Running head: Recidivism

Recidivism
First Colonial High School
Tatyana Cobbin
Mrs.Disher
First Colonial High School
November 3, 2014

Recidivism

2
Abstract

This essay will talk about, going into depth, and stating solutions for my general issue of
Recidivism. Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after he/she has
either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or has been treated or trained to
extinguish that behavior. My solutions are very effective would be electronic monitoring and
intensive probation, relapse prevention therapy and job arrangement and meeting with other
criminals. This essay into depth about these solutions and talking about that are very affective in
moving forward in our goal of reducing recidivism. There is only good that can come out of
using these methods.
Keywords: Recidivism, repeating, undesirable, consequences, extinguish, monitoring,
probation, therapy

Recidivism

The world biggest problem is recidivism. Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an
undesirable behavior after he/she has either experienced negative consequences of that behavior,
or has been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior. For example, if Sue was convicted of a
DUI and then comes back again for the same crime and then later comes back again then Sue is
committing the act of Recidivism. In this country today, we see a lot on the news on different
crimes that have occurred and people getting charged with different things but the issue at hand
should be looked into so that later on this wont happen again. If the problem is solved
thoroughly and treatment is given correctly then there would be a lot less crime and a lot less
people going in and out of jail and prison.

The general issue is that people keep going in and out of jail or prison for the same or similar
crime. Recidivism is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. It is also said to
be a relapse which means a person is going back to their old way which is not good. There is too
much crime going on as it is. If a person keeps coming back and the underline problem is not
solved effectively then that means more money and more problems. National statistics show that
within three years of release, about two-thirds (67.8 percent) of released prisoners than were
rearrested.(National Instute of Justice June 17, 2014) With that being said if these people
didnt keep coming back for the same crime than 32.2% would be left in jail or prison. This
percentage is a lot less than what we have now. Crime means a lot more money needed to keep
these people in jail or prison. So the decrease in inmates mean a lot less money taken from the
government and this is working toward a smaller debt.

The problem is that there is too much focus on the time being served and less focus on the

Recidivism

problem at hand. The criminals should punished and away from all other people but their need to
be a time where people sit back and think about where this is getting us. The root of the issue
needs to be figured out and addressed. Just getting them in and out and serving their time is not
helping anything. Its known that most of the prisoners have an issue and they need help. It
doesn't help society to incarcerate without any rehabilitation. (N. Berlatsky, 2010) They leave the
jail or prison without any type of help and continue to come back because they are falling back in
their old ways. Most prisoners are stubborn and dont believe what theyre doing is wrong and
wont stop what theyre doing because it became a part of their lifestyle. This is where solutions
need to be put into place to make sure that everything that can be done is done so the rate id
recidivism is decreased.
One solution would be electronic monitoring and intensive probation reduce. Electronic
monitoring will allow the prisoners to be looked at to see how they live in the cells and what they
do. It will specialist an insight on how they live in the cells which might lead to them being
diagnosed with something or a problem might arise. Intensive Probation is not like regular
probation. It makes sure that the former inmates are not falling back into their old ways. It is very
hands on and does let former prisoner slip if they do something wrong. Intensive probation let
the former prisoners also know that they are on a tight leash and one slip up and their back in
jail. For most this arises fear and they wont slip up. This is perfect because this means they
wont do anything illegal again and this does what regular old probation didnt. This decreases
recidivism and gets the former prisoners the help they need and also guides them in the right
direction.
One other solution would be job placement programs and education. Many prisoners
dont have the education or the resources to get them out of the deep of hole of crime and as a

Recidivism

result of this fall back into crime. With these programs they can get help with getting back into
the world and changing their life for the better. They dont have to resort to stealing or robbing.
The education helps their confidence as well as leads them down the right path to a bright future.
They wont go back to jail and can have something to look forward to everyday. This also
reduces recidivism and keeps them out of jail.
Another solution would be therapeutic meetings that will allow them get their feelings
out address their issues. They can meet others that are in the same situation they are in. This
allows them to open up more and know that its okay to admit you have a problem. These
meetings can be provided inside and outside of jail and prison. Prisoners can look forwards to
these meeting. They can be private or public because some people dont like to talk in front of
other people. Therapeutic meeting help prisoner better understand the law. (Lauren Rabaiotti,
2014). This also helps with decreasing the rate of recidivism and keep them from back tracking
back into crime.
Recidivism is the worlds biggest problem. Many people go back to jail for the same thing
because they dont get help with their core issue. There are many solutions out there that are not
being done to the best of its ability in order to help these prisoner and former prisoner. Electronic
monitoring, intensive probation, job placement programs, education and therapeutic meeting all
can help reduce the rate of recidivism.. Serving the time given or being punished is not going to
keep them from coming back most of the time because this has become most of these prisoners
lifestyles. The problem or issue needs to be addressed in order to be addressed

Recidivism

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