Reducing Recidivism

Today, there are people out there who have committed crimes that have been captured by the authorities. Some of them have undergone rehabilitation or have sworn that they will never commit the crime they have done. However, there are tendencies that a previous criminal who stopped doing crimes or people who have been punished due to their illegal actions could do the same action again; this is called recidivism (“What is Recidivism?”, n.d.). According to Agenyi (2017), 37% of prisoners who have been arrested for five years and have been released in the United States were arrested again in the first six months after they were released. Furthermore, almost 57% of the released prisoners have been arrested again at the end of the first year of being released (Agenyi, 2017).

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There are numerous reasons why a previous criminal would commit the same actions again after they have been incarcerated and punished for their previous actions. Some of it is caused by the prison system in the United States; it shows that the more criminals that have been incarcerated, the bigger the profit would be. This could sometimes lead to poor services to the prisoners and a lack of programs that could help the prisoners to change their ways. This poor prison system could lead to an even more violent environment that could cause the prisoners to commit the crime again even after being incarcerated (‘What is Recidivism?” n.d.).

There are numerous ways to prevent or somehow reduce the idea of recidivism; according to an article on the Florida Tech website, there are three main ways to reduce recidivism incidents among prisoners. These include the idea of improving the education system, providing outreach and assistance programs, and reducing or, if possible, eliminating criminal justice debts (“Recidivism: What It Is and How to Prevent It”, n.d.).

The first thing that the government or the criminal justice system could do is to help improve the education system of the country and make it more affordable for everyone. It shows that 60.4% of the prisoners who have been rearrested do not finish high school at all (“Recidivism: What It Is and How to Prevent It,” n.d.). In my own opinion, education should be prioritized by the government; improving the education system could help reduce the idea of people who commit a crime. According to Bell, Costa, and Machin (2018), it shows that a good education system could reduce people committing crimes because they could learn new things that could enhance their skills. These skills could later be used in order to boost both employment and wages.

Another possible way to reduce the idea of recidivism is by providing outreach and assistance programs both inside and outside of the prison. It shows that the social services support system in the United States is not enough, which is why most people who have mental illnesses or people who have suffered from substance abuse could end up in jail rather than in facilities that could help them with their problems (“Recidivism: What It Is and How to Prevent It,” n.d.). In addition to this, a study shows that intense monitoring and treatment could help criminals who have a higher risk of committing the same crime again could be an effective way to reduce the idea of recidivism. Also, a forensic psychologist could help the offenders by analyzing the reasons why they would commit the crime and providing options on how to avoid it (“Recidivism: What It Is and How to Prevent It,” n.d.).

Lastly, the idea of eliminating or reducing criminal justice debt could also help to avoid recidivism. Most prisoners who have been released choose to return to the prison in order to reduce their debt. The fees that are being fined to the offenders come from jail time, court appearances, and public defender assignments. Most of the time, prisoners do not have the capability of paying the fees because they do not have the resources. So, there are people who argue that the states and the lawmakers should change this system and should provide alternative ways of paying the fees, for example, doing community services (“Recidivism: What It Is and How to Prevent It”, n.d.).

People have their own reasons for why they commit crimes and why they have done it again. The state should provide services to the prisoners in order to make sure that they will not be committing the same crime again. In addition to this, the education system should also be improved so that it would be available for everyone. Lastly, providing quality assistance programs and rehabilitation could be a big help for the prisoners. Providing skills training so that they could apply for jobs and be a better person.

References

Agenyi, J. (2017). Recidivism in the United States. Retrieved from https://atlascorps.org/recidivism-united-states-overview/

Bell, B., Costa, R., & Machin, S. (2018). Why education reduces crime. Retrieved from https://voxeu.org/article/why-education-reduces-crime

Recidivism: What It Is and How to Prevent It. Retrieved from https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/criminal-justice/recidivism-what-it-is-and-how-to- prevent-it/

What is Recidivism? Retrieved from https://www.socialworkdegreeguide.com/faq/what-is- recidivism/

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