Particularly, I want to discuss the actual effectiveness of the system for those not destined for death row. Do the iconic chain-link fenced facilities and iron bars do any good reforming those who enter their confines, or do they only serve to facilitate the aggression of the inmates at society, or its standards?
About 1 in 31 (roughly 7.3 million) American Adults are on probation, parole, or in a jail cell. Two thirds of that estimate are on parole or probation, with the remaining third incarcerated. I find that to be a shocking number, considering how much tax money actually goes to the correctional system. Most of the tax money allocated to the correctional system is devoted to housing the convicts, even though that only applies to a third of them.
Those jails, those "correctional facilities," are specifically made for housing the convicts. The purpose of the jails is not to educate convicts, but to keep them tucked away from the rest of the society. Instead of simply being a cage, why can't jails make attempts at the reeducation and reform of those inside? Whether or not one would like to think so, the people in those jails are still human. They make mistakes, and maybe from those mistakes they've learned. But they still deserve a second chance. The system as it stands makes no efforts at such reforms or second chances, only operating as a play pen for the kids who "don't want to play nice."
Whatever they may learn from their experience may be very difficult to hold onto, considering what they have to deal with in those jails. Jails are a popular place for inmates to be recruited into gangs, which then opens their lives up to deepening levels of crime. If left up to the inmate, which option do you think would seem more appealing: learning how to atone for crimes and work with the system (amongst a crowd of people who don't even want to consider it), or find a way into the darker levels of the world of organized crime, perhaps to spite a system they probably feel only operates as an unfair aggressor? I think, considering that I hear many of my friends and family refer to law enforcement officials in distrustingly negative ways (even though some of them don't even like the idea of breaking the law), the latter option would probably seem more appealing for those who aren't even afraid to break the law.
Day to day life in jails is (obviously) different from the way it is on the outside, and adjusting to that difference inside isn't easy. Imagine taking all you know about your life, then removing it and being forced to accept a brand new way of life: a life of violence, people angry and bitter at the system. Then, after a year or two, needing to readjust to everything you just left behind. Some people who leave the prisons leave without any intention of leaving behind their prison mentality. That just makes the possibility that they'll jump right back into crime that much more likely.
So, if jails are supposed to be "correctional facilities," then why does it seem as though very little is being corrected? The inmates seem to leave the facilities not wanting to operate within the confines of the law but just the opposite; to them, the law becomes a foreign subject that only serves to make their lives harder.
Sources/Extended Reading on the Subject:
The US Prison System: How it Fails
Words From a Former Prisoner on the Subject
The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison Adjustment
3 comments:
I'm a firm believer of prison as "College For Criminals" in many cases.
Jails don't do a lot of "correcting" in terms of one's behavior in society. People who end up in jail are more likely to be exposed to high-risk individuals in greater numbers. With these people, jail is an environment where everyone needs to protect themselves to make sure they aren't harassed or taken advantage of. People probably build up a new mentality in jail, where they resort to violence when they are disrespected. One can't really be civilized in jail because guards are not everywhere in the jail so not everything can be monitored within the jail. Therefore most people probably spend most of their time adapting to this new way of life and maintaining this life instead of repenting for their crimes and learning how to become a better person in the general society. When these people re-enter the general population, they are unable to fit in and will probably find themselves back in jail because of their new mentality that promotes violence. In my opinion, jails don't serve as correctional facilities, but more as devices to remove risky individuals from the general public; jails don't really serve to actually solve the problem of crime. They just seem to cover up the problem for a short period of time.
It would be great if all jail inmates, after going through the rehabilitation and self-help sessions in jail, decided to turn their lives around and atone for their actions by helping the community. However, to believe in such a possibility would highlight ones naiveté. I believe in strict adherence to the law, something which criminals disregard. Jails are not meant to be places where criminals can learn how to become better citizens, they are meant to be places of punishment. I believe that although that jail life is rough, it just isn't harsh enough. People go into jail because they decide to commit a crime while knowing the full consequences of their actions, still hoping not to be caught red-handed. One forfeits all rights when they commit a crime. Because there are so many people in jail, my education is sacrificed in order to cater to the needs of those who have violated the law. All-in-all, no the American prison system is not truly a "correctional system" but that is not its main purpose/
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