Rehabilitation (penology)

Rehabilitation is the re-integration into society of a convicted person and the main objective of modern penal policy, to counter habitual offending, also known as criminal recidivism.[1][2]

Alternatives to imprisonment also exist, such as community service, probation orders, and others entailing guidance and aftercare towards the defender

Methods

A successful rehabilitation of a prisoner is also helped if convicted persons:

  • are not placed in health-threateningly bad conditions, enjoy access to medical care and are protected from other forms of serious ill-treatment,[2]
  • are able to maintain ties to the outside world,[2]
  • learn new skills to assist them with working life on the outside,[2]
  • enjoy clear and detailed statutory regulations clarifying the safeguards applicable and governing the use and disposal of any record of data relating to criminal matters.[2][1]

See also prisoners' rights.

Applications

Norway

Norway’s prison system is based on the principle of normalization, in which inmates have access to amenities they would have outside of prison, such as an exclusive mini fridge, flat-screen TV, private bathroom, and access to outdoor environment.[3][4] This, along with a shared kitchen and living area “to create a sense of family” among inmates and the absence of traditional prison uniforms contributes to Norway’s rehabilitative normalcy system.[3][4] The prison’s structure is composed of Units A, B and C with Unit A housing those in need of psychiatric or medical attention, thus being the most prohibitive of the three.[5] Halden Fengsel, referred to as the “world’s most humane maximum-security prison” embodies the country’s goal of reintegration by aiding inmates in sorting out housing and employment before leaving the prison.[6] Rehabilitative measures involve education, job training, workshops to acquire a trade, and therapy along with the humane treatment they receive from personnel who have to complete 3 years of training to become prison guards.[3][7] The effectiveness of Norway’s methods is evident as they hold the lowest recidivism rate worldwide at less than 30%.[3][8] “Better out than in” is Norway’s Correctional Service unofficial motto that is in view with their rehabilitative system as a justice to society by integrating inmates as functioning members of society upon release.[9][10]

Legislation

Europe

As established by the Council of Europe committee of ministers, "a crime policy aimed at crime prevention and the social reintegration of offenders should be pursued and developed".[1]

"The European Court of Human Rights, also, has stated in various judgments that, while punishment remains one of the aims of imprisonment, the emphasis in European penal policy is now on the rehabilitative aim of imprisonment, particularly towards the end of a long prison sentence.... A prospect of release is necessary, because human dignity requires that there must be a chance for a prisoner to atone for his offence and move towards rehabilitation. A review system is also needed because, over the course of a very long sentence, the balance between the grounds of detention (punishment, deterrence, public protection and rehabilitation) can shift to the point that detention can no longer be justified."[2]

Germany

Per the German constitution, «Everyone has the right to life and to inviolability of his person. The freedom of the individual is inviolable. These rights may only be encroached upon pursuant to a law».

Italy

Per the Italian constitution, «Punishment cannot consist in treatment contrary to human dignity and must aim at rehabilitating the condemned».

United Kingdom

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period.

United States of America

The United States Code states that sentencing judges shall make imprisonment decisions "recognizing that imprisonment is not an appropriate means of promoting correction and rehabilitation".[11]

In 2015 a number of reformers, including Koch family foundations, the ACLU, the Center for American Progress, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Coalition for Public Safety, and the MacArthur Foundation, announced a bipartisan resolution to reform the criminal justice system in the United States. Their efforts were lauded by President Obama who noted these reforms will improve rehabilitation and workforce opportunities for those who have served their sentences.[12][13][12][14][15][16]

Over the last few decades, the United States prison population has increased significantly. While prisons are considered punishment, they also are intended to have the purpose of future crime prevention. A recent study found that of $74 billion total spent on incarceration among federal, state and local prisons, less than 1% of that was spent on prevention and treatment. Incarceration not only harms the individual as intended, but also has unintended negative effects on the inmate’s family, community, and overall society. Inmate education has been shown to reduce recidivism. Evidence shows that inmates overwhelmingly take advantage of education programs if they are available to them and if they can afford them. A recent study showed the earning a GED while incarcerate reduced recidivism rates by 14% for those under 21, and 5% for those over 21. Substance abuse is also a major issue in the prison system. Between 1996 and 2006, despite a modest population increase of 12%, the number of incarcerated individuals rose by 33% and the number of substance-abusing individuals rose by 43%. Existing treatment programs have shown solid evidence that drug treatment programs, along with support after release, are effective at reducing recidivism. Emotional and mental health counseling is a core component of successful inmate rehabilitation. Without the proper innate motivation and desire from the inmate, attempts to educate or assist with substance abuse are less effective. A study revealed that more than half of those incarcerated had a mental health problem, defined as a recent history or symptoms of a mental health problem within the previous 12 months.

