The U.S. Correctional Facility: Punishment or Rehabilitation?
The U.S. Correctional Facility: Punishment or Rehabilitation?
Introduction:
Currently, there are more than 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States (Fisher, 2014) and the number is growing at a rapid rate. In recent years very few efforts have been made to reform the broken system; with many viewing the criminal justice system as convicts “getting what they deserve” (Fisher, 2014 p. 71) and less as a form of rehabilitation. Since the shift from rehabilitation-focused to a penal system the rate of incarceration has increased drastically. This current trend of mass incarceration is widely understood to have begun in the mid-1970s, and “to be continuing unabated into the present (with decreases in some US states compensated by increases in others),” (Morin, 2013 p. 387). The majority (approximately 70%) of the individuals that are incarcerated are unemployed or marginalized minorities such as African-Americans and Latinos (Morin, 2013). There have been numerous debates over whether the correctional system is successful or not in rehabilitating offenders.
The correctional system punishes its offenders in a variety of ways. This includes cramped quarters where inmates are squeezed into tiny cells and extended periods of lockdown any given day (Morin, 2013). Depending on the magnitude of the crime committed by an offender determines the level of security he or she is housed in. Inmates are subject to overcrowded unhygienic living spaces, and low levels of security from other inmates. According to Morin “through its oppressive spatial tactics and retributive penal logic, the late modern prison produces new sources of unprecedented fear, tension, terror, and violence, and/or their constant threat” (2013). Inmates are cut off from the outside world and forced to cope with harsh conditions while in correctional facilities.
How the Correctional Facility Rehabilitates Offenders
Initially, correctional facilities offered many options to its inmates while serving time. According to Morin, “inmates could work, participate in sports activities, and others, such as singing and theatre,” (2013). The Federal Bureau Prisons was established to protect society by placing offenders in prisons and “community-based facilities” that are safe and provide the opportunity for offenders to improve themselves before returning to society (Esherick, 2015). Through these programs inmates were able to slowly rebuild their lives and easily transition back into society once released. When ran correctly, prison allows offenders the opportunity to gain education (learn to read, take college classes, earn their GED) and/or learn a trade while incarcerated (Esherick, 2015). Some institutions offer opportunities not previously available to some inmates while they were living in the outside world (Esherick, 2015).
More Effective Method in Reducing Crime
Taxpayers currently pay over half a billion dollars to fund the correctional system, however, the rate of recidivism (when an inmate commits a criminal behavior after being released from prison) is alarmingly high at 47%; suggesting the need for a reform of the correctional system (Fisher, 2014). As Fisher states, “the system that is supposed to deter an individual from continuing their criminal behavior, and thus protecting the public, is failing miserably” (Fisher, 2014 p. 71). It is apparent that punishment-based incarceration is not proving effective. Since the implementation of a harsher correctional system, incarceration rates and recidivism have grown. Providing more activities that foster healthy and positive interaction between inmates could prove beneficial.
Punishment or Rehabilitation
Morin estimates that “there are approximately 200,000 US prisoners in high-security solitary confinement today, and the number is growing,” (2013). Other researchers point to the lack of adequate programs and placements that help inmates transition better when returning to society (Esherick, 2015). Punishment has proven to be ineffective based on the increasing incarceration rates and the effects of incarceration on current inmates. Morin also describes the inmate experience as “of overall sensory deprivation, isolation and loneliness, enforced idleness and inactivity, oppressive security and surveillance procedures and despair” (2013). “Those not ‘broken’ by the system may become more dangerous and mean” (Morin, 2013 p. 389-390). Studies have found that prolonged isolation (which is common in correctional facilities) causes prisoners to experience “depression, despair, anxiety, rage, claustrophobia, hallucinations, and an inability to think, concentrate, or remember” (Morin, 2013 p. 390).
It is apparent that reform in the correctional facility is necessary. Punishing inmates only leads to relapses or harden individuals that are worse off than when they first entered the system. Isolation leads to more problems and emotional stress such as anger, intimidation, loneliness, and fear (Esherick, 2015). In order to rehabilitate, correctional systems need to develop reeducation programs that help inmates learn new ways of thinking and living (Esherick, 2015).
References
Morin, K. M. (2013). 'Security Here is Not Safe': Violence, Punishment, & Space in the
Contemporary US Penitentiary. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 31(3),
381-399.
Fisher, S. (2014). Mass Incarceration: The Further Compromise of Public Safety. Journal of
Prisoners on Prisons, 23(2), 71-83.
Esherick, J. (2015). Prisoner Rehabilitation: Success Stories and Failures. Mason Crest.
