Recidivism Rates and Trends Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Recidivism Rates and Trends - Research Paper Example He/she is supposed to be convicted again. Another reason for re-imprisonment results from the violation of parole or supervision practices as set out in the policies. Recidivism rate can be reduced by a successful integration of inmates into the society after their release from prison. According to the president of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Jeremy Travis, reintegration entails the connection of released prisoners and the community and the families they are returning to. According to the Second Chance Act of 2007, the released prisoners have the same right as the general population with regard to accessibility of social and economic resources and the exercise of their civil rights like voting and should not be victimized or discriminated. Support of the re-entering inmates by the broader community enhances their integration into the community smoothly. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, (2000), it is estimated that about 1600 state and federal prisoners are released into the community in a day. Though the prisoners anticipate this day when they get their freedom back, most of them are faced with immense challenges of living in liberty in the streets after moving out of prison. Challenges faced by re-entering prisoners are caused by lack of proper integration mechanisms of the prisoners back in the society especially for those who have spent a lot of years in prison. Such prisoners have been detached from the community and are not prepared for their life back in the society. Stigmatization of ex-convicts poses problems of getting employment, housing and rejection from families and relative. Such people are more likely to engage in reoffending in substance abuse and inappropriate behaviors which affect the healthy life of the ex-convict and lead to rearrests. The cycles of removal and return of person in prison increase the costs of maintaining and running the correctional institutions which burden the public through tax (Beck, 2000).