Research Paper on "Convicted Felons Return to the Community"
Research Paper 8 pages (2672 words) Sources: 15
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Convicted Felons Return to the CommunityDeviance is both a sociological and psychological component of the human organism that expresses itself in numerous ways at numerous times. Further, if we look back at the way philosophers have defined abnormality and deviance, from Plato through Kant and into the 20th century, we find that there are really three classifications of abnormality and within these three classifications a variance on a continuum of low to high:
Perceived harmfulness -- usually to society as a whole (Plato) or to the actualization of the individual (Kant).
The degree of social consensus about whether the action is abnormal or deviant; what real harm is done? Is this utilitarian -- the most harm to the most people qualifies as the most aberrant?
The severity of the social response -- how should society respond? Is punishment appropriate or necessary? (Hagan, 1989).
Traditionally, though, society wishes to place those with defined deviant behaviors somewhere away from society. This punishment differs in degrees of severity and then asks whether individuals can ever be returned to society. The four major foci of this theoretical rubric are:
Retribution -- Harking back to the Old Testament and many other Ancient legal documents, retribution focuses on "getting even" with the wrong doer. This is a sliding conundrum, and generally asks society to place the punishment to fit the crime. For instance, capital punishment would be extreme for petty theft, but not for murder.
Deterrence -- Punishment as deterrence views the threat of "what could happen" if
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someone is caught as sufficient to deter them from an action. If the punishment is either so severe it frightens them, or if they have been punished and the situation was so bad they never wish to experience it again, they are then deterred from a societally based action out of fear.download full paper ⤓
Rehabilitation -- Some punishments include work and counseling or education with the philosophical assumption that the wrongdoer will not commit the offence again; not out of fear of punishment, but because something innate has changed with the individual.
Incapacitation -- Is a justification that society or a group needs to be protected from the offender so that the offender has no ability to commit further offenses -- can never re-offend, and any threat is physically removed. This could be incarceration, capital punishment, castration, maiming, etc. (Corlett, 2009).
Maslow's theory tells us that there is a hierarchy in one's basic needs. Once basic needs (shelters and food) are met, then one can concentrate on emotional and intellectual actualization. When we release convicted felons into the community, however, they are often at the edge of society and do not have adequate education or skills sets to meet their basic needs. Thus, the only thing they know is crime, and to meet their needs, they return to their comfort zone or to return to the prison system that provides them comfort. In order to minimize recidivism, society must be willing to treat these individuals who have paid their debt to society with dignity and respect -- and to assist them in becoming employed so they will be productive members of society.
However, the fact is that prisons in America are overcrowded, understaffed and put very little emphasis on rehabilitation, which would provide the skills necessary to stay out of prison. The American prison system was set up to rehabilitate individuals so they could re-enter society and become productive citizens. Instead of this happening, though, issues like crime rates, mandatory sentences, recidivism, and public attitudes have caused the opposite -- prisons are holding areas that are overcrowded, over budget, and rarely provide positive results. Most rehabilitation programs have, in fact been cut -- with the U.S. having one of the highest incarceration rates in the world (West, 2010).
Even in the last fifty years, American society cannot make up its mind regarding the efficacy of the correctional system. Punishment-wise, too, there are numerous gray areas regarding the type of appropriate punishment. Are all crimes equal? Should a one-time embezzler receive the same sentence in the same place as a multiple murderer? What is society's fiscal responsibility to support a penal system? What is the ultimate goal of corrections? These, and many other questions continue to confound criminologists and politicians alike. However, society must be responsible for deviance -- either to punish it or cure it; and if we want more citizens who contribute, pay taxes, and actualize, then rehabilitate behaviors and move individuals back into society (Facts About, 2007).
Do we change the mode of punishment so that we bring back more severe penalties, including capital punishment, as a valid deterrent for crime? Do we continue to warehouse drug offenses with the same degree of vigor as capital crimes? Are there some offenses in which we cannot fathom bringing offenders back into society? For instance, are there crimes so heinous to society that we cannot ever tolerate the individuals convicted (e.g. child murder, mass murder, serial torture, etc.)? Should we then, move to a philosophy of excessive crime with excessive force and make punishment open and honest and let potential criminals know the consequences of their actions? (Bedau and Cassell, 2005; Sharp, 2010; Oliver, 1997).
