Rehabilitation of convicts

[Yurt]

Rehabilitation of convicts.

What is this? Can it happen? What if the convict is a life term inmate? Would it make a difference if his term, being life, was up to a panel of people hand picked by a governor? Would it make a difference to you if the criteria for being released from at least 15 years of prison is that you no longer pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society?

Is our penal system solely for punishment? Does rehabilitation have anything to do with prison?

[April15]

Rehabilitation of convicts.

What is this? Can it happen? What if the convict is a life term inmate? Would it make a difference if his term, being life, was up to a panel of people hand picked by a governor? Would it make a difference to you if the criteria for being released from at least 15 years of prison is that you no longer pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society?

Is our penal system solely for punishment? Does rehabilitation have anything to do with prison?Years ago I used the California Correction System to get new workers. I could pay the guy minimum wage and be reimbersed by the state for his wages. To my knowledge none of the guys I hired ever went back to jail.

[Yurt]

Years ago I used the California Correction System to get new workers. I could pay the guy minimum wage and be reimbersed by the state for his wages. To my knowledge none of the guys I hired ever went back to jail.

ok, sounds like a racket, how do i get in on it?

[diuretic]

I know this is a very complex topic but for what it's worth here's my take on it.

In my jurisdiction we have a lot of very good diversionary programmes for young offenders (the age of adulthood here is 18). Those programmes work pretty well. Unless a juvenile commits a very serious crime as a first offence they won't get a custodial term. Most juveniles who are given a custodial term are already hardened criminals.

Juveniles who graduate from young offenders' institutions to prison are lost. All you can do is keep locking them up for various terms to give the community a break from their activities.

An ex-con once told me that most of those who "graduate" through the system can't be "re-habilitated" because as he put it, they weren't habilitated in the first case. And I agree with him. Some kids just don't get the proper parenting or they're cracked in the head.

I once dealt with a sixteen year old sociopath for a schoobreaking offence many years ago. He's still a criminal and he's back in prison for yet another armed robbery and he must be in his late thirties now. No hope of rehab there.

Having said that I also dealt with a junkie for armed robbery of a pharmacy. When he got out of prison he began working with prisoner aid groups to keep cons from going back. He's clean and working and back on track and won't commit a crime again. Rehab worked.

I suppose it depends on many factors.

[April15]

ok, sounds like a racket, how do i get in on it?Call the state corrections system for the state you live in. Ask about work release programs. My work was all manual labor so I don't know if you will find anyone wanting out of jail bad enough to take those kind of jobs now.
When I went back to just me doing everything i quit the program. That was in the early 90's. Good luck.

[Gaffer]

About 20% can be rehabilitated. The others will end up right back in prison. More might be rehabbed except our society doesn't really allow for it. Most parolee's can't get a decent job when they get out. Minimum wage is the best they can do as most companies will not hire someone with a felony. So they return to what got them locked up to begin with.

Anyone that is sent to prison twice is never going to be rehabbed.