The Use of Rehabilitation as the Dominant Model for Corrections
Abstract
The use of rehabilitation program for correction purposes aims to reduce recidivism in the prisons by offering offenders different program when in prison serving their sentence for crimes committed. The rehabilitation process includes providing therapy services, education and drug use treatment programs to enhance reducing the number of prisoners who are imprisoned over and over again after being released because of committing the same or new crime (Thompson, 2019). This research study aims to describe the use of rehabilitation as the dominant model for corrections to reduce the re-imprisonment of offenders.
Research about the importance of the rehabilitation model of correction sows that it is crucial to avoid relapses and to commit a new crime, causing imprisonment. The effectiveness of rehabilitation is associated with evidence-based practices and adherence to policies and rules. Additionally, rehabilitation models for correction adhere to ethical consideration to make sure the offenders stick with the learned lessons in their future life (Manuel, 2019). Rehabilitation programs for corrections involve education, vocational training, psychiatric and psychological therapy and drug rehabilitation, which enables the inmates to be productive in their future lives after leaving prison.
Policy and regulation should govern the rehabilitation program to make sure all ethical requirement fulfilled to achieve the set goal of reducing ire-imprisonment due to committing the same or new crime. According to Burneo-Garcés et al. (2020), the standard and policies focus on all kind of offence to make sure there is no discrimination for any crime to make sure those leaving prisons fit in the community and those with long sentences are productive in the prison institution. Therefore this study is crucial to explain the concept and policies that govern the rehabilitation model for corrections in the justice system.
The Use of Rehabilitation as the Dominant Model for Corrections
Introduction
Rehabilitation correctional intervention is associated with public safety implications, especially when criminals released from prison. Criminal justice, which involves government and agencies organization, aims to rehabilitate criminals and offenders to prevent them from participating in other crimes. The system provides moral support to enhance behaviour changes by ensuring that offenders’ rehabilitation results in positive changes. The use of the rehabilitative ideal for correction is a long-standing model used in criminal justice, which is a unique treatment program involving changing the offender’s behaviours. This research study aims to describe the use of rehabilitation as the dominant model for corrections to reduce the re-imprisonment of offends.
The rehabilitation facilitates progress in the community because the offenders are appropriately punished and return to the community as productive, law-abiding citizens. According to Pauzi (219), rehabilitation is an effective way to remedy behaviour when a criminal is released from prison and integrate into the community. An offender during rehabilitation acquires skills and abilities for guidance after returning to society and be able to lead a productive new life. The rehabilitation model for correction to enhance reform is operational, justifiable and maintainable as it uses ethics of justice that makes sure the sentences for offenders are needed according to the severity of the crime they committed.
The rehabilitation process s guided by rules of laws which provides new ideas for punishing criminals rather than imprisonment by using various institution and experts to assist individuals in changing for better behaviours. Policies developed and implemented to make sure the condition of rehabilitative models are practical and efficient to act as a turning point for the prisoners. Therefore, with the right policies, rule, regulations and, laws, thee is an increase of rehabilitation by the government, agencies and public who prefer rehabilitation as the core goal of inmates correction. According to Newsome & Cullen (2017), rehabilitation among all other correction model is ideal with fair practice and policy to lower cases re-offences among the prisoners.
The rehabilitation method of correction in prisons provides intervention measures that make sure the offenders are productive, maintains safety and, becomes law-abiding citizens after release from prison. Rehabilitation process reduces repetition of offences compared to another form of correction such as punishment because it involves approaches that educate the offender to enable them to understand the reason of committing a crime and how to deal with such motivations when they arise again (Koi et al., 2018). Instead of committing the crime to fulfil the motivation, the offenders can channel their urges to other productive and beneficial activities.
