Recidivism among Young Males: Examining the Cycle

36 months after being released from prison or jail approximately 66 percent of young males have recidivated. Most young males either are rearrested for committing a new crime or for a parole/probation technical violation. About two/thirds of former felons in all age groups return to either jail or prison. As a society that means our criminal justice system tends to lock up the same people over and over until they are in prison/jail for life or die. This is a system that will only increase in cost as more and more prisons and jails are built to house these inmates. Necessary expenses to house inmates will continue to rise as the number housed increases. More inmates requires more guards, more facilities, higher healthcare service costs, a higher

This program will utilize all four to help create pro-social bonds among likeminded ex-felons and help create a pro-social support network. For ex-felons to reintegrate back into their communities these ex-felons need strong pro-social links to society. Many ex-felons fail to create pro-social bonds with others and return to their anti-social bonds and lifestyle that these ex-felons were a part of before their

The second step is commitment. An ex-felon needs to be committed to conformity. A person is committed to conformity by having something to lose. Also known as “stakes in conformity.” For example, a better future that can be helped by having a higher education, increased freedom by staying out of jail/prison, and the ability to have a normal life, are all examples of stakes in conformity. Social Bonds Theory states that people are pro-social because the person has something to lose. Society does a lot to push people away from conformity because society destroys most ex-felons previous stakes in conformity such as causing divorces, people to lose their jobs, their homes, most of their stuff, and anything that tied the ex-felon to the community. By providing an opportunity to achieve a college degree and gain a higher paying job society gives ex-felons something to lose as well as the opportunity to gain back what was previously lost. Under the current system, most likely the only thing an ex-felon will lose if the ex-felon is rearrested is their freedom. That loss of freedom is little deterrent if that is the only stake an ex-felon has. In fact, for some ex-felons their loss of freedom is a relief as incarceration brings them a sense of family and conformity. Society can increase the number of stakes a person has by giving that person something to lose. An opportunity for a