Economically, the cost of incarceration is huge -- up to $60-70 billion per annum. The cost varies from state to state, but it takes about $30,000 to house and feed each prisoner, or about $70/day (Sleven, 2006). Additionally, these costs are not amortized, because about 70% of those released were rearrested within three years, and over half were back into the prison system. This same study showed that spending more time in prison had little or no effect on recidivism rates in total. The likely explanation for this is that longer the incarceration of the prisoner released the more likely the inability to re-enter society in a productive manner (Bureau of Justice, 2007). Thus, the trends in the American penal system suggest that the American prison system is far from a safe environment engendering criminal rehabilitation, or even basic safety. Regardless of one's political views, the mistreatment of adolescents, rape of men and women, and other abuses are certainly beyond the very centers of decent behavior from a moral society -- and the lack of oversight and interest in curtailing these issues, instead, leaving them up to the whims of budgets, is something that should be immediately rectified (Project Return, 2009).
Recidivism is a serious problem -- and accounts for a significant amount of the current correctional issues (overcrowding, budgets, etc.). There are a number of barriers to entry back into society, and gender and race are high predictors of how serious those barriers will be. Many scholars, in fact, believe that criminal recidivism has a high correlation to psychopathology. With gratification in criminal, sexual or aggressive impulses, this model believes that the criminal cannot learn from the past and must return to the "system" in order to feel comfortable. This, however, assumes incorrectly that most prisoners are suffering from a clear mental illness, when in fact, most (over 51%) are serving time for drug offenses or offenses committed while under the influence of a substance (Guerino, et.al., 2011).
In order to reenter society, we must remember the history and pattern of behavior in which many felons are ingrained. The pattern of greed, mistrust, living for the moment, possible substance abuse, lack of solid relationships, and typically an inability to cope with structure or organization. Taken together, the convicted felon needs to learn how to best integrate into society and have the coping tools that many other simply take for granted:
Relationships -- learning to become part of a relationship, whether that be romantic or friendship, is tough. Prison life does not engender these kinds of mutually beneficial relationships, so it is important to teach and provide tools that can help with this aspect. Group chat therapy is one way to allow others to understand what it takes to let barriers down; and perhaps the buddy system or mentoring system prior to and just after release.
Conflict -- many felons deal with conflict in a habitual manner -- with violence. Psychological tools are necessary in order to provide an outlet -- anger management therapy, tools for dealing with conflict, and tools to help convicts understand that while conflict is part of everyday life, it is not necessary violent.
Organization & reliability -- study skills, organizational life skills, teach patterns designed to win success and stop self-sabotage. Increase neighborhood applicability (Kubrin and Stewart, 2006).
Trust -- is difficult to teach, but in both a focused group and one-on-one environment, the issue of trust can be heightened with practical reasons and needs showing what happens when one trusts. It is often hard for a felon to trust, they have been let down do many times. One successful treatment has been to have inmates care for animals, learning training, grooming, and/or behavior modification -- or training the animals to be service dogs. This inspires a set of… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Convicted Felons Return to the Community" Assignment:
“The final project for this course is a literature review that allows you to integrate the theory bases and schools of theory you have been exploring with a research question you have developed. While you are welcome to use the research question you developed in DPA8100, Fundamentals of Public Administration Research (or a modified version of that question), doing so is not a requirement for this project. You are, however, building on the work you did in DPA8100. In DPA8100, you demonstrated your mastery of several concepts:
The ability to differentiate between research problems, questions and hypotheses.
The ability to define the research problem, questions, and hypothesis.
The ability to develop a research question which is answerable.
Now in this course, you define the general body of literature that is relevant to your research question including research methodology literature that supports your chosen design analysis and interpretation. Use the literature to support the theoretical framework that you create in your exploration of the research question. The theoretical framework should address the lineage the problem and the range of available modes of inquiry.
And it is through the literature review that you demonstrate your ability to do these things. A thorough literature review helps you in at least two important ways:
It helps you explore and clarify your project*****'s scope and objective.
It helps you identify facts and information that can add to the value of your research.
Be careful not to confuse a literature review with an annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography allows a learner to identify relevant sources and provide relatively brief commentary about them, while the literature review allows and, in fact, demands deeper analysis and synthesis of the information in the gathered resources. In your dissertation and in professional research, the literature review is expected to provide a careful analysis in valuation integration and synthesis of the existing body of knowledge about that topic.
For this assignment, you are expected to include at least 15 separate sources. While the number of sources you are asked to work with is limited, the degree to which you are asked to analyze and synthesize the information is not. You are expected to do the following:
Identify critical and relevant literature.
