In his speech, Brandon W. Mathews offers his perspective on the penal system as an experienced correctional officer. He draws comparisons between divorcing and getting rid of the current correctional system because of its being dysfunctional (TEDx Talks, 2017). The speaker expresses frustration related to the ineffectiveness of his rehabilitation-focused activities as a professional. From the presenter’s perspective, the key reason why the correctional system is failing deals with the practice of assigning punishments based on the levels of misbehavior that offenders are anticipated to demonstrate (TEDx Talks, 2017). To him, this approach to punishment eliminates the opportunity to place prisoners in correctional places developed with reference to their unique rehabilitation-related needs, including addiction counseling services (TEDx Talks, 2017). Thus, the presenter cites the philosophy in which punishment is the core principle and rehabilitation acts as the after-thought as the underlying cause of the systems-level issue and the recidivism cycle.
The video made me reflect on the system’s ability to provide the needed opportunities for rehabilitation and effectively evaluate each offender’s potential for improvement to use resources wisely. I find the speaker’s explanation of the correctional system’s failure convincing, especially when it comes to the absence of counseling services that would support prisoners in overcoming crime-inducing addictions. The speaker’s arguments related to current recidivism rates are based on observations in real prison contexts, which adds to their credibility (TEDx Talks, 2017). The counterarguments that could be proposed include the fundamental inability of the correctional system to offer rehabilitation services to all offenders based on their individual contributors to crime. The possible contributors are numerous, ranging from the consequences of parental neglect to diverse mental disorders or the unwillingness to accept society’s rules. Allocating resources to make all types of services available to imprisoned offenders and conducting needs assessments prior to institutional placement decisions might consume too much time and energy without producing excellent results.
Reference
TEDx Talks. (2017). The surprising reason our correctional system doesn’t work. Brandon W. Mathews. TEDxMileHigh [Video]. YouTube. Web.