Reintegration

Purposes of Imprisonment Rehabilitation and Reintegration

Introduction to Reintegration

Prisons attempt to rehabilitate inmates so they will avoid future criminal behavior. Most prisons have vocational and educational programs, psychological counselors, and an array of services available to assist inmates to improve their skills, education, and self-concept.

Most prisons provide programs designed to reintegrate the prisoner into the community. In work-release and study-release programs, prisoners may participate in work or educational activities outside of prison. As prisoners near their parole or release dates, some are permitted unescorted leaves or furloughs to visit with their families on weekends. This involvement with the community may help inmates readjust to society after they have been released.

The social structure of prisons and prison practices can actually impede rehabilitation and reintegration. For example, inmates acquire attitudes and knowledge from other inmates that may strengthen their desire to engage in criminal behavior and improve their criminal skills. The isolation of inmates from society also hinders attempts to rehabilitate them. Prison environments are unique and distinct from other populations. American sociologist Erving Goffman has described U.S. prisons as total institutions-that is, self-contained, self-sufficient social systems that are unique and distinct. Isolated within a total institution, inmates are cut off from the rights and responsibilities of society. This lack of connection with societal norms can prevent successful reintegration into society when inmates are released.

Although prisoners must abide by institutional rules, they also establish their own rules for themselves. Thus, a culture within a culture, or prison subculture, exists. This subculture has its own status structure and hierarchy of authority. In many prisons, inmates fear the informal prison subculture and its reprisals for rule violations more than formal administrative rules and punishments. If the prison subculture rejects the goals of the institution (such as rehabilitation), inmates are less likely to accept those goals. ” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Reintegration in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Reintegration