Name
March 4, 2023
Inquiry 101/B17
Purpose of Punishment
Deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution are the 5 most important
words in correctional facilities. Each and every one of these serves a very important purpose, but today
rehabilitation is the main focus. Why is rehabilitation so important when it comes to incarcerated
inmates? Currently, 73% of inmates are reincarcerated within the next three years after being released.
This is becoming a huge issue with our prison systems and causing a lot of mental health issues inside
correctional facilities.
Getting inmates proper rehabilitation has been a huge issue in correctional facilities and some
would even say “nothing works in terms of changing criminal behavior” (Alschuler, 2003). Thankfully,
things are starting to look up when it comes to rehab for inmate. In the last five years almost 65% of
inmates have been rehabilitated. Anything from drug addicts to thieves are receiving rehabilitation that is
working. Even though this may sound good, the 35% of inmates that aren't receiving this care are still
hurting the correctional facilities. This also hurts the public because there is a large number of these
inmates that haven’t had the proper care they need and when released they end up reoffending.
One of the major issues that occurs when trying to get inmates the proper rehabilitation they need
is funding. On average it coast $3,200 to rehabilitate an inmate. With just a little over half the inmates
successfully being rehabilitated a lot of this money goes to waste. Judging if an inmate’s rehab will be
successful can be very difficult but there are ways to do so. Alcoholics and drug addicts are the most
likely to receive rehabilitation treatment and are also the most likely to be successful in their treatment.
There are many forms of rehab and a lot of them don’t require spending thousands of dollars.
Research has shown that putting a group of inmates that are struggling with the same issue together as a
social group can have a very positive benefit on these inmates’ rehabilitation process. Forms of meditation
like yoga and Tai Chi have also shown to help inmates dramatically improved their lifestyles.
Rehabilitation methods such as these are not only cheaper, but they are also building good habits for
inmates that will help them when their sentences are over and they are released. Educational programs
through correctional facilities are also another great form of rehab because they give purpose to an inmate
and give them something to look forward to when they get out. These programs can drastically improve
quality of life for inmates and inspire them to want to make a change in their lives.
Rehabilitation isn’t just important for inmates but it is also important for the public. “Crime is a
public health concern” (Seiter, 2020). Approximately 600,000 inmates are released from prisons all over
the country every year. Roughly only half of these inmates are receiving rehabilitation treatment and less
than that have been fully rehabilitated. This means that there is nearly 300,000 inmates every year being
released into the public without the proper care they need. Just because these people haven't had the
proper treatment, they need doesn't mean they are bad people but the public generally views them as so.
There is a common stereotype that anyone who has been to jail is bad and this is just not the case. There
needs to be more awareness about what kind of people they really are and that not all of them are bad.
Educating students, that are not just going into criminal justice on this issue, would be a great way to help
break the stereotype. It could even help inmates that didn't get the treatment they need find ways to better
themselves out of prison. If the world only sees offenders as offenders, then that is all they will ever see
themselves as and this just furthers the issue. Rehabilitation doesn't just occur in prison; it can occur
outside in the real world as well. People need to step up to the plate to help offenders get their life back
together and aid these people in finding their true identity.
Students going into law enforcement at Liberty University and at other colleges are definitely
more familiar with this issue then students majoring in other fields. Criminal justice students will be
dealing with these issues on a regular basis, whether they are working in correctional facilities or working
out on the streets as a cop for example. They will interact with these people almost every day.
Rehabilitation is so important to all aspects of criminal justice because if inmates are properly
rehabilitated then that is one less potential offender out on the streets, and this makes protecting the public
a much easier job.
Work Cited
Seiter, R. (2020). Corrections: An Introduction (6th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN 13: 978-0-13-
518619-0, eText ISBN: 9780135235485, 0135235480. (n.d.).
Alschuler, A. W. (2003). The changing purposes of criminal punishment: A retrospective on the past
century and some thoughts about the next. The University of Chicago Law Review, 70(1), 1.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1600541
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