Prisoners’ transition program
Every year several prisoners from different jails are reintegrated back into the community for a number of reasons majorly due to end of sentence. Nevertheless, it is usually a difficult moment for the prisoners, the community and the judicial system. Unfortunately there are those prisoners who are not ready to be reintegrated into the community because they are not yet reformed. On the other hand most of these prisoners are usually reformed and eager to be reintegrated into the community. However going back to the community is usually a difficult process as many prisoners believe that the community is not yet ready to accept them due to the actions they had done (Waters 1620). Furthermore there is usually a stigma against prisoners especially those who had been convicted of crimes such as rape, murder and robbery.thus an elaborate transition program should be conducted before prisoners are reintegrated into the community.
According to the bureau of justice statistics, more than three quarters of the state prisoners are arrested after being released from the state prisons. Therefore this leads to not only congestion in state prisons but also increase in expenditure by the state prisons. For this reason, I believe that before prisoners are reintegrated into the community then a transition program that involves counselling that includes; the prisoner, family member, psychologist and other stakeholders. It is important that the community indicate that it is ready to welcome the freed prisoners back to the system. Thus through the counselling program that is part of the transition program, the family members are able to motivate the prisoner and give them hope that not everything is lost and there is a chance for a brand new beginning outside there.
Moreover due to public safety and the risk of reoffending, the transition program plays a pivotal role as those prisoners who are most likely to reoffend are put through the program.therefore this is beneficial to all the stakeholders which include the public, judicial system and the prisoner also. Though the transition program initiative, the prisoners are sensitized on how to cope up when they are back to the community system (Hopkin et al., 628). The transition program educates the prisoners on how to deal with the difficult situation of stigmatization and loneliness because people usually do not want to be associated with ex-convicts.
Hence there is need for counselling therapy that is part of the transition program so that the prisoners are psychologically prepared before being reintegrated into the community. I believe that through the transition program, the prisoners that would have reoffended when reintegrated are usually changed (Waters 1618). This is because they get the feeling that there is still hope and an opportunity for a new genesis in the community. Therefore they would not go back to their old atrocious ways that led to their incarceration because they have been shown support care and live during the transition program. The transition program also allows the prison department to monitor those prisoners that they deem as likely to reoffend and who have not fully transformed during their sentence period (Hawken, Angela, and Mark AR Kleiman.). Therefore when they are released back to the community they are either put on probation so that they can be monitored for some time.
In conclusion, I think every prisoner being reintegrated to the community should pass through the transition program. The transition program is effective as it enables the authorities to prepare the prisoners mentally on how they would cope up with the community (Hancock, Nicola, Smith-Merry, and Mckenzie 5). Furthermore the transition program has been helpful as it help thestate prisons to reform those prisoners who are likely to reoffend when reintegrated into the community.
Works Cited
Hancock, Nicola, Jennifer Smith-Merry, and Kirsty Mckenzie. “Facilitating people living with severe and persistent mental illness to transition from prison to community: a qualitative exploration of staff experiences.” International journal of mental health systems 12.1 (2018): 1-10.
Hawken, Angela, and Mark AR Kleiman. “Graduated reintegration: Smoothing the transition from prison to community.” Policy Proposal 3 (2016).
Hopkin, G., et al. “Interventions at the transition from prison to the community for prisoners with mental illness: a systematic review.” Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 45.4 (2018): 623-634.
Waters, Rob. “After Prison, Healthy Lives Built On Access To Care And Community.” (2019): 1616-1621.