ipl-logo

COSA Community Analysis

1385 Words6 Pages

This type of community-based option has proven to be quite effective in easing the reintegration process, but there are additional programs that offer an even more personal and interactive approach. Circles of Support and Accountability is a perfect example; COSA works with people who have committed crimes, specifically sex offenders, to reintegrate them into communities where they feel unwelcome and unwanted. The core members of the program learn how to, “carry out basic aspects of community life such as looking for work or accommodation and adjusting to life outside of prison. In addition, the volunteers hold the [offenders] to account for their own reintegration” (Clarke et al, p. 3). This is one of the main reasons the program has proven …show more content…

By giving the offender adequate guidance to ease the transition into society, but also giving them some independence and control over their own lives, COSA helps offenders reintegrate with significant success. The program also ensures that, throughout all of this, the community as a whole remains safe and secure. COSA, “has the dual role of providing [the offender] with support through the very hostile response from the community and monitoring [their] behavior to ensure that the community was kept safe” (Clarke et al, p. 3). By addressing the community’s needs as well as the offender’s, the program generates impressive results even when the community is initially reluctant to allow offender re-entry. COSA’s multidimensional process allows offenders to reintegrate into society safely and successfully, while also keeping the community safe.
When considering the involvement of the community in an offender’s reintegration, it is intriguing to examine the cooperative approach that has existed in Indigenous communities for centuries. Aboriginals in Canada have restorative healing …show more content…

Offenders who are fortunate enough to experience these programs have showed significantly lower rates of recidivism than those who do not receive any reintegrative support. One of the prime examples is Circles of Support and Accountability; by working directly with sex offenders in a safe environment, helping them share their voice, and equipping them with tools to succeed in society, these offenders, “had a significantly lower rate of any recidivism (11.4%) compared with controls [offenders who did not experience a circle process] (38.6%). They also… had a significantly lower rate of sexual recidivism (2.3%) compared with controls (13.7%)” (Clarke et al, p. 21). These programs are imperative in helping offenders build up confidence and self-esteem so that they can reintegrate properly and safely into their community. By learning how to be genuinely accountable for their actions, past offenders who go through the COSA program are substantially less likely to reoffend, or at least reoffend to the same degree, than offenders who do not receive that kind of support. There are programs across the country that are dedicated to restoration and healing for victims and offenders alike, and it has become abundantly clear that these programs are vital for introducing effective reintegration practices into

Show More
Related
536 Words | 3 Pages

John Hubner is an investigative journalist and the author of Last Chance in Texas. Through a one way mirror, Hubner spent time observing treatment sessions in groups called “Capital Offenders Group” or COG. After the sessions, Hubner discussed the situations and ways to move forward for progress with the different therapists providing the treatment for the young offenders. Hubner begins the story discussing the purpose that Giddings State School, which is how Giddings leads the world in its success with changing youth offenders, and offering psychiatric help for the kids that have experienced abuse and neglect to lead up to the consequences from their previous criminal lifestyle.

Read More
93 Words | 1 Pages

Offenders don’t realize the reality when reentering society because they aren’t giving the necessaries resources. The reality is how the criminal justice system have label them. When an offender is release from prison their life is over due to the way the criminal justice have develop. Many would concur that there is a problem with strength based. As clearly demonstrated there will always be pros and cons towards an issue.

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are currently over 2.2 million individuals serving time in federal and state prison, with 95 percent of those individuals being released and returning to their perspective communities across the nation. Majority of those individuals returning have needs that was either unaddressed while incarcerated or during the reentry process, which will negatively impact their ability to live a crime free productive life while in the community. Once released from prison, inmates are faced with a myriad of challenges such as finding stable housing, maintaining employment, combating substance abuse, and addressing physical and mental health problems. However, with the help of community support, offenders would less likely return back to prison and are

Read More
275 Words | 2 Pages

Changing criminal behavior, not pausing it while incarcerated is what is needed to keep the public safe, making offenders aware of the destruction they have caused to society, and making them accountable via treatment programs and discipline. Unfortunately, upon release an offender may have set backs, being in a structured, disciplined environment, followed by complete freedom may prove bad for some. Many halfway houses are located far away from an offender’s residence, therefore even if employment is secured during treatment when released they return home to no job, or support, and are put back in the same situation. Community support is imperative in the effectiveness of halfway houses, sadly, many communities refuse halfway houses in their communities, lack of education and fear have been a huge

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Research shows that fewer than 8 percent of the sex offenders completing the Sexual Offender Treatment Program return to prison. Sex Offender treatment is part of a comprehensive effort to increase community safety as a whole. Sex offender treatment is a vital key component of its Reentry Initiative, which is designed to help offenders start receivig the treatments, education and job training they need in prison so that they return to society making choices that will help keep them out of prison again. An estimated 95 percent of the sex offenders sentenced to prison in the end come back to the group.

