Alternative Punishment
Haroon Saddique
Alternative Punishment
One alternate punishment instead of prison could be higher education. Instead of focusing on vocational programs, we could pick out prisoners with some type of college experience and offer them an opportunity to complete an AA/AS or BA/BS program at a local educational facility.
I believe that some prisoners are ok with going to a vocational program and getting a job. But if they are not happy with the job they get, or the money they make, they might go back to a life of crime to fulfill their needs, not everyone is satisfied with a vocational job. I believe that sending prisoners to programs that can help them get a college degree would be more satisfying to the prisoner and an employer. This would raise the employment rate of prisoners that come out of prison, at the same time reducing the recidivism rate. An article in The Morning Call, talked about how “Nonviolent offenders can be better served through alternative sentencing programs, with the focus on reintegrating them back into the community and as a result be less likely to return to a life of crime”. I believe as a prisoners education level goes up their recidivism rate will go down. California has one of the highest recidivism rates according to research done by the Institute of Public Policy “One answer for California’s 70% recidivist rate is its policy of returning parolees to prison for technical violations. California incarcerates substantial numbers of ex-prisoners for violations such as failure to refrain from alcohol or inability to maintain employment.”
Resources
Website: http://www.mosac.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=45353 (page:3)
News Paper:
Alternative Punishment
One alternate punishment instead of prison could be higher education. Instead of focusing on vocational programs, we could pick out prisoners with some type of college experience and offer them an opportunity to complete an AA/AS or BA/BS program at a local educational facility.
I believe that some prisoners are ok with going to a vocational program and getting a job. But if they are not happy with the job they get, or the money they make, they might go back to a life of crime to fulfill their needs, not everyone is satisfied with a vocational job. I believe that sending prisoners to programs that can help them get a college degree would be more satisfying to the prisoner and an employer. This would raise the employment rate of prisoners that come out of prison, at the same time reducing the recidivism rate. An article in The Morning Call, talked about how “Nonviolent offenders can be better served through alternative sentencing programs, with the focus on reintegrating them back into the community and as a result be less likely to return to a life of crime”. I believe as a prisoners education level goes up their recidivism rate will go down. California has one of the highest recidivism rates according to research done by the Institute of Public Policy “One answer for California’s 70% recidivist rate is its policy of returning parolees to prison for technical violations. California incarcerates substantial numbers of ex-prisoners for violations such as failure to refrain from alcohol or inability to maintain employment.”
Resources
Website: http://www.mosac.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=45353 (page:3)
News Paper: