Assignment:
According to RED (2019), "recidivism is a person's tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior, especially a relapse into criminal behavior" (para. 1). Recidivism is a serious issue in the United States. One would believe that if an individual endured being incarcerated to understand the crime he or she committed, would not want to repeat his or her behavior. However, a 2018 study conducted by the Bureau of Justice highlighted that on a state level, five out of six prisoners released re-offend and find themselves incarcerated again within nine years of his or her initial release (RED, 2019).
The increase in prison numbers can be attributed to being a product of longer sentences, tighter policies, and the explosion in recalls to prison (Padfield & Maruna, 2006). Recidivism can also be affected in how different officials deal with those who re-offend. A probation officer may view a violation such as a failed drug test as an opportunity to get a person the counseling and help he or she requires, or he or she may have an individual fail a drug test and take the person into custody to serve more jail time.
In the California prison population, over one third of the population is attributed to parolees who came back to prison for such violations. Approximately 29,000 beds are occupied by technical parole violators (Padfield & Maruna, 2006). Because reconviction and re-incarceration are measurements of recidivism, there should be a clear distinction measuring crime between felony and misdemeanor offenses (Mosher et al, 2011).
Regarding the reentry of prisoners into society, law enforcement agencies should emphasize social support and deterrence & surveillance. Police have many roles in the reentry of people who were incarcerated into society. Police officers help to prevent retaliation, intervene with corrections authorities and high risk offenders, and most importantly educate offenders in prisons or when he or she are released into the communities. Police officers must play their part in the reintegration process to help legitimize the reentry effort and protect against claims of being "soft on crime" (The Urban Institute, 2004).
Romans 13:4 ESV states, "For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." It is important that a person is held accountable for his or her actions. However, incarceration is not always the answer. It is important that people are given the help he or she needs to become productive members of society.
Reference
Mosher, C. J., Miethe, T. D., & Hart, T. C. (2011). The Mismeasure of Crime (2nd ed.). Sage
Publications.
Padfield, N., & Maruna, S. (2006). The revolving door at the prison gate. Criminology & Criminal Justice,6 (3), 329-352.
RED. (2019). What Is Recidivism?
The Urban Institute.(2004). Prisoner Reentry and Community Policing: Strategies for Enhancing Public Safety. Washington, DC: Community Oriented Policing Center.