Introduction
Quakers founded Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Prison in 1773, the nation’s first prison; conflicting views on crime and punishment have affected how criminal justice is administered in the United States. Since then, the nature of criminal punishment has changed, moving from atonement to rehabilitation to retaliation. Policymaking has prioritized punishment and revenge since the middle of the 1970s. As a result, there are currently an increasing number of people incarcerated, significant state and federal spending on the correctional system and a developing understanding that releasing convicts without appropriate supports leads to the revolving-prison-door issue.
Reentry programs have developed in recent years as a means of addressing the difficulties associated with reintegrating ex-offenders into community and, progressively, as a weapon for battling mass imprisonment and lowering rates of chronic recidivism (Jonson & Cullen, 2015). Reentry programs are overseen by the court and created to offer ex-offenders extensive, all-encompassing support as they establish a successful life outside of jail. Our reintegration initiatives place a major emphasis on removing or minimizing obstacles to effective reentry, enabling determined people who have served their sentence and paid their responsibility to society to compete for employment, find stable housing, care for their families, and give back to their communities.
Ex-offenders encounter serious issues that include a lack of supervision, inadequate transitional planning, and a shortage of access to important social, economic, and educational opportunities and resources like low cost of housing, decent jobs, mental and physical care, and substance abuse rehabilitation programs. The understanding that releasing convicts without offering support systems leads to the phenomena of revolving prison doors is rising.
Reentry Issues
Public Safety
Reentry enhances community security. State prisons and municipal jails house around two million adult inmates. Approximately half of those who are re-incarcerated within three years and two out of every three prisoners who are freed from correctional facilities are rearrested for new offenses. Reducing recidivism is essential for raising public safety in the long run and cutting expenditures associated with prisons (Kendall et al., 2018).
Employment
Those who have served time behind bars should anticipate a 40 percent reduction in their future wages when they reintegrate into society. Reentry initiatives aim to lower obstacles to job opportunities so that persons with a criminal history can compete for jobs after being held accountable and paying their obligations (Mizel & Abrams, 2019).
Health
Rehabilitation inside the jail to the community sometimes lacks consistency. Reentry initiatives can assure that when individuals are released from prison, proper physical and behavioral health therapies will be much more accessible thanks to the Affordable Care Act and other changes. Substance misuse can pose a serious threat to one’s health and be a substantial barrier to effective readmission. Public safety is increased when the underlying reasons of these convictions are addressed.
Education
Education is a crucial component in preparation for release and an effective approach for lowering both adult and juvenile recidivism rates. In one research, participation in educational programs was linked to a 16 percent drop in recidivism. An important foundational element for expanding career options is education.
Housing
One of the most important strategies for avoiding homelessness and recidivism is stable housing with the right social assistance. The objective is to lower obstacles to public and discounted housing and push innovative models that enhance results for those who frequently need homeless assistance and correctional services.
Conclusion
Reentry programs have developed in recent years as a means of addressing the difficulties associated with trying to integrate ex-offenders into society and, progressively, as a weapon for battling mass imprisonment and lowering rates of chronic recidivism. Reentry programs, which are run by the court and intended to offer ex-offenders wide, all-encompassing support while they construct productive lives outside of prison, have shown to be a successful tool to aid the inmates in assimilating into society. I will thus provide funding for the reentry courts in order to stop the numbers from rising.
References
Jonson, C. L., & Cullen, F. T. (2015). Prisoner reentry programs. Crime and justice, 44(1), 517-575.
Kendall, S., Redshaw, S., Ward, S., Wayland, S., & Sullivan, E. (2018). Systematic review of qualitative evaluations of reentry programs addressing problematic drug use and mental health disorders amongst people transitioning from prison to communities. Health & justice, 6(1), 1-11.
Mizel, M. L., & Abrams, L. S. (2019). Practically emotional: Young men’s perspectives on what works in reentry programs. Journal of Social Service Research.