Highlight the crucial theoretical and conceptual debates.
Identify gaps in the existing research or theory bases.
Evaluate research designs and methodology.
Situate your research question within the existing literature.
For each source, include a brief summary of the author*****'s central argument, the scholarly works referenced by each source, and the relevance of this work to your own research question.
While there is not a prescribed outline for the literature review, the following guidelines may provide a helpful way to think about organizing the material:
A brief summary of the conceptual framework for the study or the theory generating the question.
A well-organized review of the critical literature as it relates to the project*****'s key topic. This review should include evaluation and synthesis of research in the identified areas.
A discussion of the crucial theoretical and conceptual debates in the field, including gaps and controversies in the existing research and theories.
An explanation of research question*****'s relationship to the major themes in the literature as well as how answering the research question would help lead to greater understanding of the problem.
An evaluation of viable research designs and methodology as well as a summary of findings, the existing literature, and how the research contributes to the field.
Project Objectives
To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to:
Organize and discuss applicable public administration theories and theorists.
Compare and discuss relationships within the theory base.
Identify and discuss key trends in the public administration theory base.
Identify and compare applications of the theory base to public administration practice.
Communicate effectively through scholarly writing on the theory base.To achieve a successful project experience and outcome, you are expected to meet the following requirements.
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to APA (6th Edition) style and formatting.
Number of resources: Minimum of 15 resources (bear in mind you are not limited to 15 and may find it helpful to include more than the minimum).
Font and font size: Arial, 12 point.
My research question is:
Introduction
Maslow theory states that one must meet his/ her basic needs (shelter and food) before any other need can be met. Hundreds of convicted felons are released everyday back into our communities. Upon their arrival they do not have adequate skills to maintain self sufficiency. They are barred from housing, food and employment which leads them right back to the only thing they know which is criminal behavior which ultimately leads them back to recidivism. In order to minimize recidivism we have to provide these people with housing, food, and shelter along with proper job readiness skills, and proper identification that will assist in them becoming gainfully employed. How can we expect these people to become productive and conducive members of society again if we are not willing to assist them in their plight?
Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in the rearrest, reconviction, or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner*****'s release.
During 2007, a total of 1,180,469 persons on parole were at-risk of reincarceration. This includes persons under parole supervision on January 1 or those entering parole during the year. Of these parolees, about 16% were returned to incarceration in 2007.
Among nearly 300,000 prisoners released in 15 states in 1994, 67.5% were rearrested within 3 years. A study of prisoners released in 1983 estimated 62.5%.
Of the 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 states in 1994, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a new crime.
These offenders had accumulated 4.1 million arrest charges before their most recent imprisonment and another 744,000 charges within 3 years of release.
Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%).
Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide.
Time-series studies collect and present data on a single unit or set of subjects. The data are collected on the same variable(s) at frequent, closely spaced regular intervals over a relatively long period. The data can depict both short-term changes and long-term trends in a variable. Most of us are familiar with time series that regularly report indicators of some aspect of the nation*****s economic or social climate. Such time series include consumer price indices, the unemployment rate, and crime rates (p.33).The assumptions that I believe this study will show is without the convicted felons basic needs being meet then it is certain that they will resort back to the only thing they know which is criminal behavior. My reason for selecting this design is because I believe that it will take time to measure their progress and it will possibly show irregular fluctuations that may affect the study.
The specific problem the study will address is what skills are needed to assist the convicted felon in becoming productive and conducive members of society. What I want to learn from this study is why so many convicted felons resort back to criminal behavior. The purpose of this study is to assist me in developing a program to assist the convicted felon in transitioning from prison back into the community. The importance of this study is to reduce recidivism
Research Question
How can convicted felons become productive and contributing members of society again?
What skills are needed to assist them?
Can recidivism be reduced?
According to (Pollack, 2004; Thomas & Woods, 2003)
a theoretical framework is what guides the research process and I will utilize an anti-oppressive practice approach for this project. This concept or framework focuses on the abuse of power, injustice and oppression in the lives of people who are marginalized
Reference
O*****'Sullivan, E., Rassel, G.R., & Berner, M., (2008) Research methods for public administrators. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ISBN:9780321431370
Thomas, D. & Woods, H. (2003). Working with people with learning disabilities: Theory and practice. London: *****ica Kingsley Publishers.
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/
*****
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