Abstract
In this article, the writer reviews the high recidivism rates in the United States and looks at what this says about the nations' correctional system. Specifically, the paper argues that the emphasis has too often been upon punishment and not nearly enough upon rehabilitation and re-integration. As a result, the writer maintains that a distressingly low number of inmates are receiving the therapeutic intervention they need and many more are not receiving the skills development they need, either. This must change if recidivism is to drop appreciably.

From the Paper
"Recidivism among those exiting the United States correctional system is a serious problem for a host of reasons. For one thing, if the state has devoted billions of dollars towards cutting down crime rates by incarcerating dangerous offenders only to have those same individuals re-offend upon release, then the monies set towards housing them in institutions has been, for all intents and purposes, wasted. Furthermore, high recidivism rates (especially among violent offenders) means greater risk for the general public and that means fear, general misunderstanding, and an overwhelmingly negative public perception of the correctional system in the United States. Unfortunately, public fears about the relative inefficacy of the correctional system appear to be well-founded in America."

Tags:rehabilitation, offenders, delinquents, treatment

Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the problem of recidivism, or return to prison after completing a prison sentence. The paper explains that not every criminal that is released back into the society after serving his sentence becomes a productive member of society without going back to the life of crime. The paper summarizes numerous studies on criminal recidivism, noting that contributing factors include age, juvenile delinquency, linkages of failure on the part of the criminal, and shortcomings on the part of society. The paper concludes that although criminal recidivism is not the best measurement to determine the effectiveness of the rehabilitation programs within a correctional institution, the data on criminal recidivism will help researchers, psychologists, and criminologists determine what causes ex-convicted criminals to relapse or go back to their life of crime.

Outline:
Recidivism Defined
Contributing Factors of Recidivism
Average Recidivism Rates and Contributing Factors for Sexual and Non-sexual Offenders
Other Contributing Factors of Recidivism According to Other Studies
Meeting Society's Expectations
Failure of the Rehabilitation Program
Youth or Juvenile Delinquency
Discussion
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper
"Out of 243,334 convicts that were released from prison in 1994, 61,323 were arrested for violent crimes, 94,239 were arrested for property crimes, and 113,959 were arrested for drug crimes within a 3 year period. The frequencies of the arrest rate for violent, property, and drug offenses are 8,400, 12,909, and 15,611 per 100,000 released prisoners respectively. These rates, in turn, are between 30 and 45 times higher than those for the general population in the 13 states in our analysis (Travis & Visher, 2005)."

Tags:prison, jail, offender, rehabilitation, corrections

Abstract
This paper examines the phenomenon of recidivism and what is being done or not done to combat it. In particular, three questions relating to deterrence, the relative merits (or demerits) of collective and selective incapacitation and the salutary effects of education upon recidivism will be explored and answered. The paper concludes that while much remains to be written and uncovered vis-a-vis criminal activity, it does appear as though new scholarship is offering opportunities that the American penal system would be foolish not to examine.

From the Paper
"What is Deterrence? What criminological theory underlies this perspective? Based on the existing evidence, do correctional sanctions "work" to reduce crime? In short, is deterrence effective? Deterrence is commonly defined as the belief that someone can be prevented from committing a crime through fear of the potential consequences arising from commission of the offense in question ("Deterrence", 2005, sec.1). The criminological theory underlying this perspective is known as the Classical school of criminology. Under this view, the objective of punishment is to deter criminals and the severity of the penalty should be only so great as to deter re-occurrence of the crime. This school of thought was heavily indebted to Jeremy Bentham and to his theory of the "hedonistic calculus"."

Tags:crime, recidivism, rehabilitation

Abstract
This paper discusses the issues of sex offenders often being reviled by society and marked for life. The paper questions whether there is treatment for the sex offender or whether he or she is likely to commit a re-offense, also known as recidivism. The paper defines a sex offender, discusses the typical punishments and examines the statistics that typicaly surround sex offenders with regards to recidivism.

From the Paper
"In conclusion, I believe there is help for the sex offender not only through his or her own treatment, but through the continued support of advocates like Dr. Karl Hanson. It is only with ongoing treatment and success stories that the tidal wave of resentment against the sex offender will subside. It is only with lawyers and doctors testifying about the true progress of their client's treatment, that sex offenders will be able to reclaim their homes. It is only through positive success stories on TV, that the neighborhood will accept the sex offender. And it's only through time and perseverance that this will happen."

Tags:corrections, registry, re-offense

Abstract
This paper discusses some of the areas in which the U.S. corrections system is failing, such as the increasing number of offenders who enter into the system and reenter after being released for a short period of time. The writer also describes some of the things that are working in corrections such as the programs being provided to rehabilitate offenders so they do not reenter into the criminal justice system. Solutions to cut the cost of housing these inmates are also discussed.

Outline:
Corrections
Failing Issues
Working Issues
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Society holds expectations for its citizens, and non-citizens at a very high level. They expect everyone to abide by the law, and give back to the community. In a perfect world all citizens and non-citizens would be good Samaritans, sadly it is far from that. There are many of those individuals who are deviant and stray from society's expectations of them. We know them as criminals. Indeed all of them may not be hardened criminals, yet some of them commit petty crimes that are still a burden on society. Whether, their crime is petty or severe, society expects them to pay for their actions. Most criminals at one time or another will spend time in prison or jail."