The government and urgencies organizations work together to carry out evidence-based activities to improve the environment of correction institutions to make sure inmates are inconvenient and well-maintained environments which will encourage change in behaviours. Rehabilitation involves designing the living situation of the inmates to support their well-being and health to make sure they reduce their re-offences and work hard to avoid returning to prisons. According to Pauzi (2019), prison is one of the institutions under the justice system and therefore, one of the major institutions that provide delivery of behaviour changes. The rehabilitation model for correction uses collaborative strategies and from experts in medical and other areas to make sure the inmates are appropriately involved and informed to make sure they change their behaviours.
Use of Rehabilitation as the Dominant Model for Corrections
The rehabilitation process in prison in the United States has been given a top priority. It is highly debated to make sure criminals avoid going back to jail after being released. Most of the crimes in prisons are repeat offenders. Still, with rehabilitation, they gain skills, experiences, and knowledge that are beneficial in the future, hence they use these rehabilitation services in life rather than committing crimes and landing to prisons again (Karthaus et al., 2019). The rehabilitation method for correction in criminal justice is an in-prison system to help the offenders reduce recidivism and reduce incarceration to benefit the offender when they return to society. The rehabilitation model is crucial as it allows offenders to take care of themselves and others to enhance and maintain integration in society.
The criminal justice system set up policies and regulations to achieve the goals of preventing crime, controlling crime, and providing justice to the offenders (Cabrera & Elger, 2016). Rehabilitation as a model of correction for prisoners is a complicated process because the prisoners are separated from the public and required to live in an environment with others who embrace crime as a way of living and are not ready to change their behaviours. Hence, rehabilitation may be ineffective because inmates may be forced further into crime life and, when released, develop new smart ways of committing crimes and not being caught.
Prisoners are seen as only places where offenders and criminals incarcerated to serve a sentence for crimes committed, but prisons play a crucial role in rehabilitating offenders. According to Murhula et al. (2019), the rehabilitation concepts involve changing the behaviours while in jail so that any person incarcerated will never want to go back to prison after being set free. The rehabilitation model of correction leaves an impression among the inmates that will enable the released prisoners to stay out of trouble and avoid committing any crime.
The social justice emphasizes on offering rehabilitation programs that follow accepted models of correction to enable offenders to change their behaviours. To achieve this resurrection and prisons facilities should be well developed and maintained to accommodate all the rehabilitation programs offered by the prisons. The rehabilitation programs use taxpayer money .therefore the justice systems should make sure the program is effective and make sure the taxpayer money put into better use.
To choose the best rehabilitation method of resurrection, is it crucial to understand criminal justice to effectively select the best model for correction that is within the acceptable ethical consideration. Corrections in prisons is a form of punishment, especially for minor offenders who deserve just punishment that will make them productive in the community after they finish their prison sentence (Cullen & Jl-Levrant, 2017). The offenders should receive the discipline that is equal to their crime to make sure they serve the required time for their offence.
Using the rehabilitation model as the dominant method for correction requires developing and including ethical considerations to make sure the program benefits the inmates. Justice system assumes that the rehabilitation program should not be political, too expensive, should be legal and, achievable (Thompson, 2019). The rehabilitation process should be justifiable and available for the inmates. Criminal justice should uphold and render the right judgment to the inmates without favouring any prisoners.
The criminal justice system is transforming the environment for offenders achieved through rehabilitation. According to Cabrera & Elger (2016), incarceration is not the right form of punishment for all lawmakers, but some minor crimes punished through prison and community rehabilitation. The rehabilitation process in the community achieved through probation process whereby the offenders released to the community leaders and probation officers who monitor and assist them in changing to better behaviours and being productive in the communities.
The research done shows that rehabilitation is an effective way of avoiding recidivism because the programs are efficient, effective and evidence-based and proven to produce the desired results. Also, the program function within the set standard and policies to make sure it focuses on the low-risk prisoners. They have the possibility of following the program and being law-abiding citizens after release (Weisburd et al., 2017). Additionally, the rehabilitation should be cost-effective to make sure it is affordable and appropriately managed to benefit the prisoners without financially pressing the facilities and the citizens.
