Ineffective Prison Rehabilitation

According to The United States Census Bureau, the United States population accounts for less than 5 percent of the world population. The United States, however, houses more than 20% of the world inmate population. From 1978 to 2014, there has been a sharp increase of inmate population to the tune of over 400% - an alarming number that is not likely to decrease anytime soon. The United States governments have placed tougher sanctions and punishments on criminals since the late 1970s as the number has suggested, but is it effective? Instead of a place for rehabilitation, prison is a breeding ground for criminal enterprises. Ineffective inmate treatment and education such as sex offender treatment and drug abuse rehabilitation programs further
exacerbate the situation the problems that render the penal system in the United States ineffective. “The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.” said Andy Dufresne, a protagonist in one of the most famous movies about prison life, The Shawshank Redemption. The truth is not too far-fetch from what is portrayed on the screen. The principal purpose of incarceration is to remove a said dangerous criminal from the society – preventing further harm and danger that he/she may imposed on the public. The secondary objective is penitence as anticipated by the false sense of hope and optimism of the judge and jury. In truth, incarceration is a temporary solution, not a long-term fix and definitely far from a permanent repair.
It is true that prison contains the despicable, mugger, rustler, and other devious monsters so that others may sleep at night free of worry.
Some of these misfits, however, get to come back out and play – now equipped with better knowledge and skills courtesy of the best criminal enterprise called prison. Not only this toxic environment enhances, it also strongly encourages them to commit more crimes. Many sex offenders recycle through the system multiple times over the same crime that they have committed before. Many of these predators have once been the victims – a disgusting but truthful statement. Prison also provides a make-shift college of pharmacy. It is a diploma mill that can turn a delinquent into a kingpin, a street thug into a distributor. Prison is not a place to repent but to reinvent and consummate
depravity.
One of the most heinous crimes in the prison system is sex offense – rapist and child molester are in the bottom of the prison hierarchy. An inmate housing manager and caseworkers often make an arrangement for a sex offender to stay in a sex offender only housing unit for the purpose of treatment and education. One of the benefits for this type of arrangement is inmate safety since sex offenders are often subjected to ridicule, physical altercation, and even sexually victimization. If the case is severe enough to be presented on news media, a particular inmate will be placed in a protective custody unit – so called “PC up”.
While this type of housing environment seems to make sense to the general public, it only serves to intensify the problem.
The psychological impact from incarceration is enormous as inmates have to obey to two different sets of rule – one from the staff and another from other offenders. Staff rules are there to give inmates structure and responsibility which can assist them for the reentry process into the society. Block rules (inmate initiated rules) oftentimes contradicts the aforementioned rules. Gambling, debt, and favor happen on a daily basis in the prison system and there are a few ways that inmates know to compensate what they have incurred. Sexual misconduct in prisons happen daily – anytime and anywhere but more so in a sex offender treatment unit. The misconduct often occurs as a result of returning the favor, paying debt, or simply – the old habit die hard. Some of these misconducts also encompass unprofessional relationship between inmates and staff such as caseworkers, counselors, and even officers. Generally, most inmates are opportunistic; it only takes them a few minutes to assess the situation that can benefit them especially when it involves a person who is emotionally
compromised.
As previously mentioned, inmate living environment often shapes and perfects their behaviors and transgressions. Treatment program can only be idealistic at best when these inmates go back into the same delinquent environment that has caused them to come to a prison in the first place.
Beside a sex offender treatment unit, there is also a drug offender treatment unit. Bear in mind that both of these units are within a class of general population which also encompass murderer, burglars, and other crimes. Sex and drug offenders, however, get reintegrate to the society much sooner than a murderer. There are many programs available for drug offenders that aim to discourage criminal-thinking, encourage pro-social behaviors, detect and dispose of drug seeking behaviors during their times of incarceration. Inmate programming is an excellent way to rid of idleness, which can be very dangerous in a prison setting. Not only that, it also provides inmates several incentives such as shorter sentences and financial compensation. Given all the benefits that they provide, inmate programming should provide a perfect solution to prepare inmate for a re-entry into the society.
Unfortunately drug offender treatment unit is also full of its namesake – drugs. Cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription narcotics, and other mind altering substances can be had in prison – much like in the street. There are many ways that inmates smuggle drugs into correctional facilities from a half-way house all the way to a maximum security joint. Inmates often introduce drugs to the facility by way of visitors, compromised staff, and simply carry on person. For example, there was a case where a visitor concealed an eight ball (3.5 grams) of meth in a small balloon. She then passed a balloon under a table to an inmate, who then later excused himself to go to a bathroom. Fortunately, every conversation on a telephone prior to his visit was subjected to monitoring and recording. Needless to say, every sequence of that event was also capture on a video surveillance system. After the inmate finished with his business in the bathroom, he was taken to a dry cell to be observed right away. A dry cell is a smaller and isolated cell that only has a concrete bunk and a small drain – no plumbing system, mattress, inmate uniform, or personal property. During his time in the dry cell, an officer had to observe the inmate’s every move from drinking, eating, sleeping, urinating, and defecating. The objective was to retrieve a suspicious balloon that an inmate had either ingested or inserted where the sun never shines.
The system is not perfect, thus drugs do come through the system from time to time. If it gets introduced into the housing unit, the price will double – sometimes triple to that of the street. The high stake game offers a potential for high profit, thus it attracts some staff members to violate their ethics and dignities, fall preys, and become the mules. It is a precarious situation where it only takes one staff to proliferate the problems. It is also an age-old problem that exists in every penal institution - a problem that can never be eradicated.
Most of these crimes and violations are often underreported as a recruiting tactic to show potential recruits that a facility is a safe place to work. The general public also does not pay attention to this type of report – who wants to know what goes on with those delinquents behind the bar anyway?
The truth is, prison system gets additional funding to implement these programs – there is a lot of money involved. The programs just need to stay afloat to receive the additional fund, the recidivism rate does not matter much as it is always inflated for the lawmakers during an appropriation session in a state house. The benefits that these programs seem to provide is shortening the sentences and putting some money into inmate accounts while providing a perfect place for a reunion among the misfits.
Prison is not the universal answer for solving crimes and changing human behaviors. The rise in numbers of crime and the high rate of returning inmates are the testaments to the failure of the penal system in the United States. Prison reforms need to be implemented urgently by the lawmakers, otherwise the diseases that have been largely contained behind the wall will overflow and pollute this great nation.