Introduction
According to a survey conducted by the College of Criminal Justice (CCJ) (1996), the largest share of the public considers a goal of prisons as rehabilitation (48.4%), one third highlights prevention of the future crimes (33,1%),
and only 14.6% declared for the punishment function (Prevention History of Corrections). This illustrates society’s expectations about the organization of the prison system.
Main body
Rehabilitation programs are aimed at reducing recidivism rates. Thus, the central task within this mission is to provide the necessary tools for the prisoners to return to the non-criminal mode of life.
Three important issues are taken into account in the rehabilitation programs:
- Causation of crimes;
- Changes in personality while serving sentence;
- Opportunities for renewal of the further social and professional life.
These factors have been studied for decades in psychological, psychiatric, and social dimensions and are described by different schools (Tappan, 1960). Today the rehabilitation programs are based on the consideration of these issues.
The rehabilitation programs focus on psychological support and assistance in returning to the non-criminal way of life. It is illustrated by a worldwide program “Criminon”, which is based on the booklet “The Way to Happiness” by L. Ron Hubbard, an American science fiction writer. Having worked with a large number of prisoners, Hubbard concluded that the lack of self-esteem is the crucial issue-defining their behavior. The booklet includes 21 precepts that help the prisoners’ rehabilitation, such as: “Do not take harmful drugs”, “Don’t do anything illegal”, “Do not steal”, and “Do not murder”.
The program implies the following points:
- removing the causes of criminal tendencies in behavior;
- rehabilitation of the common moral values;
- providing education and training aimed at successful renewal of the social life and professional activity.
A set of precepts has its psychological peculiarities. Firstly, they have different difficulty levels: some precepts are easy to follow, which encourages an individual and increases his self-esteem. Secondly, the program explains the reasonability of fulfilling the precepts, which is an important motivator for the prisoners.
A Second Chance Program also focuses on raising self-esteem. It also highlights the necessity to explain the reasonability of the rehabilitation steps:
The idea here is to shift the inmate’s moral code from one based on criminality to one that is socially desirable, based on survival for himself and others, and one that makes sense to him. If it doesn’t make sense to him, he won’t follow it. (Second Chance Program).
Professional training is another important issue while providing rehabilitation support. The limited funding often causes the reduction of the educational and training programs for the offenders, which affects the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process (Kornblum, 2008).
Besides the education and training, the practice of working while serving sentences exists in some prisons. Providing jobs within the prison is considered to be a very effective mechanism of rehabilitation, as the ability to earn money is a strong stimulus for the prisoners. There are cases when the prisoners manage to earn the amount which is sufficient to start their own business (Clear, 2006).
Conclusion
However, the rehabilitation programs within the prison are not the only point in providing a new chance to the prisoners. In fact, “after-prison” rehabilitation makes a former prisoner gain a foothold or, backward, incites recidivism. The attention of society should be embodied into the appropriate institutional organization of providing the former prisoners their “second chance”.
References
Clear, T. R., Cole, G. F., & Reisig, M. D. (2006). American Corrections. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Kornblum, W. & Smith, C. D. (2008). Sociology in a Changing World. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson.
Prevention History of Corrections—Punishment or Rehabilitation? 2010. Web.
Second Chance Program Raising Self-respect in Mexico Inmates. 2010. Web.
Tappan, P. W. (1960). Crime, Justice and Correction. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.