Prison Recidivism

This essay is focusing on whether or not prisons work by exploring how effective they are in preventing recidivism and in turn reducing crime whilst keeping law abiding citizens, including prison staff, safe. It will discuss prisoners’ wellbeing, such as mental health issues, reintegration with society and how prisons aim to maintain order. In the short term prisons appear to work by fulfilling their purpose of removing criminals from society. Reassurance is provided for citizens by socially excluding criminals by removing their freedom. 24 hour surveillance ensures prisoners are prevented from committing societal crime. A study conducted by Professor David Farrington shows that using prisons less resulted in a crime increase, highlighting

By making the costs worse (hostile prison conditions) it should scare others into law abiding lifestyles. When a state chooses to imprison a citizen, they are responsible for their health, safety and psychological well-being. Prisons can be problematic as staff are responsible for the administration of ‘benefits and burdens in formal and discretionary ways’ (Mathiesen 1965, cited in McLaughlin and Muncie 2001: 210). It is difficult to determine prisoners’ rights and whether early release should be granted. In contrast, Flynn argues remission acts as ‘an incentive to behave in prison,’ which can help maintain order (Baker 1998:

Regardless of prisoners finishing their sentence, when released back into society there is a possibility of being labelled. The social reaction theory suggests, for example, that if a sex offender has completed his sentence, when he is released back into society he will still be labelled as a danger to society, limiting his opportunities. The self-­fulfilling prophecy often follows, for example ‘once a child is labelled ‘delinquent’ he may internalise it by thinking of himself as what he is told he is’ (Wright 1982: 195). Conversely, this theory may be useful in preventing the same crime from reoccurring, for example by not allowing sex offenders to work with children under 16. (Wright 1982: 83) Wright argues that minor offences require fewer prosecutions. Prions would be more effective if reserved for serious offences which would decrease prison overcrowding, improving prison conditions. Contrastingly, the “broken window” theory by Wilson and Kelling demonstrates how society sees crime worsening if minor crimes are not sanctioned appropriately, be it imprisonment if needed. However, tension could occur between long term and short term offenders, as long term prisoners tend to dominate, contributing towards prison violence (Marsh et al 2011: