Pros and Cons of offenders’ re-entry into society.
For every six individuals released from prison, five of these individuals will make their way back to prison shortly (Bjs.Gov.)Such facts are grave and heartbreaking but currently face most prisoners released to the community after finishing their sentences. The undeniable statistics have caused a nationwide conversation on the topic leading to the revision of the whole process of releasing offenders back to the community. Policymakers are now implementing new ways and initiatives to ensure that their transition back to society is seamless once a person is released. Some of the advantages of releasing offenders back to the community include the decongestion of prisons, releasing a measurable amount of productive workforce into the labor market, enabling family reunions, and as a test of whether the correctional and rehabilitation system is indeed working. Sadly most of these advantages are not realized because the process of re-entry back to the community is arduous and hectic and, above all, not friendly to the offenders.
Most ex-prisoners are discriminated against when entering the labor market just because they have a criminal record. Ex-prisoners don’t get jobs quickly because most of them lack the necessary education and skillset for the available positions, which can be attributed to their long-term prison and low-level education accomplishments before getting into crime. Jobs available for ex-prisoners are usually minimum wage jobs that don’t pay much, forcing them back into crime to survive. Most offenders suffer from drug addiction before, during, and even after serving time, and since they usually get low-paying jobs, treatment for the addiction is typically costly. There should be compulsory programs that prepare convicts for life after prison for effective re-entry of offenders back to society. Efforts made by the existing groups, whether governmental or nongovernmental, to help prisoners cannot go unnoticed. Still, more effort should be put to reduce the number of convicts that end up back in prison.
Work cited.
“From Prisons To Communities: Confronting Re-Entry Challenges And Social Inequality.” Https://Www.Apa.Org, 2020, https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2018/03/prisons-to-communities.
Bjs.Gov, 2020, https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/18upr9yfup0514_sum.pdf.
Morenoff, JD. Incarceration, Prisoner Re-entry, And Communities. Escholarship, University Of California, 2014.
Petersilia, Joan. Challenges Of Prisoner Reentry And Parole In California. California Policy Research Center, University Of California, 2000.
Travis, Jeremy et al. From Prison To Home. Urban Institute, 2001.