penal establishments.
Preparation. During this phase gun offenders start to show some evidence of behavior and lifestyles improvement which is mainly due to social usefulness, enhancing cooperation, and psychological activities.
The following stage of individual changerefers to the action. During this change, significant changes to behavior, thinking, etc. can be observed though it must be remembered that for making a final conclusion a comprehensive analysis is needed for understanding the real motives of changing behavior. At this stage of personal change, the engagement of offenders in different art activities and events is needed to interiorize these new lifestyles.
An important component of the rehabilitation program is an imitation of relapse, i.e. helping offenders to avoid possible triggers for relapse in his/her illegal activities. Psychological work is regarded as the most important in this phase as well as cooperation with the community and relatives.
During the maintenance and termination phase, the norms and new behavioral orientation become stable and transform into the new norms of life which allows the beginning of the final stage of a rehabilitation program.
Returning to the community requires using sufficient resources for effective social adaptation of the former offender. It is necessary that all preconditions being created for his finding new work, good social network and interpersonal relations, and support from local authorities to become a full-fledged member of a law-abiding society.
References
Prochaska J. O, DiClemente C. C. (1992) Stages of change in the modification of problem behaviors. Program Behavior Modification 28: 183-218.
Tonry, M. (Ed.). (2000). The Handbook of Crime & Punishment. New York: Oxford University Press.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2001). Firearm use by offenders. U.S. Department of justice: Office of justice programs. 2007. Web.
U.S. Department of Justice (2003). Weapon use and violent crime. Department of justice: Office of justice programs. 2007. Web.