Ward

Ellen Ward
Mr. Davis
Government 1
26 October 2016
Required rehabilitation
Prison overpopulation is one of the most pressing issues facing the nation today both
financially and socially and if no action is taken promptly the situation facing the system will
continue to deteriorate. Currently there is an extremely high return rate for prisoners who have
left incarceration, this return rate is costing the nation far more money in expenses than is
necessary as it is a problem that can over time be decreased and eventually resolved. To provide
adequate rehabilitation services to prisoners would mean preparing them for life beyond prison,
to help them learn the right skills to get a job and become a functioning and participating
member of society. A rehabilitation reform would decrease the currently increasing populations,
reduce the rate of recidivism and then putting the money saved through these changes to good
use. The bill needs to become law to assure prisoners there is life and opportunity beyond jail, to
keep civilians safe from future crime and to help the U.S. save money.
Prison population has been increasing dramatically for many years at an alarming rate,
due to this increase prisons are costing more and more to run, with the cost to imprison a single
inmate averaging out around $31,000 (Jacobson, The Crime Report). That is why it is imperative
to improve the rehabilitation system in america as it will drastically decrease both the costs and
amount of returning prisoners who are having a significant impact on america's growing prison
population. America's prisons currently hold more than 2.4 million inmates, roughly one in every
100 adults. (NIJ) This is an extreme amount of people which is not decreasing and the longer it
continues to grow, the more money is being invested into the prison system is less money being
invvested into the things that decrease crime such as the education system. The sooner money is
being invested into preventing an inmate's return, the quicker the overpopulation of prisons can
decrease. It is estimated the states spend around $50 billion on corrections annually (NIJ)
outpacing budget increases for nearly any other government service including public education.
These costs will only continue to grow with the increasing prison population, and there are only
a few solutions to reducing these costs, the biggest being rehabilitation and trying to reduce the

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number of inmates returning to incarceration. By providing prisoners with the correct support,
they are prepared and able to support themselves and rejoin society once they leave prison. At
the moment recidivism is not decreasing and that is where rehabilitation can help resolve this
pressing issue.
Prisons are overpopulated for a multitude of reasons, such as harsher drug laws, however
recidivism is definitely a main contributor, and rehabilitation is the only real solution to this
issue. The return rate of prisoners has been a long standing issue for many years, however with a
population that increases in size everyday it becomes more and more concerning, not simply
because of the costs, but the dangers civilians face when ex-prisoners commit some kind of
crime that gets them entered back into the system. Of the incarcerated population, roughly
800,000 people will be reincarcerated within three years of release (Woodman, Huffington). This
number is in addition to the new people that will be imprisoned over the three year course, the
number simply does not stop growing. Investing money into rehabilitation services not only is
proven to decrease recidivism but will in turn save millions, even billions for the country in the
future when fewer prisoners are returning once they are released and participating in society
instead. The two-thirds rearrest rate has remained virtually unchanged since the first recidivism
study was conducted more than 40 years ago. (NIJ) the fact that it has practically gone
unchanged for so long proves undeniably there is a flaw within the system, specifically the
rehabilitation system and the support of prisoners, they are in prison as a punishment, but also to
find redemption on the other side. Rehabilitation helps teach prisoners how to become
participating members of society once more, to provide essential work and communication skills
so they can provide for themselves upon their release. Along with how prisons provide
rehabilitation, money is another major issue the complexities of the prison system and
rehabilitation faces.
Money distribution is a key factor in how and to what extent rehabilitation is provided.
Money and how it is used within the prison system is intrinsic to finding a solution to the current
problems the U.S. incarceration system faces. California's Expert Panel on Rehabilitation found
that California spent less than $3,000 per year, per inmate, on rehabilitation programs (NIJ). This
is in California alone, where prisoners are getting very little, if any services to prepare them for

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life outside of prison. Entering the world with no skill or means of support means an almost
guaranteed return to incarceration. The U.S. went from spending $6 billion in prison spending in
1980 to $80 billion today (PBS). And even with this extreme rise in costs, the same amount is
being invested into rehabilitation services, it is clear that if there needs to be improvements in the
system, that rehabilitation has to be the first to be the main focus and invested in appropriately,
as it in turn will decrease costs in the future. People would say that prisoners are not deserving of
these services, however the longer they are deprived, the more impacted the system will remain.
It can be argued, from a moral and economic standpoint that prisoners are prisoners and
are unworthy of any help, money or support, as it begs the question, if they committed a crime,
why should they receive any help? Until the mid-1970s, rehabilitation was a key part of U.S.
prison policy. Prisoners were encouraged to develop occupational skills and to resolve
psychological problems--such as substance abuse or aggression--that might interfere with their
reintegration into society (Benson, APA). This proves that it was once a priority to support
prisoners, at least the ones who were going to return to society, if they were to re-enter with no
skills or with nothing to support themselves after their release, they fall back into old habits they
were never taught to forget and in turn fall back into crime. Nationwide, we spend nearly $50
billion on incarceration (Woodman, Huffington)). People are concerned with the costs of
prisoners and their unworthiness to be supported by someone else's hard earned tax dollars, and
yet if no money is invested into their support, a large majority simply return and cost more
money for taxpayers. Better the money go to their support if it means upon their release there
will be less crime.
Rehabilitation reform would lower the prison population for the country, reduce the rate
of recidivism and would reduce overall costs in society and would mean the money eventually
saved could then be used for things that prevent crime. Rehabilitation is not just about taxpayers
money, it is about balancing the desperation of an ex inmate with the safety of a civilian and
making sure the system has done everything in its power to keep both the prisoners and the
civilians safe. Providing and investing in better rehabilitation ensures a better future for the next
generations, and that is why action must be taken now before the system is too impacted to be
changed.

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Work Cited
Woodman, Andrew. "Bringing Rehabilitation Back to Prisons." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
"Debating Criminal Justice Reforms to Improve Rehabilitation and Lower Recidivism." PBS.
PBS, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Benson, Etienne. "Rehabilitate or Punish?" Apa.org. N.p., July-Aug. 2003. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
By the Mid-1990s, Virtually Every State Had Passed Some Kind of Legislation. "Beyond the
Prison Bubble." National Institute of Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.