ipl-logo

Recidivism In Texas Prisons

1372 Words6 Pages

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice System (TDCJ) incarcerates 143,691 inmates housed in 124 units (Texas Tribune, 2016). Nearly 95% of prison inmates across the United States will be released from prison (Petersilia, 2004), (as cited in Orrick and Vieraitis, 2015). 21,000 prisoners were released from Texas Prisons, and according to the statistics, one out of five of these inmates will within commit more crime three years after release (Burnett, 2015). According to Burnett (2015), recidivism in Texas is contributed to the lack of decent jobs and or supportive families, and ex-inmates tend to fall into the same environments without any new survival skills. Over time they go back to what they know best, which is to survive by way of criminal …show more content…

Finding a suitable place to live can be further complicated by not having gainful employment to sustain the offender’s cost of living. According to the research of Orrick and Vieraitis, (2015), there are some promising results found in evaluations of job assistance programs that combine pre, and post-release services coupled with agencies incentives for hiring ex-offenders. Notwithstanding income may meet short-term needs of ex-offenders, but Martin (2011) contends that financial literacy and asset ownership should cut down on recidivism. The biggest obstacle is the lack of education and work experience most especially for young offenders (Martin, 2011). The literature points to the lack of income and the inability to attain financial freedom legally as one of the primary variables that cause ex-offenders to reoffend. Martin (2011) writes that asset poverty should be combated at the micro-level and the macro-level, in doing so, reentry programs must target the ex-offender, community, and society. (p. 137). Reentry programs may focus on the bare necessities that ex-offenders may need to navigate in society and equip them with the knowledge and tools to enhance their life and overcome the tendency to commit future crimes. However, giving these ex-offenders a stake in society through asset ownership could give them a sense of inclusion in society, therefore, the desire to reoffend can decrease. Programs that focus of wealth accumulation is a great asset to include in reentry programs alongside the traditional educational and economic programs already offered (Marin,

Show More
Related
589 Words | 3 Pages

The Texas prison systems have many pros and cons that can be easily observed. A beneficial thing about the prison system is that they provide an added level of protection for the public. Every single day there are a variety amounts of criminals who are incarcerated to not only serve their time but to also keep them all under one roof so that they cause no harm to the public. The crime rate in Texas has risen up; from un-resolved homicides to sexual assaults; therefore, when they are incarcerated they will be locked up and the public’s safety will be at ease. Another factor that contributes to the pros of the Texas prison system is the satisfaction that the interests of the victim’s family and members of the public are happy with the result

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

Atkinson and Lockwood provide this statement in order to instill the idea that not only will previous convicts receive jobs, but the increase in jobs will lead to a decrease in recidivism rates, which will also heighten public

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

On July 1st 2017, Dr. Anne Fowler, Professor, Louisiana Tech University, approved a title for proposed long report by Elise Johnson, student, Louisiana Tech University to study the American prison system and the direct correlation to slavery and find viable solutions to resolve the increase incarceration rates. The author begins performing research to gain a better understanding of the American prison system, focusing solely on the Texas prison system. Reason being the Texas prison system leads the way with punishment, of petty offenders (simple burglary, theft) and serious offenders (sexual assault, murder). Then materials were collected via the world wide web, and the local library, regarding the origin of slavery, and the penal system.

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

Over the past 40 years U.S. incarceration has grown at an extraordinary rate, with the United States’ prison population increasing from 320,000 inmates in 1980 to nearly 2.3 million inmates in 2013. The growth in prison population is in part due to society’s shift toward tough on crime policies including determinate sentencing, truth-in-sentencing laws, and mandatory minimums. These tough on crime policies resulted in more individuals committing less serious crimes being sentenced to serve time and longer prison sentences. The 1970s-1980s: The War on Drugs and Changes in Sentencing Policy Incarceration rates did rise above 140 persons imprisoned per 100,000 of the population until the mid 1970s.

Read More
1203 Words | 5 Pages

Abstract: This paper provides an introduction to the social impact of the collateral consequences (the families left behind) of mass incarceration. The reading will include thoughts from sociological perspectives and empirical studies that focus on the consequences incarceration and re-entry have on the striving family left behind. Partners and families of felons suffer from the system in place that punishes, rather than “corrects,” criminal behavior. Collateral Consequences Patience Kabwasa Prof. Laura Howe Soc 231-C21 May 1, 2014 Collateral Consequences

Read More
681 Words | 3 Pages

But, there is much research and funding lacking for those who spent time in prison, but never did the crime in the first place. A current task at my internship is to create a post exoneration questionnaire to seek out those who have bene freed and find out what they would have needed after being released that they did not receive – this includes housing, compensation for time lost, assistance with jobs, assistance with mental health issues, and catching them up to speed with what went on in the world while they were wrongfully behind bars. Those who are wrongfully convicted and exonerated don’t even get a bus ticket or twenty dollars right away – their compensation takes a while to kick in and they are navigating foreign territory. Beyond this, much of their life has changed beyond the prison bars, families have grown and loved ones have moved on, often times their house and possessions are gone.

