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Yvette Castro

Ms. Osburn

English 132.003

November 18, 2019

Strategies to Reduce Recidivism

“Within approximately three years, seven in ten formerly incarcerated individuals will

have been rearrested and returned to prison” (Hattery and Smith 5). So why has there not been an

effective idea applied in order to address this major societal problem? Prisons should have

specific rehabilitation services that are effective, more educational programs, and provide more

resources to inmates once they are released in order to lessen the chances of recidivism in the

United States.

A factor that contributes to reducing recidivism is making reentry for ex-criminals more

successful. In “Prisoner Reentry and Recidivism According to the Formerly Incarcerated and

Reentry Service Providers: A Verbal Behavior Approach,” Scott Bowman and Raphael Travis Jr.

exclaim that since the incarceration rate is so high, improving the chance of re-entering into the

community for an ex-offender is very important. First, the authors discuss that reentry and

recidivism are challenges for everyone involved, but a solution to reduce recidivism must be

found. The authors also proclaim that some factors such as the criminal justice system, the

communities former incarcerated people return to, and the lack of employment contribute to

recidivism. Next, the authors insist that since the rate of unsuccessful reentry is high, we should

examine the process of reentry in order to figure out how it can be improved. These authors

argue that theory-based examinations, such as Skinner’s theory, are needed in order to

understand the potential factors that will make reentry successful. Then, the authors performed a

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study to examine the factors that influence recidivism and discovered that verbal behavior can

help decrease behaviors that lead to recidivism. Finally, the authors conclude that a verbal

behavior approach increases the understanding of reentry and implications can help make reentry

successful for ex-offenders and their families. Just like Bowman and Travis Jr. stress the

importance of making reentry more successful for inmates, Nally et al. argue about what causes

recidivism to be high which correlates to unsuccessful reentry into society. In “Post-Release

Recidivism and Employment among Different Types of Released Offenders: A 5-Year follow-up

Study in the United States,” John M. Nally et al. assert that the lack of employment opportunities

for ex-offenders released from prison causes the recidivism rate to be high. First, in a study, the

authors discover that the unemployment rate of ex-offenders is high because of their education

status and lack of job skills. Next, the authors mention the challenges of reducing recidivism and

how it revolves around employment and education. Then, the authors provide statistics that post-

release recidivism rates differ among the different types of ex-inmates. During the study, the

authors discover reincarceration among ex-offenders happen multiple times within a short period

of time. Also, the authors explain that the ex-offender’s demographics contribute to their chances

of being reincarcerated. Finally, the authors proclaim that there is a need to strengthen

correctional education for inmates in order to reduce recidivism and increase their chance of

employment and staying out of jail.

Another way recidivism can be reduced is by fixing the problems within the correctional

system and making prisons more efficient. In a TEDx Talks, “The surprising reason our

correctional system doesn’t work,” Brandon Mathews asserts that we need a divorce from the

correctional and prison system because it is ineffective. First, Mathews mentions that while he

worked in the criminal justice system he felt like he was not making an impact, so he decided to

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research and figure out why the U.S. system was not working. Mathews discovers that the reason

the system does not work is because punishment and rehabilitation practices are intertwined in

prisons. Then, Mathews exclaims that two track should be made: one for punishment and the

other for rehabilitation. Next, he goes into explanation of why we need these two tracks and how

they would work. Finally, Mathews ends his speech by saying that creating a two track system

should reduce recidivism and make communities more safe when ex-offenders return. Just like

Mathews discusses the significance of correcting prisons, Simourd and Brandenburg suggests

that rehabilitation is effective and should be added to prisons to reduce recidivism. In David

J. Simourd and Bryan Brandenburg’s article, “Implementing Rehabilitation into Jails: A Case

Example of Success,” the authors argue that rehabilitation is the most effective way to reduce

recidivism. First, they exclaim that the purpose of jails is detention which provides offenders the

opportunity to reflect why they are incarcerated which provides a space for rehabilitation and

change. Next, the authors believe that having rehabilitation in prisons which reduce recidivism

has benefits: lower costs for taxpayers and safer communities for all. Then, the authors proclaim

that in order to reduce recidivism four components of correctional best practices must be put into

action. Finally, the authors introduce the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility and

how this jail offers 6 programs of different rehabilitation for inmates which are Criminal

Attitude, Offender Anger Management Treatment, Active Parenting, Living in Balance,

NORCOR Community Re-entry, and Inside Out Dad. The authors use NORCOR as an example

to show that reduction of recidivism can be achieved through effective rehabilitation programs

offered in prisons.

