Recidivism is the act of a convicted criminal to re-offend, and its rate is measured by evaluating re-incarceration rates. Recidivism has led to high population rates in prisons. High recidivism rates is a global challenge, and correctional education plays a crucial role in reducing recidivism rates.
Purpose of the article
The journal article "Correctional Education and Recidivism: Toward a Tool for Reduction" purposed to "execute a systematic review of factors attributed to recidivism to focus the research trajectory toward the most promising recidivism reduction tool" (Hall, 2015, p. 4). It tries to give an awareness of the implementation of rehabilitation programs that can help reduce recidivism rates. This journal article's target audience is the law personnel dealing with crime and correctional behaviour in convicted criminals.
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Summary of the article
This article gives a systematic review of recidivism causes to centre the research trajectory on the best-reviewed recidivism reduction tool. The article identifies risk factors of recidivism, but just a few of these can be used as reduction tools. The article explains that correctional education programming offers the best reduction outcomes compared to other tools. The article reorganizes significant study conclusions on correctional education programs between 1995-2010 to reveal the significance of education to recidivism. This journal article is related to community case management because recidivism has been a challenge affecting society due to high crime rates. The article is relevant has it reviews the practical correctional tools to help manage recidivism rates.
Critique of the article
Compared to other nations, the US has recorded the highest incarceration rate, making congestion a challenge in its prisons. Therefore, the prison facilities have shifted from harsh punishment to rehabilitating inmates as a tool for correction to help solve congestion in the prisons. Rehabilitation of convicted criminals has proved to be a useful corrective tool. Rehabilitation of the inmates plays a vital role in making their lives better and re-enter society as citizens abiding by the laws.
Lori Hall examined the risk factors influencing recidivism to address it. The risk factors evaluated are "specifically race, age, gender, marital status, socioeconomic status (SES), educational attainment, and employment status" (Hall, 2015, p. 7). Effective correctional calls for change in the inmates' behaviour, equipping them with skills and opportunity to change, fit in society, and avoid criminal acts. (Hall, 2015, p., 12).
The article further compares the financial cost incurred when an inmate is rearrested and the use of correctional education programs to rectify behaviour. The article explains that "in 1997, Ohio spent over $35 million on re-incarcerating inmates at $47 per prisoner per day. Conversely, it has been reported that for every $962 spent on academic education for inmates, the criminal justice system will save $5,306 per inmate" (Hall, 2015, p. 6). Education programs acting as recidivism reduction tools are beneficial to the convicted offender, their social class, penal institution, and the local community.
The author executed the research by analyzing the connection between correctional education programs and recidivism rates on convicted criminals. The author, Lori Hall, explains the purpose of the study "is to create a comprehensive, although not exhaustive, review of the empirical studies conducted from 1995 to 2010 on correctional education and their findings on recidivism" (Hall, 2015, p. 14). This was achieved by assessing the research studies from 1995-2010, whose empirical study was on correctional education programming.
Additionally, it is challenging to measure recidivism since it involves getting re-incarceration rates across States and Federal governments' jurisdiction lines. (Hall, 2015, p., 14). The author examined all the studies she did on rehabilitation with correctional education to understand its relation to decreasing recidivism. The author analyzed ten similar studies done at a comparable period. This allowed her to examine the specific corrective methods best effective at reducing the convicted criminals' recidivism. The author analyzed the comparative data and statistically concluded the effective and ineffective ways of reducing recidivism.
The article further explains that incorporating the prison system's rehabilitation method saves the local economy money because fewer tax funds will be re-incarcerated. The federal and state governments need to allocate more funds to prisons to facilitate correctional education programs. At the end of the article's analysis of previous empirical studies, the author explains that in each experiment, the execution of a rehabilitation form was associated with reducing recidivism. To ensure an in-depth analysis and promotion of further studies on the topic, the author should begin another research to follow up with the criminal offender's lives. Other researches could evaluate the criminal offender's livelihood, specifically on how he blended into society. When the correctional education program like rehabilitation is used on criminal offender and recidivism is reduced, it does not only have benefits to the offender but also the entire community. This is because it forms a positive chain reaction that impacts all aspects of society at large.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to state that I like how the author has presented her ideas in the article. The article uses other studies on correctional education to conclude. The journal article is direct to the point and presents its findings in a precise manner. I choose the article because it focuses on an issue that is significantly affecting society. Further study should be conducted on effective ways to follow-up on convicted criminals who have undergone rehabilitation and how they are faring in society. Suppose I work on a rehabilitation program to correct convicted criminals' behaviour. In that case, I will offer my clients a platform to air their reasons for being involved in criminal acts to understand and relate with my clients well.
Reference
Hall, L. L. (2015). Correctional education and Recidivism: Toward a tool for reduction. Journal of Correctional Education, 66 (2), 4-29. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.fgcu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1700480280?accountid=10919.
