Policy Brief Addressing The Issue Of Offender Recidivism - Essay Example

Policy brief to the Arizona State Legislature addressing the issue of offender recidivism Like any other state, the state of Arizona has been fighting to curb the rising rates of crimes. Crimes are not only costing a lot of citizens their lives, peace and property. They are also costing the state a lot of money in maintaining the ever increasing prison population and running various rehabilitation programs targeting offenders, especially offenders experiencing problems with drugs. One of the best strategies to reduce crime rates is to prevent or minimize offender recidivism, also known as re-offense. This is very important and urgent given that a high number of youth are being recruited into crimes each day by existing offenders. This means that preventing re-offense by the existing offenders will also help in reducing the rates of new entrants into the world of crimes. There is therefore a need for the formulation of the most appropriate policy measures that can be applied to reduce the rates of offender recidivism both in senior offenders and juveniles and among the various types of offenders. This paper is a policy brief to the Arizona State Legislature addressing the issue of offender recidivism. It outlines various types of policies which if adopted by the Arizona state legislature, they will be effective in preventing or reducing offender recidivism. Elimination of racial biases when dealing with criminal and delinquency cases It has been noted that there is a widespread inequality in the treatment of people in various institutions including the courts. There are allegations and reports that the minorities are being treated more strictly by court officials than the whites. They tend to receive harsher treatment for their crimes, are believed to be more predisposed to crimes and are likely to re-offend, especially the youths. Bridges and Steen (1998) explain that the perceptions of court officials towards the various categories of youths based on racial backgrounds influence their assessment of these youths. This impairs their ability to correctly assess the dangerousness of these youths and the risk of future criminal behavior in them. Although there is high rate of recidivism among the racial minorities especially the blacks, it should also be noted that it has turned into a stereotype. This can foster unequal treatment of white and minority offenders in dealing with criminal and juvenile cases and the administration of justice. Consequently, it can trigger high offense and re-offense rates among the blacks as a reaction to the unfair perception given to them and the racial unfairness they witness in courts. It also opens a loop for recidivism by white offenders since they are not likely to receive a harsh treatment for their crimes. Harsher and immediate disciplinary measures on drug offenders and re-offenders Drug offense is the main cause of rise in prison population in the United States. The percentage of people imprisoned for drug offenses has also risen dramatically and a high population of re-offenders is drug offenders. Spohn and Holleran (2002) state that people will keep way from crimes if they are sure to receive a severe penalty and immediately they commit the crime. People also commit crimes if the benefits obtained from them are higher than the costs. The state therefore needs prescribe tough disciplinary measures for drug offenders such as long prison sentences to deter the present and prospective drug offenders. This will make the cost of offending to be higher than the benefits received from the crime. The state should also remove fines levied on drug offenders because they could pay the fine from proceeds from the same crimes Administration of tough legal measures in based on severity of crime and past criminal record If people who find their way back to the prison for a second time receive a harsher punishment than first time offenders of the same crime, more offenders will be discouraged from reoffending. When administering the harsher punishment, considerations should not be put on the severity of the first crime to avoid progression of offenders into minor crimes. In fact, those increasing the severity of their crimes should be treated be treated harsher than other re-offenders. For all crimes threatening human life, fines should not be given as an alternative to prison sentences. Protecting the youth from parental irresponsibility and policy on minimum level of education for young offenders According to Bridges and Steen (1998), offender recidivism can result from a high influence of external factors that are unfavorable or predispose offenders to re-offense. These include negative peer influence, a dysfunctional family and/or one full of conflicts, broken family, poor school attendance and poor grades, drug and alcohol use and problems related to them. The lack of education leads to a struggle in finding employment and fitting into the society full of educated people. This predisposes young offenders not only to offending but also reoffended. In order to reduce the number of youth from broken or dysfunctional families from dropping out of school because of lack of educational funds, there should be a policy protecting them from parental irresponsibility. An example is freezing the accounts of their parents until they agree on how their education will be funded whether they are separated or not. The State should also formulate a policy requiring all youths to have attained a certain level of education and this should target youths in correctional centers. This will ensure they get out of prison with improved employability levels. The education should continue even after release and those who do not comply be rearrested for continuation with education in prison. Probation instead of imprisonment for minor crimes and tight supervision after release According to Spohn and Holleran (2002) some studies assessing the deterrent effect of imprisonment indicate that those offenders sentenced to prison have a higher likelihood of reoffending as compared to offenders placed on probation. Few of them were also reported to have been arrested for a new crime. Probation should therefore be adopted for lower level crimes and they should be accompanied by a lot of community work. However, this should not be applied for life threatening or serious offenses like suicide attempt, murder, robbery, felony and other serious crimes. Probation makes offenders to live in the community and serve their sentence in the full glare of the community. This embarrasses them and makes them to avoid crimes. All released prisoners should be closely monitored so they that they are aware they are likely to be taken back in case they commit even the slightest crime. This will make them to guard their freedom by avoiding crimes, crime zones and association with other criminals. Sufficient connection of prisoners with the community and proper preparation for re-integration According to Travis and Petersilia (2001), studies on prison reentries indicate that prisoners are not well connected to social structures that are community-based and are less prepared for re-integration. This leads to the inability to fit back into the society. The lack of connection to the community leads to fear among the prisoners to return and live in the community. This calls for the step up of reintegration measures taken to ensure prisoners released are able to fit back to the community and co-exist peacefully. Counseling to young offenders on the legal system and its importance This policy is important for those offenders who express a disrespectful attitude because it could be an indication of a disagreement with the legal system or a lack of understanding of it. If they are to be guided on its importance and their concerns paid attention to, it could change their attitude towards the legal order and make them to stop offending. Conclusion In order to sufficiently curb crime, there is need for the State legislature of Arizona to adopt policies that will prevent offender recidivism. These policies should be able to address the various elements of crime for example the age, type and severity of crime. Apart from discouraging offender recidivism through harsh treatment, these policies should also motivate offenders to live a crime free live and help them deal with factors that predispose them to reoffending for example lack of employment, lack of educational funds and inability to fit back into the society. This means that for successful prevention of offender recidivism, the state should cooperate with offenders in seeking ways of helping them not to reoffend. References “Racial Disparities in Official Assessments of Juvenile Offenders: Attributional Stereotype Mediating Mechanisms.” American Sociological Review. (4) pp 554-570. Spohn, C. and Holleran, D. (2002). “The Effect of Imprisonment on Recidivism Rates of Felony Offenders: a Focus on Drug Offenders.” Criminology. (2) pp 329-353. Travis, J.and Petersilia, J. (2001). “Reentry Reconsidered: A New Look at an Old Question.” Crime and Delinquency. (47) pp 291 Read More