Problem & Purpose Statement

Olivia Burd

Professor Beauzil

Writing and Social Science Research

October 6, 2024

Problem and Purpose Statement

For years, Americans have been aware that our prison system focuses heavily on punishment rather than rehabilitation. Americans are also aware that it is nearly impossible for a former inmate to become reintegrated into society. Although this is all known, there is still very little being done to make sure inmates are getting prepared to reenter society. This unpreparedness is what causes high rates of recidivism. According to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), recidivism is defined as “a person’s relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime” (NIJ).

To decrease the rate of recidivism, prison systems need to begin integrating more rehabilitation practices. Rehabilitation practices can be a wide range of things, but all rehabilitation within the prison system would help prepare inmates to become members of society once again. For example, “research shows that inmates who participate in correctional education programs have a 43 percent lower odds of returning to prison than those who don’t” (Justice.gov, 2017). Though there is evidence of this working, many prisons don’t have the opportunity for education and not every inmate is given that chance. These rehabilitation practices only work at lowering recidivism rates if everyone is given equal opportunities and if every prison has these opportunities.

The United States needs to look at Norway for rehabilitation practices that work towards lowering the rate of recidivism. First and foremost, it’s true that “two countries that are very different with respect to how correctional officers interact with inmates are the United States and Norway” (Abdel-Salam, 2018). These two countries are different not only in terms of how officers interact with inmates, through the rehabilitation practices, but the recidivism rates are also much different. “Only 20% of Norway’s formerly incarcerated population commit another crime within two years of release. Even after five years the recidivism rate is only 25%” (2022). On the other hand, in the United States, “82 percent of individuals released from state prisons were arrested at least once during the 10 years following release” (BJA, 2023).

Many rehabilitation programs focus on work and school, both of which are crucial aspects of being a successful member of society. These programs and practices are what help Norwegian criminals from going back to prison. If the United States could help prisoners with their education and work qualifications, there is a good chance that the US could have low rates of recidivism like Norway.

References

Abdel-Salam, S., & Myhre Sunde, H. (2018). Enhancing the Role of Correctional Officers in American Prisons: Lessons Learned from Norway. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 31(Issue 1), 67-74.

Dawson, J. (n.d.). Recidivism. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/cor... the desk of Bja - November 2023: Justice matters. Bureau of Justice Assistance. (2023, November 27). https://bja.ojp.gov/news/justi...