The ethical dilemma of rehabilitation as the Dominant Model for Corrections
The rehabilitation correction programs provided to prison involves offering custody to the offenders by integrating them in the community whereby they serve their sentence in different productive ways compared to those incarcerated in prisons. Even though the rehabilitation model of correction is successful, useful, and produce positive results, there is the question of integrity when dealing with the offenders. The rehabilitation process is the moral process of assisting and helping offenders make appropriate and ethical decision to reduce repetition of the crime.
The ethical rehabilitation dilemma involves providing justice by upholding the right ways and making the right decision. According to Murhula et al. (2019), the rehabilitation process is affected by ethical issues such as the continuous introduction of illegal drugs and other counterfeits during the rehabilitation process. Such activities interfere with the behaviour correction process resulting in the offenders falling back to crimes after completing the sentences. The rehabilitation model uses the concept that the corrections of criminal activities and behaviours involve solving the psychological and social issues that contribute to committing crimes.
The rehabilitation model of justice and corrections enhances retributive punishment while still being productive in society. Correctional rehabilitation is criticized for inequality in sentencing when deciding which criminals should be involved in rehabilitation programs to reduce cases of recidivism (Manuel, 2019). The rehabilitation process is governed by policies which make sure there is an effective intervention that makes sure the reforms are available to improve the lives of the offenders.
The goal of the rehabilitation model for correction
The criminal justice system goal is punishing the offender intending to make sure the offender does not repeat the offence. The experience an inmate goes through in prison remains with the person making sure they do not want to commit any crime that can take them to jail again. Also, society sees what happens to offenders, which acts as a persuasion for them to participate in any crime (Koi et al., 2018). The rehabilitation process also aims to reduce overcrowding in the prison and correction facilities whereby even inmates with minor offences sentenced to serve a long time in prison. Therefore rehabilitation comes in when the offenders are given probation whereby they serve their sentence outside the prison under the supervision of probation and police officer until their behaviour changes for the better. Rehabilitation brings better and positive results because the offenders are out under productive programs which are beneficial after release from prison or completion of probation.
Rehabilitation creates better opportunities for the convicts who are getting out of prison because most of the inmates become independent and get jobs to be able to cater for themselves without being a burden to families and communities. It is a great approach which reduces the probability of the offender going back to prison.
Rehabilitation programs used for correction
The rehabilitation process provides inmates with knowledge, skills, and experiences enough to discourage them from participating or committing another crime after being released from prisons. Rehabilitation is around the process, which involves the provision of mental health treatment, education, schooling, and skill training. It is a way of enabling the prisoner to reflect on the crime committed. According to Cullen & Jl-Levrant (2017), the rehabilitation method of justice gives hope and confidence to prisoners enabling them to avoid criminality and instead venture into beneficial activities. The people in the society should realize crime does not define a person, but it’s a wrong decision and should accept them back to the community. The rehabilitated offenders highly commit to society and bring positive changes. The justice systems have adopted the rehabilitation model for correction and developed policies and regulations through which rehabilitation is achieved.
Ethics are rules and regulation that guides activities in a specific environment to make sure the function meet the set standard and create a safe and morally right climate. Criminal rehabilitation ethical consideration involves providing the offender with the right capacity of responsibility to improve behaviours to reduce relapse to crime and releasing the offenders in the society after gaining self-control and measure to deal with the temptation of committing a crime. The rehabilitation process is useful when combined with other services such as psychiatric and psychological services to enable the prisoners to deal with life inside the prisons and outside after being released (Burneo-Garcés et al., 2020).
