Rehabilitating criminals is a highly debated issue throughout the U.S. The correctional institutions in US have made criminal rehabilitation a top priority. This is because, majority of the offenders are repeat offenders. Several programs in the US have been developed to help in rehabilitating criminals. However, in the last twenty years, research has shown some criminal programs to be effective as compared to others.
Research conducted by Palmer (2003) finds that the criminal rehabilitation programs that are effective in the U.S include the following: Vocational education, Academic education, Moral Recognition Therapy, Reasoning and rehabilitation, and the Cognitive restructuring programs. The other rehabilitation programs are Cognitive behavioural treatment of sex offenders, Multi-systemic therapy for juveniles, Incarceration based drug treatment and Drug treatment in the community.
Vocational and academic education criminal rehabilitation programs are intended to equip the criminals with knowledge and skills. Sending criminals to prison alone is not adequate in rehabilitating criminals. As a result, the offenders should be given a chance in acquiring job skills and knowledge. This will improve the chances of the offenders becoming productive citizens upon leaving prison. The criminal rehabilitation programs