Essay using APA style by Fung Lan Yong

Reeducation and rehabilitation are more effective than lengthy jail terms

By Fung Lan Yong

Jesselton College Sabah (September 2015)

fungyong58@gmail.com

For centuries, jail terms have been employed in the criminal justice system whereby the convicted will be restricted from any freedom or access to almost everything, while performing mostly blue-collared work for their basic necessities.  In recent years, there has been a drastic increase in crime rates with myriad penitentiaries being built around the world.  However, the mushrooming of penitentiaries does not necessarily help reduce crimes in most societies.  As such, the effectiveness of jail terms in reducing crime rates is highly debatable.  Although lengthy jail terms commonly serve as a form of punishment to the convicted, it is less effective than reeducation and rehabilitation because they burden the government financially, affect the convicted mentally, and provide limited training to the convicted

Lengthy jail terms are less effective than reeducation and rehabilitation centers because they involve the upkeep of convicts that often increases government expenditure.  Due to the increase of inmates, more and more new penitentiaries are needed.  Moreover, maintaining them can be relatively more expensive than rehabilitation centers.  Security guards and technical devices are required to keep penitentiaries safe and secure.  Besides, medical and health care are provided to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.  Undoubtedly, valuable funding and resources are also allocated for the safekeeping of inmates, including food, wages, and various facilities.  Imprisonment therefore entails an enormous budget for the government.  The Pew Centre reported that more than $49 billion was spent on probations in 2010 in the USA compared to $11 billion twenty years ago (Elder, 2011).  Furthermore, incarceration is not effective in meeting many specific objectives, signifying that the gains are low. If the government just sends every convict to jail, it will be exceedingly costly; when they get out, they will repeat the same crimes.  Indeed, many inmates have committed crimes while serving a jail term due to overcrowding.  Research shows that community service schemes in the early nineties costed only about one third of that of keeping a person in a penitentiary.  Thus, reeducation and rehabilitation using community service programs are preferred to jail terms since they are more practical and cost-effective.

Besides incurring high government expenditure, lengthy jail terms have an adverse impact on the behavior of the inmates.  Initially, jail terms were intended to impose punishment and rectify the inmates of their mistakes.  Nevertheless, failure to do so has caused prisons to breed more dangerous criminals.  Inmates may become even more violent after being detained for a long period (Cook, 2000).  Besides that, they are deeply isolated from society, causing their social skills to diminish gradually.   Since inmates tend to have more criminal contact in jail, many will be influenced by negative behavior of others.  On top of that, thy lack positive role models to emulate socially and culturally acceptable behavior.  Whenever fighting or any serious crimes occur in the penitentiary area, inmates are commonly punished and even abused by wardens or administrators.  Eventually, many of these inmates may deteriorate, using extreme violence as the only solution for all kinds of problems.  Additionally, the customs and perspectives in a penitentiary are drastically different from the outside world; it is a place characterized by tension day and night (Fairshake, 2010).  A long period of incarceration often alters inmates’ perceptions towards life.  After being released, they will experience great difficulties in assimilating themselves in the community, leading them to return to crime to eke a living.  Instead of modifying inmates’ behavior, incarceration perpetuates criminal behavior.  Therefore, there is a critical need for reeducation and rehabilitation using community service programs rather than making the inmates worse by placing them in a destructive environment.  Programs specially implemented to inculcate socially responsible behavior are effective in helping inmates to readjust to society and get jobs.  After all, such programs strive to encourage inmates to face challenges in a constructive manner rather than resorting to violence.

Rehabilitation and reeducation centers are a much better option compared to jail terms because they strive to provide effective training to help inmates develop socially and culturally appropriate behaviors needed to lead an independent and productive life.  Research shows that many inmates come from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds characterized unemployment, family disintegration, and poverty (Peters & Bekman, 2011). Community service programs are highly effective in changing the behavior and mindset of inmates, allowing them to successfully assimilate into society later.  Furthermore, about seventy-five percent of inmates were involved in drug abuse (Koppel & Fields, 2011).  For them, substance-abuse recovery programs, vocational skills training, social care, general education via rehabilitation are much more appropriate than a jail term.   Besides that, re-education enhances their basic living skills by fostering their artistic interests and hobbies. Inmates can also contribute to public services, which encourage them to make a change on their behavior and attitudes simultaneously.  Rehabilitation and reeducation centers reinforce positive qualities that are vital for inmates to reintegrate into the society, allowing them to develop a new outlook to their lives as well.  In brief, re-education and rehabilitation centers provide a positive environment for inmates, encouraging them to acquire practical skills and knowledge for a better future.  They are crucial to reducing crime rates by acting as an incentive for inmates not only to give up on crimes, but also to look forward to becoming productive members of society eventually.

On the other hand, opponents believe that lengthy jail terms are useful to deter people from committing crimes as well as to ensure the public safety.  They contend that dangerous people, such as murderers, arsonists, or rapists should be kept away from society in order to prevent further crimes as well as to mete out justice. However, the undesirable consequences of lengthy jail terms cannot be underestimated.  As a result of serving out a long jail term, many inmates will have a hard time looking for jobs upon release, experiencing endless rejection and condemnation by others.  Criminals are human beings too; incarceration may lead them to lose their humanity instead of modifying their behavior (Johnson, 2011).  About ninety percent of all inmates are eventually released in the United States, but the fundamental skills that they have acquired in the penitentiary are not sufficient to help them face the real world.  Somehow more than half of them would be back in prison within three years.  Further, sixty-seven and a half percent of them have been arrested for a new crime, unrelated to their prior conviction (U.S Department of Justice, 1996).  This shows that incarceration does not actually help to rehabilitate inmates; instead it further criminalizes them, leading them to be more aggressive and causing the crime rates to rise dramatically. On the whole, convicted criminals deserve education and community service programs despite their personal circumstances.  This discourages them from seeking revenge or engaging in other kinds of criminal behavior that would land tem in jail again.  Hence, rehabilitation and reeducation serve as better alternatives in addressing the issue of safety in society.

In conclusion, inmates should be reeducated and rehabilitated using community service programs instead of being punished with lengthy jail terms.  Generally, reeducation and rehabilitation are more viable as they are more affordable, prevent criminals from becoming more violent, and enable inmates to acquire beneficial skills and knowledge.  Hence, it is believe crucial for the government to implement more community programs in order to help inmates readjust to society.  Such ventures are effective in reducing crimes as well as maintaining peace in the community.  A penal policy that puts more emphasis on reducing reoffending and reforming criminals and turning them away from a life of crime will mean fewer crimes, fewer victims, and safer communities (BBC, 2010).

References

BBC. (2010).  Prison sentencing reforms to break crime cycle. BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics.

Cook, J. R. (2000).  Asphalt justice: a critique of the criminal justice system in America. Greenwood Press, Ebrary, USA.

Elder, G. L. (2011).  Lawmakers work on reducing inmate population. Total Criminal Defense. http://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/news/articles/unusual/1-in-99-prison.aspx.

Fairshake.  (2010). Culture shock! http://www.fairshake.net/culture_shock.html .

Johnson, M. (2011).  Long prison sentences fail not just offenders, but society too. The Guardian. http://guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/18/long-prison-sentences-fail-offenders-society.

Koppel, N., & Fields, G. (2011). States rethink drug laws. Daw Jones Company. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704728004576176514208186374.html.

Peters, R. H. & Bekman, N, M. (2007).  Public health behind bars: from prisons to communities. Springer Science & Business Media.

Note:  The reference list must be on a separate page and in alphabetical order.