Do you believe in rehabilitation?

[ShaklesOfBigGov]

I agree our prison system now is a failure,but I believe people can change. Right now the way things are sets the people who come out of prison for failure, just look at the posts in this thread for proof. Nobody wants to hire them, so even if they really have changed no one gives them a chance, so you are correct what is the point of letting them out?

Yes, people CAN change. The problem is that most of them AREN'T going to change. Then things like this happen....

Fred goes to jail for car theft. In prison he gets rehabilitated and earns his auto tech certification. I'm a kind hearted guy so I hire Fred after he gets out of prison. I send him for some more training at my expense, but he agrees to pay the cost back over time. Then, during the 3 weeks we're shut down in July (for my summer vacation), Fred falls on some financial hard-times because he's not real good at managing money. He doesn't want to, but he only knows one other way to get $$$. He agrees to scope out a few cars for a friend. They get caught and he ends up being charged as an accessory to GTA. He goes back to jail, and I'm out a worker and the time/money I spent to train him rather than the nice kid from the local Vo-Tech school who doesn't have a criminal record.

For the most part hiring these criminals is a losing proposition. Heck, in the office I currently work in, the Government doesn't allow anyone with a criminal record to even work in this part of our building. We have to undergo a security screening once a year.

The problem is prisons need to focus on changing the individual's "thinking", not simply believing that obtaining a successful "trade" is enough of a means to be rehabilitated. Providing the resources to learn a skill does not address the real root issue of the behavior, it merely puts a decorative gift wrap over it with a quick fix bandage. Are those consequences of society found in simply "waiting it out" in a cell, working towards obtaining a career, or discovering a new one through drug trafficking or gangs? All these amenities of: weight training, televisions, free GED or higher education, and free healthcare on the taxpayer's dime, does not appear to be a effective deterrent. Where is the real need for change? Those committed of a crime ought to serve some form of hard labor, and have mandatory psychiatric evaluations for possible counseling. Those who can not be rehabilitated might serve society better isolated and left in prison, from those who can. I also support capital punishment for more serious offenders: such as serial killers, cop killers, and repeat offenders (like pedophiles and rapists) who are proven incapable of change. Society can provide the tools, but it's the offender who must want to change for it to be successful.

 

[Flopper]

I agree our prison system now is a failure,but I believe people can change. Right now the way things are sets the people who come out of prison for failure, just look at the posts in this thread for proof. Nobody wants to hire them, so even if they really have changed no one gives them a chance, so you are correct what is the point of letting them out?

Yes, people CAN change. The problem is that most of them AREN'T going to change. Then things like this happen....

Fred goes to jail for car theft. In prison he gets rehabilitated and earns his auto tech certification. I'm a kind hearted guy so I hire Fred after he gets out of prison. I send him for some more training at my expense, but he agrees to pay the cost back over time. Then, during the 3 weeks we're shut down in July (for my summer vacation), Fred falls on some financial hard-times because he's not real good at managing money. He doesn't want to, but he only knows one other way to get $$$. He agrees to scope out a few cars for a friend. They get caught and he ends up being charged as an accessory to GTA. He goes back to jail, and I'm out a worker and the time/money I spent to train him rather than the nice kid from the local Vo-Tech school who doesn't have a criminal record.

For the most part hiring these criminals is a losing proposition. Heck, in the office I currently work in, the Government doesn't allow anyone with a criminal record to even work in this part of our building. We have to undergo a security screening once a year.

The problem is prisons need to focus on changing the individual's "thinking", not simply believing that obtaining a successful "trade" is enough of a means to be rehabilitated. Providing the resources to learn a skill does not address the real root issue of the behavior, it merely puts a decorative gift wrap over it with a quick fix bandage. Are those consequences of society found in simply "waiting it out" in a cell, working towards obtaining a career, or discovering a new one through drug trafficking or gangs? All these amenities of: weight training, televisions, free GED or higher education, and free healthcare on the taxpayer's dime, does not appear to be a effective deterrent. Where is the real need for change? Those committed of a crime ought to serve some form of hard labor, and have mandatory psychiatric evaluations for possible counseling. Those who can not be rehabilitated might serve society better isolated and left in prison, from those who can. I also support capital punishment for more serious offenders: such as serial killers, cop killers, and repeat offenders (like pedophiles and rapists) who are proven incapable of change. Society can provide the tools, but it's the offender who must want to change for it to be successful.

Crime and punishment like all social problems are the most difficult problems we have. I don't think there is any one answer. For some, separation from society for the longest possible time is the way go. For other, a real rehabilitation program is the best course. We spend 51 billion a year on prisons. If we lengthen prisons stays we are going to have to spend a lot more on prisons. Rehabilitation is cheaper but, there is certainly no guarantees of success.