1
The Second Chance Act of 2005
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course Title
Date
2
The Second Chance Act of 2005
The Second Chance Act rule sanctions federal grants to non-profit establishments and
government bodies to help in the lessening of recidivism by offering housing, employment,
mentoring services, victim support, substance abuse nursing and other services to the previously
incarcerated individuals. It was signed into law in April 2008, purposely to enhance public
safety. Moreover, the Second Chance Act assists the National Offender Reentry Resource Centre
(NORRC) (Calleja et al., 2016). The centre was established in 2009, and it has been instrumental
in providing data regarding community reentry of previously convicted criminals to monitor their
behavior to minimize recidivism. The Second Chance Act governs the operations of the NORRC
to provide the link between the community and various service providers. One of the reasons that
lead to high crime rates is the lack of finances occasioned by a lack of jobs. Therefore, one of the
fundamental goals of the Second Chance Act is to create employment for former convicts. The
national institute of justice posits that an estimated sixty per cent of previous prisoners endure
joblessness due to bad criminal records that hamper employers from employing even schooled
inmates (Ritter, 2014). Therefore, the second chance act ensures that funds are readily available
to previous convicts to create job opportunities and get finances to be independent and avoid
recidivism.
Recidivism is a significant problem in the US. Society can reduce this menace in diverse
ways. Firstly, providing education for the inmates within the correctional facilities. Training
sessions for the inmates on the importance of embracing good behavior is supreme in the fight
against recidivism. There is a high probability that inmates who taste behavior training are less
likely to re-offend than those who never received training because education imparts some sense
within offenders.
3
Proverbs chapter 22 verse six affirms the importance of training. “Start7children off on
the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.” (KJV, 2021).
Secondly, proper examination of inmate's requirements and risks. Objective risk evaluation can
help in the determination of prisoners with high stakes of recommitting a crime. After that, it will
be easy for authorities to establish what factors make them commit crimes and address them
amicably. Thirdly, bolstering substance abuse treatment. Substance abuse treatment is a robust
recidivism reduction strategy for it reduces drug-related offences (Coupland & Olver,2020).
Lastly, enhancing suspect's motivational elements. Trust between justice and suspect would
enhance behavior change, thereby making culprits shun recidivism.
4
References
Calleja, N. G., Dadah, A. M., Fisher, J., & Fernandez, M. (2016). Reducing juvenile recidivism
through specialized reentry services: A second chance act project.7Journal of Juvenile
Justice,75(2), 1.
Coupland, R., & Olver, M. E. (2020). Assessing protective factors in treated violent offenders:
Associations with recidivism reduction and positive community outcomes.7Psychological
assessment.
KJV. (2021). Retrieved from, http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=bible.kingjamesbiblelite
Ritter, N. (2014). Cultural shift is among findings of Second Chance Act evaluation.7National
Institute of Justice Journal,7273, 28-34.