Read More
1728 Words | 7 Pages

The current system that incarcerates people over and over is unsustainable and does not lower the crime rate nor encourage prisoner reformation. When non-violent, first time offenders are incarcerated alongside violent repeat offenders, their chance of recidivating can be drastically altered by their experience in prison. Alternative sentencing for non-violent drug offenders could alleviate this problem, but many current laws hinder many possible solutions. Recently lawmakers have made attempts to lower the recidivism rates in America, for example the Second Chance Act helps aid prisoners returning into society after incarceration. The act allows states to appropriate money to communities to help provide services such as education, drug treatment programs, mental health programs, job corps services, and others to aid in offenders returning to society after incarceration (Conyers, 2013).

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

The fundamental basis of the reentry collaboration is that each constituent of the criminal justice system (e.g., law enforcement, the courts, institutional and community corrections) plays a role not only in immediate offender processing and control (e.g., arrest, conviction, incarceration, release), but also in longstanding offender change (e.g., employment, family, mental health, substance abuse, criminality). Since 1999, the Office of Justice Programs has been instrumental in the development of a series of system-wide reentry initiatives, including the Reentry Partnership Initiatives (RPI) (NCJRS, 2002). Many offenders are maxing out and being returned to the community without the supervision through probation or parole; ergo, law enforcement

Read More
190 Words | 1 Pages

This paper will evaluate sexual assault programs. These programs are designed to rehabilitate current offenders from committing the same sexual crime again. The programs consist of behavioral and cognitive treatment and mental health treatment. Sex offenders do not get a choice to attend rehabilitation after being released from prison they are put on probation where they are mandated to complete treatment in order to complete their conditions of probation. Not all sex offenders are the same there are three different types of offenders.

Read More
391 Words | 2 Pages

Community corrections also helps offenders learn from their faults and give them a chance to think about what they could do better and to help transform their

Read More
1828 Words | 8 Pages

While "tough on crime" policies may be effective in incapacitating offenders, little consideration has been given to the impact this mass incarceration effort has had on offenders following their release from prison. Every year more than 600,000 people are released from jails and prisons to face the challenge of re-entering society in a productive capacity (Geiger, 2006; Travis, Solomon, & Waul, 2001). Due to the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction, reintegration is often met with a host of daunting and unnecessary barriers. Black Americans comprise a major segment of the neglected population and when they are released from prison the barriers to reintegration are often compounded by the stigma of their racial classification and the mark of a criminal

Read More
633 Words | 3 Pages

In todays society, many civilians believe there is no, nor ever will be any hope to rehabilitate sex offenders. Little do they know criminologists, psychologists and researchers have found programs that prevent recidivism from occurring. Today, there is hope to rehabilitate sex offenders with help of five different national sex offender programs. These programs include; High Intensity National Sex Offenders Program, Moderate Intensity National Sex Offenders Program, National Sex Offender Maintenance Program, Tupiq Program for Inuit Men Offenders, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These programs are shown to have achieved great success, and will be further assessed throughout the essay.

Read More
911 Words | 4 Pages

Community corrections pursue to site offenders in the community while severing their sentences. These types of programs frequently allow the offenders to engage in work or even school during their prison term. The premise behind community-based corrections is that the rehabilitation of offenders can only occur in the community where they will eventually return. Subsequently, it is appropriate to try and provide rehabilitation in the community. While Community Corrections can be seen as giving offenders more privileges, it is important for our community because of multiple purpose as it provides offenders accountability, enhanced rehabilitation, and surveillance, it prevents recidivism, and is a positive alternative compared to the normal standards.

Read More
437 Words | 2 Pages

Because they have expanded their role and can offer options for those on probation and those charged with a crime, this supports current initiatives to prevent putting everyone in jail or prison (Latessa & Smith, 2011). These homes are focused on reintegration and not just rehabilitation; furthering the effectiveness they provide communities and offenders (Latessa & Smith, 2011). Finally, the costs on taxpayers are far better going to community residential programs than compared to the cost of incarceration (Latessa & Smith,

Read More
617 Words | 3 Pages

Here, the primary focus is on the offender. The two components that social control agencies do is punish and treat the convicted felons. Ultimately, these agencies were created to help, but the effect of creating this involvement is rather harmful. Patrons of this perspective believe that justice agencies should lessen their engagement with the criminal. Noninterventionists also disapprove of the labels that agencies and society gives the offender.

Read More
1475 Words | 6 Pages

These programs are thought to help the offender transition back into society and potentially reduce the recidivism rate. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of punishment versus rehabilitation of offenders

Read More

More about COSA Community Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document