For many decades, the recidivism rate in the US, the rate at which released prisoners return to jail or are sentenced again, has hovered around two-thirds or 70%. In other words, our correctional methods don’t rehabilitate very well. A wise prison director in 1912 laid down the requirements of a good prison system, but our society has not followed his advice. Instead, prisoners get worse over time as they learn sick prison values, the “incarceration” process. Gang culture thrives in prison, sometimes recruiting new members there or simply continuing as former gang members. Our prisoners do not always receive drug rehab or psychiatric counseling and only a minority learn valuable trades or skills or obtain a GED in prison. The mentally ill should be in psychiatric institutions, not prisons; 16% of prisoners have significant mental problems. Inactivity and boredom take their toll, peppered with violence and sometimes rape. Responsible behavior is not encouraged; We do not trust our prisoners to act responsibly. Their conduct in prison is judged by whether they have obeyed the prison rules, not by whether they are able to navigate the outside world. Because US law inhibits and discourages the prison industries, relatively few convicts work productively while behind bars. In the federal system and in many states, set sentences release prisoners on a set date, whether they are ready for the free world outside or not. After release, ex-cons are denied food stamps, welfare benefits, public housing, student loans, and most jobs, and are perceived as poor prospects for marriage, employment, housing, and business. Prisoners lose contact with family and friends, especially during longer sentences, and invariably find that things have changed while they are gone.
Recidivism will never go away. There is no sure cure. Criminals tend to be losers, and only a few of them get it right. So recidivism will not reach zero, not in our lives. But it can drop significantly with fundamental changes:
First, inmates must keep themselves in prison through industry before they can stay out of prison, without interference from outside companies and unions. By manufacturing goods that are now made exclusively in foreign countries, the old objection to prison industries will be removed.
Second, indeterminate sentences are required, causing prisoners to obtain their release with constructive behavior, not just over time. If the released prisoners would clearly poison the outside world, they should not be released.
Third, education must be provided. Education in this context should include trade education, job skills, GED, drug and alcohol counseling or rehabilitation, and even college degrees for those capable of doing college-level work.
Fourth, religious culture must be taught. The government cannot get involved in the propagation of religion, so private religious organizations must play an important role. The founding of safe work houses or work communities will facilitate religious activity, because such businesses can be sponsored, owned, or managed by religious organizations.
These changes are not my idea, but rather the culmination of 50 years of prison service by Zebulon Brockway, the father of rehabilitative penology. He discovered it all a long time ago. In the last 100 years, we lost our way.