The Social Reintegration of Formerly Incarcerated People and Recidivism

It is a common misconception that social reentry of prisoners follows a simple process, and that the cycle of criminality is automatically broken just because they finish their time of imprisonment. These impressions remain untrue, however, for a multitude of reasons revolving around the lack of housing, employment, education and community acceptance. In addition to the lack of resources that would help them live a sustainable life, ex-prisoners also face the social stigma of being an ex-convict, which further limits the amount of opportunities available to them and ultimately pushes them back towards the path of crime. Our current systems of prisoner reentry have good intentions but fail to successfully reintegrate people into society; it creates a cycle of continued recidivism to the detriment of both the individual and society at large.
Social integration is the process in which prisoners are transitioned from life in prison to the community after release. These reentry programs for prisoners are designed to assist them in preparing for release through acquiring the skill sets needed to succeed, addressing personal challenges and factors associated with their criminal behavior, and helping to establish the necessary connections and relationships within the community. Some programs that exist are targeted towards helping mentally ill prisoners, employment/job market reentry, providing lodging and finance support, aiding family relations, and rehabilitating substance abusers (Griffiths, et al., 2007).

Regardless of their focus, most of the programs seem to share some attributes. The programs start during institutional placement but take place mostly in the community; they are intensive in nature and last typically at least six months; services focus on individuals determined as high risk of recidivating through the use of risk-assessment classifications; and there are cognitive-behavioral treatment techniques, such as matching therapists and treatment programs to the specific learning characteristics of the prisoners. Considering how ex-prisoners are most likely to recidivate during their first year after release, the research on recidivism suggests that this is when it might be best for them to engage in reentry services (James, 2015).

However, while these rehabilitative programs are noble in intention, they are insufficient in practice. Because these programs are not expansive enough to provide support for every currently and formerly incarcerated individual with adequate support for a prolonged period of time, individuals often do not have what they need to successfully reintegrate with society, especially given the high barriers they face. When prisoners finish their sentence and are released, they face an environment that actively deters them from becoming productive members of society. Formerly incarcerated individuals are viewed by society as sub-human who should be perpetually punished for their crime. They are faced with a range of social, economic, and personal challenges that tend to become obstacles to a crime-free lifestyle. Without sufficient support from the community or family members, difficulties arise around living a normal life, and ex-convicts are much more likely to relapse back into old patterns that can act as a familiar coping mechanism or as a survival mechanism.

Economically, formerly incarcerated individuals face barriers to stable housing and employment.  Being formerly incarcerated innately carries a negative connotation that makes it far more difficult for them to find safe housing compared to members of the general population, as places require background checks. Although homelessness itself is not the sole cause of recidivism, unstable housing may complicate many other targets of intervention for ex-prisoners. Fundamentally, housing instability begets general instability—it is hard to maintain consistent employment when you don’t have a roof and bed at night, the uncertainty of homelessness is a strain on one’s mental health, and one cannot make strong, healthy relationships with the community if one does not have a community with whom to connect. This often creates a “revolving door” of incarceration and homelessness, where formerly incarcerated individuals reentering society soon find themselves homeless, commit a crime in order to survive while homeless, and find themselves back in prison for their crime (Couloute, 2018).

Our current system of incarceration is equipped to incarcerate as a solution to a crime, instead of addressing the root cause of a crime. Trauma from emotional or physical abuse, a history of substance abuse, or underlying mental health disorders may push individuals to commit crimes, but can be addressed in part through therapy and rehabilitation for individuals to lead a healthful and untroubled life. In addition, many individuals are in prison in part due to the School-to-Prison Pipeline, where students from under-resourced and overpoliced schools are more likely to end up in the prison system. This disruption in formal education by early criminalization leads to difficulties in earning sufficient disposable income, which can ultimately lead to a cycle of crime that can oftentimes be difficult to break out of. 

Ultimately, recidivism harms both the families of inmates as well as society in general, as taxpayers continue to support a broken system that sets ex-prisoners up for failure the moment they are released. The rate of recidivism in the United States is 70% within 5 years; essentially, 70% of freed inmates will be arrested again within 5 years. This is a stark contrast to that of Norway, which houses the lowest recidivism rates in the world at just 20% within 5 years. One of the main differences is that Norway puts a heavy emphasis on rehabilitation. Inmates are given opportunities to learn new skills and train so that they are better prepared for life after release and are actually set up for success. Prisoners are also provided better living accommodations such as washrooms within their cells, excellent workout facilities and on-site medical access, which all improve their quality of life. Although American prisons claim to rehabilitate rather than punish, the data on our rate of recidivism shows there is still much work to be done (U.S. Prison Population vs. The World).

America’s current system of prisoner reentry is remarkably lacking compared to that of other countries, in that it often fails to successfully reintegrate ex-prisoners back into society. Without proper community support and assistance in housing, mental health, employment, and other areas, formerly incarcerated individuals are more likely to fall back into a cycle of crime. People are not incapable of changing, if given the right support. Just earlier this week, Tarra Simmons of  Kitsap County became the first formerly incarcerated felon to be elected as a state legislator in the entire country. She is a prime example of how formerly incarcerated people have the potential to turn their lives around and become some of the best people in our society if they are given the support and the opportunity to do so.

Bibliography

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Couloute, Lucius. “Nowhere to Go: Homelessness among Formerly Incarcerated People.” Prison Policy Initiative, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/housing.html.

“Homelessness and Prisoner Re-Entry: Examining Barriers to Housing: Volunteers of America.” Volunteers of America: National, www.voa.org/homelessness-and-prisoner-reentry#Homelessness.

Koop, Chacour. “'From the Big House to the State House:' Former Prisoner Elected to Seat in Washington.” Thenewstribune, Tacoma News Tribune, www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/election/article246964337.html.

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“U.S. Prison Population vs. The World: Statistics and Insights.” Background Checks.org, backgroundchecks.org/us-prison-population-vs-the-world.html#Recidivism_rates_in_the_United_States.