Read More
1408 Words | 6 Pages

Recidivism costs the state of Florida more than $150 million annually (Florida Department of Corrections). A strong financial incentive is not the only thing bringing Florida legislators to the table however; electoral calculations also are a draw for the legislators. Reducing the amount of felons in Florida through education programs and through an improved rehabilitation system while cutting state prison spending is a platform that appeals to Democrats and Republicans alike. Legislators campaigning for re-election will be able to tout effective criminal justice reform as one of their accomplishments over their past term. When a task force studied recidivism for the state of Florida in 2004, it concluded that “the loss of civil rights upon conviction of a felony” (Miller and Spillane 405) was an element of Florida’s criminal justice system that needed to be reformed.

Read More
1870 Words | 8 Pages

As most know, there are several barriers that hinder former convicted felons from re-entering our society. Finding a stable job, having the access to safe, affordable housing, or battling the racially biased judicial decisions and opinions shared by law enforcement force a majority of the prison population to find difficulty in thrivining in the real world. In addition, former inmates should be granted with the opportunity of attending

Read More
1278 Words | 6 Pages

It can be difficult for past criminals to survive and make a living once they are out of jail (Alexander 2011). One of the first things a person is faced with is the amount of debt they have accrued while in jail. For example, current or former inmates are required to pay any program fees, restitution, child support, and any other fees in order to regain licenses or voting rights (Alexander 2011; Lobuglio and Piehl 2015). They are also forced to check the box indicating to employers that they have been convicted of a felony, making the application process stops there, regardless of what crime the person committed (Alexander 2011; Lobuglio and Piehl 2015). As if those set backs are not enough, former inmates are usually denied any government assistance including food stamps or government housing, forcing felons to stay with family members or desperately try to find somewhere they are allowed (Alexander 2011).

Read More
838 Words | 4 Pages

The state of Texas, in the present day, is known for having one of the largest prison systems in the world, but this was not always the case. Before and in the early 1990s, Texas dealt with high crime rates and overcrowding in its prisons. However, in the early 1990s, approval for new buildings for prisons passed and created room for criminals to able to serve their sentences. Now with enough cells to punish criminals, the crime rate dropped. The Texas legislature also created the state jail system, which introduced new punishments for some Class A misdemeanors and low-level felonies: 180 days to 2 years in prison and a maximum of $10,000 fine.

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
816 Words | 4 Pages

Life after incarceration, here today gone tomorrow. 95% of adults sentenced to prison will return to our communities, and reentry will be their first step back into society. Imagine have a thousand questions flooding one’s mind all at once. Where will I live, how will I survive, and contribute to the family, while maintaining to the stipulations of one’s parole/ probation, without risking freedom. The number one goal for those newly released back into society by way of the reentry program is to never return to the inside of a prison cell.

Read More
128 Words | 1 Pages

Mass incarceration is somewhat overlooked by those on the outside and those who are on the inside are considered forgotten about and viewed as less than. But the reality is, these high rates of imprisonment effect many areas of the community. Not to mention the social costs linked to the communities from which these immense population of felons come from. Pattillo, Weiman, & Western, 2006 analyzes how this disregarded population can sometimes increase criminal statistics after the prisoners return into the same community they left – which is another point rarely ever talked about. Other than the invisible consequences that mass incarceration provides, there are even more myriad studies offered surrounding this topic, identified in The Prison

Read More
305 Words | 2 Pages

Since 1970, our prison population has risen by some 700% - an increase far outpacing rates of population growth and crime1”. The reason America has so many incarcerated people is not because Americans commit more crimes or the police are just better at finding criminals,

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

In order to do this they need to make new centers to help prisoners inside better themselves. In Alabama prisons may soon shut down 14 of its prisons for overcrowding, neglect, and violence in the state’s correction systems. In the prison St. Clair Holman in Alabama the prison system makes prisoners act different. There is no safety, security or supervision. “We have people being killed, sexually assaulted, raped, stabbed on daily basis at St. Clair, Holman, and multiple facilities; it’s a systemwide problem,” said Charlotte Morrison, a senior attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), which represents Alabama prisoner.”

Read More

More about Recidivism In Texas Prisons

Related Topics

Open Document