Reintegrative Shaming Program: Case Study

Reintegrative Shaming Program
Jessica Anguiano
CJS/231
June 22nd, 2015
Gregory Mc Clelland
Reintegrative Shaming Program
As human beings we come up with all kinds of ideas that we think may make the world a better place. One of the main problems we struggle with in society is to stop habitual criminals from going back into the system and lower the number of prisoners residing in over populated prisons. We hear all the time that these prisons do not give people a reason to not want to return as they pretty much have life made. I mean let’s think about it, they don’t have to work, and they watch television, have video game consoles, name brand clothing, as well as visits from family and friends, what would make them want to go back into
society where they have to be responsible for themselves? Many prisoners if asked the question “Would you rather be on the street or in prison?” would sadly respond with the answer of prison.
There are two forms of shaming that have been created in order to reform these criminals back into law abiding citizens so they may be placed back into society and not become a problem. These forms are called Reintegrative shaming and Stigmatic shaming, Reintegrative shaming is a theory in which the moral bond between the offender and the community is strengthened. This is done through introducing the offender back into the community requiring that the offender express remorse for their conduct, apologize to any victims, and repair any harm caused by the crime they committed. Stigmatic differs from Reintegrative because stigmatic is designed to destroy the moral bond between the offender and the community. This forces the offender to become an outcast within the community. For example Stigmatic shaming is what American judges employ when they make an offender post a sign on his property saying "a violent felon lives here", or a bumper sticker on his car saying "I am a drunk driver".
In my opinion these men and woman in prison have life to easy, they need to be held more accountable for their negligent actions and be deprived of the privileges that the rest of society has. If I had to develop a reintegrative shaming program (RSP) to control recidivism my idea would be to change all the prisons in the United States and have them all set up like Tent city in Arizona. Tent city is an open-air jail in Phoenix, Arizona, where more than 2,000 inmates are housed in repurposed military tents. Under the supervision of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the inmates wear cartoonish black and white striped uniforms and pink underwear. The Tents Jail was begun in 1993 when Sheriff Joe Arpaio was able to obtain some surplus military tents. These tents were set up in an area adjacent to one of the existing Maricopa County Jails in Phoenix, Arizona. Sheriff Arpaio had previously decided that he would not release any inmates due to jail overcrowding, and housing sentenced inmates in the tents seemed a good solution. Funding for the project was minimal, and included the cost for cement necessary for base pads, secure fencing, and electric costs for heating, cooling and lights.
In we created Tent city for prisons all over the United Stated the key features would be very simple in my mind.
The first thing I could identify is we would take the comfort level away from these prisoners. Sitting and sleeping outside in the heat and in the rain would be very uncomfortable therefore encouraging then to not want to return as they would have a normal prison cell bunker with their own toilet, sink, and air conditioned room. My second key feature would be to take away their privacy which allows them time to make weapons, and plot out attacks or ideas. In Tent city there are no walls therefore if someone is doing something suspicious it is seen. The third key feature is the clothing apparel, black and white striped uniforms. Sadly if you were to look on a website that allows families and friends to send items to prisoners they have options like, Nike shoes and clothing, Video game consoles with games, snacks such as Snickers and Reese’s. This is all privilege that we get in the outside world not when you’re being punished for something you have done. In my eyes that’s not punishment, you wear what is given to you and that is it. Now the last key feature would be to reform these criminals. By taking away their clothing privilege, privacy, lack of being inside four living walls, this can actually make it unbearable living situations for some. In return this would make it the last place they would want to return to and more likely that they would not continue to
live a life of crime in fear of going back to prison and living that life style.
With theories of crime causation I can predict that my Reintegrative shaming program will be successful because no one wants to live that way whether or not you’re a criminal. Crime causation focuses on the three major sociological theories of crime and delinquency: strain, social learning, and control theories. Causation provides a means of connecting conduct with a resulting effect, typically an injury. In criminal law, it is defined as the actus reus (an action) from which the specific injury or other effect arose and is combined with mens rea (a state of mind) to comprise the elements of guilt. The strain and inmate would have from the living situation, the social learning experience they would obtain from basically learning how to survive outdoors, and the control over themselves and their actions is what would make the program most successful. I honestly feel if more prisons were made up of tent living environment there would be less of a problem with over population within the jails. I also feel people would be more prone to accepting the help being provided to them to reform their lives and would have a better success rate when placed out into the world. We don’t need to make these people outcasts as they are humans we just need to t4each them a life lesson and provide the tools they need to correct their way of think and guide them down the path of living a life where they are responsible for themselves.
If the reintegrative shaming program of tent city across the United States is successful then an advantage my RSP will have over traditional adversary trial procedures is that it will excel in reforming these prisoners back into normal working class people and allow them to be accepted into society unlike other programs that were unsuccessful. By placing these men in tents and teaching them the struggles of life in a successful way we are not out casting then into society and making them feel they need to do whatever possible to survive, what we are really doing is strengthening the moral bond between the offender and the community. We are showing the community these people paid the price for their actions, battled through the struggles and completed required programs to be equally capable as the person standing next to them in the communities they are released into. Each and every person who is sentenced to jail, for months or for years should have no other option but to remain in custody in tent city.
With all that being said and looking over the success rates of inmates who were at one point in time in tent city compared to those who were in a regular prison setting the return rate is decreased.
The point is at tent city, you’re here for one purpose that is to pay the price for your action not to relax and get by while there are hardworking people out there and you’re eating up their tax money. These men an woman from the time of sentence to the time of release will endure a life style no sane person would ever want to endure, without inflicting physical torture yet the mental struggle to survive without gangs, drugs, and violence. They will be given guidance and direction in the correct manner, and an equal chance to make to become a law abiding citizen. Those who cannot complete their sentences and prove without a doubt that they have been reformed will continue in the program until otherwise advised by the court of law. The best way to fix anything is from within and right now the prisons we are providing just aren’t proving any
success.

References:
NCJRS (2015) Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=189734
Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology today: An integrative introduction (6th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.
U.S Department of justice (2015) Retrieved from: http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Crime.cfm
Lois G. Forer (1992) "Justice by the Numbers: Mandatory Sentencing Drove Me from the Bench," Retrieved from: www.washingtonmonthly.com