Programming in American Prisons

Programming in Prisons: A Proactive Solution

Brianna R. Hill

Towson University

The past 4 decades have been defined as a period of mass incarceration (Hahn lecture, 2/10). Prison population is on the rise; in addition the recidivism rate in the United States is alarmingly high. In a study of recidivism among prisoners released in 30 states in the U.S in 2005, 67.8% of the 404,638 state prisoners released were arrested within 3 years of release, and 76.6% were arrested within 5 years (Dunrose, Cooper, & Snyder, 2014). More than one third of all prisoners arrested within 5 years of their release were arrested within the first 6 months of release; more than half were arrested within the first year of release (Dunrose, et al, 2014). Recidivism occurs amongst various types of offenders, the highest rates include property offenders, while the lowest rates include sex offenders (Roussey lecture, 4/21). Offenders’ recidivate for a multitude of reasons, the most prevalent being lack of rehabilitation provided by various prison programs. With the rapid growth of the prison population and high recidivism rates among offenders, prison-based programming should also be increasing. Prison programs have the potential to “maintain control of and improve safety in prisons, reduce the recidivism rate, and help inmates address a range of problems that can affect their ability to successfully transition into society” (Mears, Lawrence, Solomon, & Waul, 2002).

Prison programming has the potential to assist in lowering recidivism among offenders along with violence within prison, but it also provides other rehabilitative purposes. Various programs that are offered to the inmate population can provide offenders with the rehabilitation they need to successfully reintegrate into the community. Prison violence can also be lowered by the use of programs seeing as the inmates know that being eligible to participate in programs is a privilege and not a right. If they partake in...