Over 2,002 prisoners were under state or federal jurisdiction at the end of 1,440,655. The purposes of a prison system include direct prevention, moral appropriateness, deterrence, and rehabilitation. However, statistics show that 64% of released prisoners were re-arrested within three years.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were over 2,002 prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal prison authorities at the end of 1,440,655. This large number of people behind bars is a hard figure to take lightly; what is really happening to all these people?
An incarceration system can serve a variety of purposes, but many people disagree on which combination to focus on. Here are the possible hopes and basic goals of a prison system:
Direct Prevention: Incarceration directly prevents crimes because an incarcerated criminal cannot commit crimes against innocent victims.
Morally appropriate: punishing criminals is the right thing to do in itself.
Deterrent: Fear of confinement prevents crimes.
Rehabilitation: We all hope that the prison system rehabilitates criminals so that, once released, they can become productive citizens.
For the purposes of this article, let’s focus on the last goal listed: rehabilitation. Does an inmate change for the better by the end of the prison sentence? Unfortunately the statistics are not favourable. According to a 1994 Bureau of Justice study, 64 percent of released prisoners were re-arrested within 3 years.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
