The criminal justice
system is constantly under scrutiny by researchers and sociologists who are looking to see if the
system actually deters crime and is able to rehabilitate criminals. I have
heard many arguments about whether the prison system is the correct way to
punish criminals. Sociologists tend to believe that expanding the penal system
or having harsher punishments for criminals will not help reduce crime rates. I
do not entirely agree with this argument, but I do understand the reasoning
behind it. I do not believe that the penal system always works to rehabilitate
criminals, but I also do not believe that this means prisons are not able to do
this. I think that by adding more educational classes, actively discouraging
gang activity and other violent behavior, and by providing rehabilitation
programs, prisoners can greatly benefit from the penal system and the rate of recidivism
may drop. This costs quite a large amount of money, but as the text says it
already costs over $25,000 a year to hold a person in the penal system. If recidivism
rates dropped, the criminals would be less likely to re-enter the prisons, and this would save states money so paying for these
programs would be well worth it.
Amy, I agree that education and rehab programs should be promoted. I think some kind of therapy program involving introspection could be a good idea too. People cannot change unless they acknowledge and understand what makes them tick. If someone is sad, hurt, angry, or confused, perhaps a therapy program could help them deal with this and channel it in a healthy, productive, and beneficial way.
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