The rehabilitation program involves offering recognition and reasoning services to enables the prisoners to know their crimes and ways to avoid committing such crimes in the future. The psychiatric and psychological mental health services include one or group therapy sessions with qualified psychiatrists and psychologists to make sure the inmates understand and discover the motivation of committing the crime and identify ways to deal with the motivation, which caused the person to commit their crime (Eastwood et al., 2018). Therapy rehabilitation enables the former prisoners to deal with issues in inappropriate ways and avoid going back to criminal life or committing new crimes. They can deal with issues such as lack of social networks, low self-esteem, lack of jobs and income, and social shunning, which may lead them to commit new crimes.
The rehabilitation interventions for behaviour correction in prison include offering academic education to prisoners to enable inmates to learn and educate themselves for future benefits when they return to the communities. Most inmates are functionally illiterate, whereby they are not able to read and write. According to Newsome & Cullen (2017), and education rehabilitation program is essential, especially for those from backgrounds without education. When they are released and stick with the knowledge they learned, they get an opportunity to be successful in life and become law-abiding citizens. Therefore, schooling while serving their sentence is crucial to gain literacy and learn how to read and write in the nationally accepted language.
The rehabilitation model of correct is vocational education, whereby the inmates learn critical and creative thinking, skills, and abilities to be productive in the future after being released. The prison offer apprenticeship vocational programs that teach job skills which the prisoners use after being released from prison. The prisoner’s seizure opportunities in the society to grasp jobs they have already trained while in prison to earn an honest living and prevent falling back to their old activities of crime (Weisburd et al., 2017). Rehabilitation is effective and reduced re-offences among the prisoners as it makes sure they avoid re-offences when they return to the community with skills and experience to live a better and newly transformed life.
The rehabilitation model of correction also involves drug treatment and rehabilitation program, which helps the addict in prison to quite a drug consumption. The ethical concerns which arise from providing drug rehabilitation programs in prison are the continuous flow of illegal drugs in prison which reduce the work done by the program resulting in backsliding to drug usage resulting in addiction. Drug rehabilitation requires the use of evidence-based practice to create proper and efficient ways of treating inmates with drug addiction problems.
Problems associated with rehabilitation
The justice and prison system faces a lot of problems due to the increasing number of the offender; hence measures that are adequate to punish the offender are crucial to make sure they are sentenced to serve through other means to correct their behaviours. The rehabilitation model for correction in prison facilities is faced with problems because many inmates do not want to participate in rehabilitation activities. Therefore, it becomes hard to change such people. The inmates with drug charges and offence are the most difficult to rehabilitate because they are an addict and do not want to quit using drugs until they make the quitting decision. Also, gang-related criminals are hard to restore because they are determined to return to gang life rather than quitting such lifestyles. Therefore, the experts’ correction facilities administrators spend a lot of time to convince the prisoners the best option is to participate in a different program to better their lives even to the extent of showing them consequences associated with making the wrong choices.
Even with these problems, more effort should be put in place to rehabilitate criminals and abiding by the set laws. The negative issues associated with rehabilitation rise question and negative opinions against rehabilitating criminals and releasing them to the community. According to Murhula et al. (2019), the negative opinions assume that the system justice has failed because if rehabilitation works, there could be a lower rate of crimes. Therefore, rehabilitation activities should have a strong foundation to produce positive results.
Conclusion
Rehabilitation model of correction is the central injustice system to reduce the overcrowding in federal and prison systems because it is an alternative way of sentencing criminals. A system prison with proper regulation and policies make sure the rehabilitation process is involved in the correction approaches to protect the prisoners by providing another form of punishment that will be beneficial in the future. Criminal justice systems set interventions and policies to make sure the program focuses on pressing issues that resulted in better outcomes. According to Murhula et al. (2019), it focuses on the low-risk prisoners and the possibility of following the program and being law-abiding citizens after release. Additionally, the rehabilitation should be cost-effective to make sure it is affordable and appropriately managed to benefit the prisoners without financially pressing the facilities and the citizens. The criminal justice systems set interventions and policies to enhance rehabilitation programs in the justice system setting to improve productivity in the community and reduce the re-imprisonment after committing the same or new crime.
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