Tags:jail, criminal, rehabilitation, sentencing, offender, education, recidivism

Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the community corrections approach to criminal justice, in which the criminal offender may be confined to prison, but also is provided with programs and services following release in order to enable their successful reintegration back into society. The paper further notes that this approach is intended to improve public safety and to deter future criminal behavior Various programs are listed that would help the criminal reintegrate into society, such as job training, addiction counseling and anger management. Also, different systems of criminal justice are noted, such as those in Cuba, Australia and the US. The paper argues that the US could learn from the restorative justice perspective of Cuba and Australia. The paper concludes by stating that restorative justice should be employed in America when dealing with the nonviolent offender and the juvenile offender while re-education should be the focus of adult corrections.

From the Paper
"The effectiveness of community corrections directly impacts not only the community member and the individual state but the criminal justice system as a whole.Currently in American society the correctional system in most states are facing major challenges. Because America has the largest prison population in the world and this population only continues to grow the correctional systems are experiencing immense prison overcrowding. Due to this major overcrowding the response has been to build more prisons which have resulted in an increasein cost for the taxpayer (BJA, 2009). Prison overcrowding also impacts the level of public safety received by the community member when violent offenders are released on parole due to the mass overcrowding issue."

Tags:rehabilitative programs, prison overcrowding, parole, recidivism, restorative justice

Abstract
This paper looks at public policy to correct the problem of recidivism in New York State by focusing on the Second Chance Act. The paper first describes the wide-ranging problem of recidivism created by the millions of individuals serving prison sentences in both federal and state prisons who ultimately are released back into the community. The paper then reviews the key players in an analysis of public policy, especially the inmates and the taxpayers who must pay for the programs. Then, after reviewing policy options based on the Second Chance Act, the paper concludes that the best approach to preventing recidivism in New York State is in-service, pre-discharge vocational/educational training for inmates.

Table of Contents:
Action Forcing Event
Problem Statement
Literature Review
Data about the Problem
Environmental Scan/Key Players Analysis
The Department of Corrections
The Department of Parole
Congress
Inmates
Tax Payers
Policy Alternatives
Option One
Option Two
Option Three
Recommended Policy Alternative

From the Paper
"Generally speaking recidivism is a problem that affects everyone in society since most offenders, as noted by the US Department of Justice, will be released back into society and upon release. For the most part, they will be left unsupervised to their own means. Once released these former inmates will have difficulty transitioning to the normative societal traditions which include finding legal sustainable employment, housing, medical care and their other vital necessities."

Tags:employment training, second chance act, assistance alternatives

Abstract
Research study on high prison recidivism rate. Major problem of recidivism in the criminal corrections system. Use of schock incarcertation or the prison boot camp concept as an approach to solving the problem. Goal and objectives of shock incarcertation and other alternative approaches. Cites results based on studies.

From the Paper
"RECIDIVISM: A REVIEW AND AN ANALYSIS

I. Introduction
The essence of the major problem confronting criminal corrections in the United States is the unacceptably high recidivism rate among the offenders processed through the system. The results of the application of many different approaches to the problem fail to provide a definitive answer to the recidivism problem. One approach that has become widely used in the United States is shock incarceration, or the prison boot camp concept (Bentayou, 1995).

Early research on the use of shock incarceration gave the programs glowing reviews. In all too many instances, however, the studies assessed limited data and tended to develop the findings that advocates of the concept wanted (Marcus-Mendoza, Klein-Saffran ..."

Abstract
This ten-page junior level paper focuses on the rate of recidivism and its possible causes. Several researches have been conducted on this subject with Quinsey study being the most important and reliable as it is based on data collected over two decades. Recidivism rate is high in the United States as FBI claims that 74 percent of all offenders return to prison within four years of their release. This shows that there is something seriously wrong with rehabilitation programs and the policies on which they are based. Quinsey and his associated maintain that with the identification of correct risk predictor, a better rehabilitation program can be designed.

Abstract
This paper explores aspects of the mentally ill in correctional facilities. It discusses why the number of mentally ill in prisons and jails is rising. It discusses problems the mentally ill face in prison, such as abuse, suicide, the inability of prisons to care for them properly, and release and recidivism. The paper also discusses some solutions to these problems.

From the Paper
"Correctional facilities face many problems when dealing with different types of inmates. Many inmates have different or special needs. One of these groups of inmates is the mentally ill. The number of mentally ill offenders in correctional facilities is rising and because of this, prisons and jails have become one of the primary types of psychiatric treatment centers. In fact, "Jails in most major cities contain a larger number of severely mentally ill people than the local mental health hospitals" (Sigurdson, 2001, p70). Mental illness affects the inmate's behavior in prison and how they are treated by other inmates and the staff. This creates problems for the correctional facilities as well as the inmates. Some problems include abuse, busing, suicide, and recidivism. Topics that will be discussed are the rise of mentally ill in correctional facilities, problems that this creates, and some solutions to these problems. The staff do not know how to deal with the mentally ill and, as a result, the mentally ill often do not receive the treatment they need in order to be rehabilitated so that they can function normally in society. Changes need to be made in correctional facilities in order to provide treatment for mentally ill offenders so that they can receive the help and rehabilitation that they need."

Tags:corrections, criminal, delinquints, jails, justice, prisons, psychology