California’s juvenile justice system is based on rehabilitation instead of punishment.[17]

Psychopathy and recidivism

Criminal recidivism is highly correlated with psychopathy.[18][19][20] The psychopath is defined by an uninhibited gratification in criminal, sexual, or aggressive impulses and the inability to learn from past mistakes.[18][19][20] Individuals with this disorder gain satisfaction through their antisocial behavior and lack remorse for their actions.[21]

Findings indicate psychopathic prisoners have a 2.5 time higher probability of being released from jail than undiagnosed ones, even though they are more likely to recidivate.[22]

It has been shown that punishment and behavior modification techniques do not improve the behavior of a psychopath. Psychopathic individuals have been regularly observed to become more cunning and better able to hide their behaviour. It has been suggested by them that traditional therapeutic approaches actually make psychopaths if not worse, then far more adept at manipulating others and concealing their behavior. They are generally considered to be not only incurable but also untreatable.[23]

Psychopaths also have a markedly distorted sense of the potential consequences of their actions, not only for others, but also for themselves. They do not, for example, deeply recognize the risk of being caught, disbelieved or injured as a result of their behaviour.[24]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rec(84)10E 21 June 1984 on the criminal record and rehabilitation of convicted persons.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clare Ovey, Ensuring respect of the rights of prisoners under the European Convention on Human Rights as part of their reintegration process, Registry of the European Court of Human Rights.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Deady, Carolyn. "Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy" (PDF).
  4. 1 2 Milanovic, Nikola. "Norway's New Prisons: Could They Work Here? « The Stanford Progressive". web.stanford.edu.
  5. ↑ Benko, Jessica (26 March 2015). "The Radical Humaneness of Norway's Halden Prison". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Benko, Jessica (26 March 2015). "The Radical Humaneness of Norway's Halden Prison". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ James, Erwin (25 February 2013). "The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ James, Erwin (25 February 2013). "The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people". The Guardian.
  9. ↑ Benko, Jessica (26 March 2015). "The Radical Humaneness of Norway's Halden Prison". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ James, Erwin (25 February 2013). "The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people". The Guardian.
  11. ↑ 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a)
  12. 1 2 Mak, Tim (Jan 13, 2015). "Koch Bros to Bankroll Prison Reform". The Daily Beast.
  13. ↑ "Koch brothers join Obama in advocating US prison reform". Russian Today. Jul 17, 2015.
  14. ↑ Horwitz, Sari (Aug 15, 2015). "Unlikely Allies". Washington Post.
  15. ↑ Gass Henry (Oct 20, 2015). "Congress's big, bipartisan success that might be just beginning". Christian Science Monitor.
  16. ↑ Nelson, Colleen Mccain; Fields, Gary (Jul 16, 2015). "Obama, Koch Brothers in Unlikely Alliance to Overhaul Criminal Justice". Wall Street Journal.
  17. ↑ "California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 202". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  18. 1 2 Jill S. Levenson, John W. Morin (2000) [Treating Nonoffending Parents in Child Sexual Abuse Cases] p. 7 SAGE, ISBN 0-7619-2192-3
  19. 1 2 Marvin Zuckerman (1991) Psychobiology of personality Cambridge University Press, p. 390. ISBN 0-521-35942-2
  20. 1 2 Glenn D. Walters (2006) Lifestyle theory p. 42 Nova Publishers, ISBN 1-60021-033-3
  21. ↑ Hare, Robert D, Psychopaths: New Trends in Research. The Harvard Mental Health Letter, September 1995
  22. ↑ Psychopaths' 'early release con'(9 February 2009)BBC News
  23. ↑ Harris, Grant; Rice, Marnie (2006), "Treatment of psychopathy: A review of empirical findings", in Patrick, Christopher, Handbook of Psychopathy, pp. 555–572
  24. ↑ Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy - Dadds et al. 189 (3): 280 - The British Journal of Psychiatry
  • The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.