The prison system is not as effective anymore, so changes must be made and proper

rehabilitation should be added to decrease recidivism. In a TEDx Talks, Mathews clarifies that

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“inmates are assigned to prisons based upon how much we anticipate they’re going to misbehave

while they are there” (02:52-57). This shows that the correctional system categorizes inmates

based on their violent behavior and sends them to prisons with strict security rather than sending

them to prisons that have rehabilitation programs that meet their needs. The prison system should

focus more on rehabilitation and treatment for inmates in order to keep them out of prison and to

decrease recidivism. In order to do this, individuals should be placed into prisons that provide the

proper rehabilitation and therapy to combat their issues. Therefore, proper rehabilitation and

treatment must be added to all prisons so every inmate can have access to a program that is

effective to them. By doing so, prisons will focus more on rehabilitation rather than heavily on

just punishment which will create a positive effect for inmates. In an article by Simourd and

Brandenburg, the authors state that rehabilitation is the most effective way of reducing

recidivism. The authors use the Northern Oregon Regional Correction Facility (NORCOR) as an

example of how effective rehabilitation is. NORCOR provides six program options that each

offer different rehabilitation services, but before an offender is assigned to a program they are

ranked and “referred for a supplementary assessment of specific areas related to honesty,

criminal thinking, anger, and readiness for change” (55). This assessment focuses on the specific

issues inmates are dealing with in order to determine what type of program they are referred to.

This assessment strategy should be implemented into all prisons so we can better understand why

inmates behave the way they did to get them into prison so they can receive the proper, effective,

and specific treatment program to keep them out of jail once they are released.

All prisons should provide good educational programs and job skills to inmates so the

rate of successful reentry can increase. Based on a study by Bowman and Travis Jr., former

inmates assert that “the job skills acquired in prison were often inconsistent with needed skill-

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sets in the community” (13). Therefore, reentry into society is difficult and unsuccessful because

of the lack of job skills and education provided to inmates while they were in jail. Current

inmates are not learning valuable life skills which makes them become a step behind the rest of

society once they are released. Society is quickly advancing and changing and inmates cannot

keep up with it, so they go back to their old habits which can lead them back into prison. For that

reason, while inmates are serving their time, they should learn useful skills and receive a good

education that will help them once they are released from prison so they can have a better chance

of becoming employed. Nally et al. did a five year follow-up study on former inmates and the

authors discovered that “ex-offenders were frequently kept from employment due to criminal

background checks or deficiencies in education and job skills” (17). This study backs up

Bowman and Travis Jr.’s argument that ex-inmates struggle finding employment once they are

released from prison due to the lack of education and job skills that are necessary to survive in

society.

In order for reentry to be successful, individuals should receive proper resources and

guidance during the transition from prison and into the real world. While inmates serve their

time, society changes during that time and it may be difficult for them to adjust to the world

outside of prison. Reentry is important for inmates because it determines if ex-criminals will stay

out of prison or not. In Prisoner Reentry and Social Capital, Hattery and Smith conclude that

“there are several key factors that influence reentry including race, socioeconomic status prior to

incarceration, sobriety, employment, and access to stable housing” (6). Since there are many

factors that contribute to reentry, it is important that released prisoners have support and

resources that will help them stay out of jail and become stable in life. Without proper resources,

former inmates are thrown into the world with no idea on how to survive which makes them turn

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to their old habits. For example, once inmates are released from jail they are sent back to their

former communities which can make it difficult for them to change their lives and can lead them

back to misbehavior. This is why guidance is needed so inmates can have someone to lean on

and help them overcome these struggles so they can have a better life. “Positive reengagement in

society, including housing, self-sustaining education or employment, a healthy peer network and

emotional well-being are essential to success” (Bowman and Travis Jr. 11). These factors lead to

success in reentry, but inmates that are released from prison need help and resources to cope with

their new lifestyle in order to stay out of prison. Therefore, it is important that inmates receive

some type of counseling or resources to help them find a job, help them find housing, help them

deal with obstacles, and help them flourish in life and stay out of the prison system.

Overall, the correctional system must be fixed and provide more specific and educational

programs to inmates. By doing so, this will reduce recidivism in the United States and will help

reentry become more successful.

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Works Cited

Bowman, Scott Wm., and Raphael Travis Jr. “Prisoner Reentry and Recidivism According to the

Formerly Incarcerated and Reentry Service Providers: A Verbal Behavior Approach.”

Behavior Analyst Today, vol. 13, no. 3/4, July 2012, pp. 9–19. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1037/h0100726.

Hattery, Angela, and Earl Smith. Prisoner Reentry and Social Capital. Lexington Books, 2010.

Mathews, Brandon. “The surprising reason our correctional system doesn’t work.” TEDx Talks,

Sep. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmvrBGmu9k4.

Nally, John M., et al. "Post-Release Recidivism and Employment among Different Types of

Released Offenders: A 5-Year follow-up Study in the United States." International

Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, vol. 9 (1), 2014, pp. 16-34. Google Scholar, http://

www.ijcjs.com/pdfs/nallyetalijcjs2014vol9issue1.pdf.

Simourd, David J., and Bryan Brandenburg. “Implementing Rehabilitation into Jails: A Case

Example of Success.” American Jails, vol. 32, no. 5, Nov. 2018, pp. 53–56. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=132895180&site=ehost-

live&scope=site.