1.9 KiB
1.9 KiB
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation instead of imprisonment is shown to curb crime, lower cost, and increase employment.
- RAND: Davis et al. 13
- Includes a META-ANALYSIS of 58 studies of recidivism, or the rate at which criminals return to jail, after rehabilitation programs.
- Analysts found that inmates who participated in correctional education programs had a 43% odds of recidivating than inmates who did not, thus indicating that correctional education is an effective strategy for reducing recidivism
- Note: even the lower quality evidence analyzed by the study finds a 13% reduction in recidivism
- Rehabilitation is cost-effective: “Our cost analysis showed that correctional education is highly cost-effective for incarcerated adults: For every dollar spent on correctional education, five dollars are saved on three year reincarceration costs.”
- The odds of obtaining employment postrelease among inmates who participate in correctional education was 13% higher than for those who did not
- United States Department of Justice
- Recommends various methods by which recidivism can be reduced
- Nearly all recommendations made are prisoner-oriented, rehabilitative practices. This includes but is not limited to:
- Building a “school district” within the prison system
- Prioritizing mental health of prisoners
- Equipping prisoners with appropriate information and resources as they return to the community
- Not once are “harsher prison sentences” or other punitive methods recommended as a means by which to reduce recidivism