Why do so many people released from prison get convicted again?

Question

Statistics say that over two thirds of people released from jail and prison get locked up again, for new crimes, within a couple of years. Why is this so high and what should be done to lower the rate?

For example, could more be done to help inmates address the issues that led to them committing crime in the first place? Literacy rates for inmates are appalling. Should more resource be placed on giving people in prison a basic education? Should more assistence be given to get inmates off drugs? Is jail and prison too soft so that it is not seen as a deterrent? Should society as a whole be more prepared to help people who make the effort to change their behaviour after release?

Is harsher sentencing the answer or does the solution need to be more complex?

Answer 1

The solution is complex but yes we need to give prisoners a basic education or better if they want, more job training, drug resistance education, mental health solutions and help with dealing with people in general once out. Prison is not soft and I dont know where anyone got that idea. People end up back in prison for the same reasons they got there in the first place; no job, no education, no hope.Our jails are not rehabilitation centers and no rehab is done there so of course they come out just as bad as when they went in.

Answer 2

I Only help people who are willing to help themselves if given a choice. The literacy rate may be part of the problem but if you look at the prison population most people there have addiction problems (drugs, alcohol). If there are truly going to be people that will reform then the addiction issues must be addressed. Even if a person with an addiction is in jail for j walking there is a good probability that the addiction in some way lead to the arrest.
Sex offenders very rarely are reformed and in serious case should be put to death. Research has shown an interesting link between serial killers and head injuries but why a killer is a killer really doesn't matter in my opinion (unless it is self defense) they must be prevented from repeat offenses so I say fry them.

Answer 3

Myhusband has been a federal prisoner for 26 years.

Prison does not rehab, it is strictly a warehouse to keep the "bad" people away from the "good" people. Even for those men or women who only get a year or two, they lose their jobs, their cars, their credit, and often their families. When they get out, no one will hire them. How are they supposed to rent an apartment, buy transportation, buy decent clothes to look for a job? How do they live until the first paycheck comes in? I knew of a man who lived in a storage shed while working, until he got busted for trespassing and sent back to prison. The guy was trying, he had a good job, but no outside support. Without outside support, from family or an organization, these guys have very little chance of staying outside.

Having a spouse in prison also bankrupts the family. My husband is 700 miles one way from our family home. To visit him costs $500.00 for a lousy weekend, every other month. We also send him commissary money so he can get food so he may live to come home. I don't know how women with kids make it. Some sleep in their cars just so they can visit because they can't afford motels.

Older prisoners cost the taxpayers four times as much as regular prisoners because of all their medical problems, but have a very low recidivism rate. Legislation is underway to possibly release older prisoners into controlled environments. Canada is already doing this, with success. This would be a good solution to part of the problem, but again, they have to have support out here.

Mandatory minimums should be stopped. Thanks to politicians using a "get tough on crime" platform, people are being sent to prison for five years for one joint. A judge has no choice, and can no longer rule on individual cases. Prisons are full of men and women who have no business in prison. Once again, tho, if you get locked up at age 40, for five years, what do you have when you get out? Nothing. You wind up living under a bridge or with aging parents. Who'll hire you? You've got a record, you're garbage, and you might be going back.

Harsh sentencing sweeps up a lot of the little guys, the dads who unwind at the end of the day with a joint, the young girls who let their lame boyfriends use their cellphones for a drug deal, a kid with bad friends who can't think for himself yet. They don't get a second chance with mandatory minimums. They lose EVERYthing. In today's prisons, they can also die, without getting a death sentence. If you're young or small, you will be raped, that's fact. I know of a young man who died from his injuries because there's only one doctor for 2000 men.

Until the public realizes, even selfishly, that they are supporting millions of people with their tax dollars and that it cannot continue, a lot of lives will be wasted. Nobody wins.

Answer 4

Most of the people in jail, I guess 2/3 is about right, are bad people. 1/3 of them just made a really stupid decision or put themselves in a bad situation that got worse.

I think harsher sentences is not the answer. I think putting them to work while in prison may make them think twice about breaking the law again. Bring back the chain gang, make them work 12-14 hours a day, and that will break them. You can't teach a criminal by education or rehabilitation. You have to shove it down their throat.

Answer 5

Why ?Cause they haven't been rehabilitalized.
And society is putting up soo much stigmatizism about people coming from prison. That makes it even harder for them to secure a job that pays adequate wages, so that they can sustain and gaining housing and a living. It's societies own fault for being so darn prejudice about prison folks. It is so easy to get your self in trouble, if you are less educated than others. Heavens forbid why are we so judgemental? I think if we would change our attitudes towards those who served their time for a crime, I think they would not get into trouble any more. Life is already hard as it is. Makes only sense.

Answer 6

I saw a TV special on this once. It seems the ones who commit crimes again (after being released) do it because it's easier than trying to get a job, place to live and all of that. They seem to be more secure behind bars than they are out on the streets. Perhaps if we cease giving them 'all of the conviences of home' (while behind bars) they might end this cycle. We need to turn it around to where it's better on the outside than behind bars....

Answer 7

Because the system is set up for planned failure in order to keep it self supporting! These people are on a revolving door system that is guaranteed to keep them coming back. Why? Because they lack self control & as soon as they get out, they go right back to the same location they were arrested at! By order of the parole board! We need to make the sentences FULL term & eliminate the parole system & replace it with a mandatory work & education system. Once a person becomes INSTITUTIONALIZED, they feel that they have no other choice & gladly do things that will get them returned to prison. If prison has mandatory work & education, perhaps being out of jail would make SOME people want to stay on the outside, but I wouldn't bet on it, because people like to go where they feel welcome & safe. Most cons like being in jail, although they say otherwise when you ask them.

Answer 8

death penalty to anyone that waists our tax dollars serving 20 years of there life in prison
rehab is a joke

Answer 9

you become accustomed to the prison life, and you forget how the real world works... so you resort to what you like.

Answer 10

People like to punish others more then they like to help others.