Despite the concerns and different opinions, most people do agree that reforming our sentencing practices is a step in the right direction in overhauling a system that’s become nothing more that a human warehousing program. But there is an equally pressing issue that seems to be getting lost in all the advocacy discussions and opposition rhetoric.
What is happening with education and release preparation within our nation’s penitentiaries?
Inside our federal penitentiaries prisoners are packed tight in overcrowded conditions and restricted movements. In most penitentiaries, prisoners will spend the better part of 70% of the day on housing units with little or no opportunity for advanced education, job training or efforts to prepare for their eventual release.
At any one time, there is an average of 2000 prisoners in one institution. Penitentiary compounds are split into two sub-compounds to minimize interactions between prisoners on either side thus maximizing security measures. In the past, the prisoners could spend an entire day in the Education Department or on a job assignment. Now, with compounds divided, prisoners are lucky if they get an hour and a half each day in education or on the job.
The overcrowding within the penitentiaries encourages correctional officers to focus more on “security,” and any notion of education gets lost in the fray. Such lack of educational programming or job training tends to be the leading cause for most prisoners who recidivate. Yet, no one is publicly having this discussion.
In November of 2015, 6,000 drug offenders were released due to the retroactive application of the recent amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines. That’s great! But how many of them were truly ready to face the challenges awaiting them in the “free world.”
Many prisoners have spent years in highly restrictive environments where they haven’t been given any opportunity to learn a new way of life. Suddenly, the laws change, and they are rushed out the door. Quickly drafted release plans and over populated Community Corrections Centers (half-way houses) with limited resources cannot compensate for the broken educational system within the penitentiaries.
Many prisoners will make a valiant attempt at reintegrating back into society. But without proper job training, educational pursuits, mental and emotional re-conditioning, and proper preparation, they’ll be ill equipped to face the harsh world outside. This is the “Recidivism Trap.”