Prisoner Rehabilitation
Denise Balasa
Liberty University
Abstract
Correctional institutions in the U.S. focus on rehabilitating inmates so they can assimilate smoothly back into society. Minimum and medium security prisons inmates have a greater chance of shorter prison sentences. Non-violent prisoners have a better chance to integrate back into society after being incarcerated. Correctional institutions have several institutional programs and services to assist in rehabilitating prisoners. Much of an inmate’s adjustment to society will be based on their level of commitment to changing while still incarcerated.
Institutional custody and outside support will affect how inmates will adjust to living within society’s rules. Rehabilitation should be the primary goal of correctional institutions, however some people the principal point of prisons is to punish. Non-violent prisoners who are in minimum and medium security prisons with institutional services and programs tend to have a better chance to become productive members of society once released. The greater good for society is best served when inmates can become productive members of society.
America’s correctional facilities should focus on rehabilitating non-violent prisoners in minimum and medium security prisons so they can become productive members of society once they have been released from incarceration. Institutional programs and services in minimum and medium security prisons have proven to be an effective method to aid in rehabilitating inmates. According to Hendrix (2013) historically the purpose of correctional institutions was to punish the guilty so that society would feel safe. However, in the past century, the focus of prisons is leading society’s view towards rehabilitation for certain types of offenses and criminals. Criminals who do not pose a threat to the general public who are serving their prison sentences...