There are many who think criminal rehabilitation is the way to solve the issue of prisoners returning to jail after their previous incarcerations. It is a particular problem with sexual offenders where statistics show many continue their habitual molestation of children or women upon their release.
As the prison population continues to grow, it is necessary that criminal rehabilitation be addressed. Are there effective ways to keep inmates from returning to a life of crime? The census is divided on the answer. Statistics state that on average 35 per cent of released prisoners do not return to jail. That means that over 60 per cent of released prisoners end up being repeat offenders. This is a danger to society as well as strain on the prison system. There seems to be a formula that works for some inmates that involves touching on the different levels of their personalities.
The first step increasing the affectivity of criminal rehabilitation is education on two levels. One level is to educate the workforce involved in the criminal justice system as to ways to promote the system into being a revolving door for better citizens instead of for habitual offenders. It must be said however that given the circumstances the current criminal justice system does a tremendous job though all things can be improved on. The next level is to educate the prisoners themselves.
Knowledge is Key
Part of the education program in criminal rehabilitation would be to help the prisoners increase their knowledge base. Many inmates do not even have a basic grade school level of education. This limits the ability for success in the working world. Basic criminal rehabilitation programs would insure that there is at stand module for literacy amongst the inmates who are willing and able to learn.
Counseling
The next step in a good criminal rehabilitation program involves the social adjustment level of the inmates. Each criminal could be assessed as to any mental or physical disabilities and problems that contribute to their incarceration. If appropriate counseling and behavior modification techniques could be utilized, many prisoners may be able shift back in to society in a more balanced manner.
A large amount of the prison population has had some experience with drugs and many are in fact dealing with addiction problems. Counseling would help to solve the inner dynamics that lead to the addiction and perhaps heal the problem. This could alleviate the criminal behavior that financed the addiction.