Recidivism - Causes - Alternative Policies

Alternative Policies

There are countless alternatives to consider as a means of ameliorating the problem of recidivism, but many involve a complete overhaul of the societal values concerning justice, punishment, and second chances. Others are not worth exploring due to obvious cost and resource issues and other constraints.

Three plausible alternatives will be considered in this analysis: (1) allowing current trends to continue without additional intervention (maintaining the status-quo); (2) increasing the presence and quality of pre-release services, within incarceration facilities, that address factors associated with drug-related criminality—addiction treatment and mental health counseling and education programs/vocational training; (3) increasing the presence and quality of community-based organizations that provide post-release/reentry services (in the same realm as those mentioned in option 2).

The current system is focused on the front end, consisting of arrest and incarceration, and largely ignores the tail-end (and preparation for the tail-end), which includes rehabilitation and re-entry into the community. In most correctional facilities, if planning for re-entry takes place at all, it only begins a few weeks or months before an inmate is released. “This process is often referred to as release planning or transition planning and its parameters may be largely limited to helping a person identify a place to stay upon release and, possibly, a source of income”

Any programming that involves service provision for individuals convicted of crime will likely face significant pushback from constituents and special interest groups who take issue with providing “special treatment," such as mental health, rehabilitation and educational services, which so many needy law-abiding citizens don’t have access to. Many view this as privileges for people who are undeserving.