For many decades, the recidivism rate in the US, the rate at which released prisoners return to prison or are sentenced again, has hovered around two-thirds or 70%. In other words, our correctional methods do not rehabilitate very well. A wise director of prisons in 1912 laid out the requirements of a good prison system, but our society has not listened to his advice. Instead, prisoners get worse over time by learning unhealthy prison values, the process of “prisonization.” Gang culture thrives in prison, sometimes recruiting new members there or simply continuing previous gang memberships. Our inmates don’t always receive drug rehab or psychiatric counseling, and only a minority learn valuable trades or skills or earn a GED in prison. The mentally ill should be in mental institutions, not prisons; 16% of inmates have significant mental problems. Inactivity and boredom take their toll, punctuated by violence and sometimes rape. Responsible behavior is not encouraged; we do not trust our inmates to act responsibly. Their conduct in prison is judged on whether they have obeyed prison rules, not on whether they are able to navigate the outside world. Because US law inhibits and discourages prison industries, relatively few convicts work productively while behind bars. In the federal system and in many state systems, sentences dictate the release of prisoners on a certain date, whether or not they are ready for the outside free world. After release, ex-convicts are denied food stamps, welfare benefits, public housing, student loans, and most jobs, and are perceived as poor in terms of marriage, employment, housing, and business prospects. . Inmates lose contact with family and friends, especially during longer sentences, and invariably find that things have changed during their absence.
Recidivism will never go away. There is no sure cure. Criminals tend to be losers, and only some of them straighten up. So recidivism will not reach zero, not in our lives. But it can drop significantly with fundamental changes:
First, inmates must be kept in prison through industry before being kept 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, with prisoners earning their freedom through constructive behavior, not just over time. If 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 rehabilitation or counseling, and even college degrees for those capable of doing college-level work.
Fourth, religious culture must be imparted. The government cannot get involved in the propagation of religion, so private religious organizations must play an important role. The founding of safe workhouses or work communities will facilitate religious activity, because such businesses may be sponsored, owned, or managed by religious organizations.
These changes are not my idea, but the culmination of 50 years of prison service by Zebulon Brockway, the father of rehabilitative penology. He figured it all out a long time ago. In the last 100 years, we lost our way.