The criminal justice system, most specifically the prison setting in the United States, does more harm than good. It needs to be reformed. The prison system doesn’t work to rehabilitate prisoners. “Since the 1970s, we have seen a shift away from a philosophy that endorses the goal of rehabilitation to one that places greater emphasis on punishment and a “get tough on crime” perspective” (Benson, 2003 as cited in Gruman et al., 2016). The origins of this philosophy are unknown. I predict this could only benefit a small group of people, which are the victims and loved ones of the victims. It is reasonable to say that after a certain point of revenge, it is no longer beneficial to see one’s perpetrator suffer. Alternatively, this policy could be serving the prison system. Maybe there is financial incentive for the prison system to retain prisoners. “According to the National Institute of Justice, almost 44% of criminals released return before the first year out of prison” (Recidivism Rates by State 2022, n.d.).
No matter why the prison system operates the way it does, the system doesn’t work. It takes away freedom from the prisoners who are convicted and keeps crime circulating in the system. Lack of reform introduces crime that could’ve been stopped. This is unjust. We have a population of people suffering that cause suffering on others, and our system does nothing but perpetuate the system. This is dangerous.
Reforming the prison system is possible. It is possible to create a prison system that focuses mainly on rehabilitation and less on punishment. There are many examples of this around the world. For example, the Nordic countries are known to have a modern prison reform system. “The concept of normalisation—or normality—has been used to an ever-increasing extent in prisons policies since the 1970s in the Nordic countries” (Engbo, 2017). Additionally, the United States used to emphasize rehabilitation as well. “Until the mid-1970s, rehabilitation was a key part of U.S. prison policy. Prisoners were encouraged to develop occupational skills and to resolve psychological problems–such as substance abuse or aggression–that might interfere with their reintegration into society” (Benson, 2003).
To ensure this system works, an experiment could be conducted with checkpoint evaluations and post-study evaluations. This would monitor the progress of the study. This process would include data analysis from data collected, as well as revisiting the original research experiment for updated information on prison reform. It is possible to create a new prison reform system. It existed once before, there are modern day examples of it, and it is long overdue. Prisoners are suffering by being circulated in an unhelpful system. People are more in danger due to prison systems failing to keep crime off the street. It is time for change.
References
Benson, E. S. (2003, July 1). Rehabilitate or punish? Monitor on Psychology, 34(7). https://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/rehab
Engbo, H. J. (2017). Normalisation in Nordic Prisons—From a Prison Governor’s Perspective. Scandinavian Penal History, Culture and Prison Practice, 327–352. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58529-5_14
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Recidivism Rates by State 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/recidivism-rates-by-state