Rehabilitation of Criminals in America

Rehabilitation of Criminals in America

Prison inmates, are some of the most ³maladjusted² people in society. Most of the inmates have had too little discipline or too much, come from broken homes, and have no self-esteem. They are very insecure and are ³at war with themselves as well as with society² (Szumski 20). Most inmates did not learn moral values or learn to follow everyday norms. Also, when most lawbreakers are labeled criminals they enter the phase of secondary deviance. They will admit they are criminals or believe it when they

enter the phase of secondary deviance (Doob 171).

Next, some believe that if we want to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just send them to prison. For instance, we could give them a chance to acquire job skills; which will improve the chances that inmates will become productive citizens upon release. The programs must aim to change those who want to change. Those who are taught to produce useful goods and to be productive are ³likely to develop the self-esteem essential to a normal, integrated personality² (Szumski 21). This kind of program would provide skills and habits and ³replace the sense of hopelessness² that many inmates have

(Szumski 21).

Moreover, another technique used to rehabilitate criminals is counseling. There is two types of counseling in general, individual and group counseling. Individual counseling is much more costly than group counseling. The aim of group counseling is to develop positive peer pressure that will influence its members. One idea in many sociology text is that group problem-solving has definite advantages over individual problem-solving. The idea is that a wider variety of solutions can be derived by drawing from

the experience of several people with different backgrounds. Also one individuals problem might have already been solved by another group member and can be suggested.

Often if a peer proposes a solution it carries more weight than if the counselor were to suggest it (Bennett 20-24).

Further, in sociology, one of the major theories of delinquency is differential association (Cressey 1955). This means some people learned their ways from ³undesirable² people who they were forced to be in association with and that this association ³warps² their thinking and social attitudes. ³Group counseling, group interaction, and other kinds of group activities can...

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... to the economy.

Also the construction of new prisons brings millions of dollars into the economy each year and if there were no new prisons needed it would mean the loss of thousands of jobs (Szumski 24-26). Henry Abernathy and inmate in Texas said ³just think what a catastrophe it would cause if all cons across the country decided never to commit another crime.² Richard Cepulonis, an inmate in Massachusetts said just the title ³Department of Corrections² is a ³misnomer² he said ³they don¹t correct anything.²

In conclusion, things need to be done to improve rehabilitation in America. Improvements in job training, counseling, and halfway houses for rehabilitation must be brought to the forefront by citizens.

If we do not get involved and try to make changes, our crime problem could worsen beyond control.

Bibliography

Szumski, Bonnie. America¹s Prisons Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, Inc.: 1985

Doob, Christopher. Sociology: An Introduction. Harcourt Brace & Company, United States: 1994

Bennett, Lawrence. Counseling in Correctional Environments. New York: New York, 1978

Fox, Vernon. Community-Based Corrections. Englewood Cliffs: New Jersey, 1977.