Nike
Essay by 24 • March 3, 2011 • 653 Words (3 Pages) • 1,010 Views
Prison inmates, are some of the most maladjusted people in society. Most of the inmates have had too little discipline or too much, come from broken homes, and have no self-esteem. They are very insecure and are at war with themselves as well as with society (Bonnie Szumski 20 America's Prisons: Opposing Viewpoints (4th edition) 1985). Most inmates did not learn moral values or learn to follow everyday norms. Also, when most lawbreakers are labeled criminals they enter the phase of secondary deviance. They will admit they are criminals or believe it when they enter the phase of secondary deviance (Anthony N. Doob 171 Crime and Justice: Comparative and Cross-National Perspectives 2004).
Next, some believe that if we want to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just send them to prison. For instance, we could give them a chance to acquire job skills; which will improve the chances that inmates will become productive citizens upon release. The programs must aim to change those who want to change. Those who are taught to produce useful goods and to be productive are likely to develop the self-esteem essential to a normal, integrated personalityІ (Bonnie Szumski 21 America's Prisons: Opposing Viewpoints (4th edition) 1985). This kind of program would provide skills and habits and Ñ-replace the sense of hopelessness that many inmates have (Bonnie Szumski 21 America's Prisons: Opposing Viewpoints (4th edition) 1985).
Moreover, another technique used to rehabilitate criminals is counseling. There are two types of counseling in general, individual and group counseling. Individual counseling is much more costly than group counseling. The aim of group counseling is to develop positive peer pressure that will influence its members. One idea in many sociology texts are that group problem-solving has definite advantages over individual problem-solving. The idea is that a wider variety of solutions can be derived by drawing from the experience of several people with different backgrounds. Also one individual's problem might have already been solved by another group member and can be suggested. Often if a peer proposes a solution it carries more weight than if the counselor were to suggest it (Wayne W. Bennett 20-24 Criminal Investigation with Infotrac (7th edition) 2003).
Further, in sociology, one of the major theories of delinquency is differential association (Donald Ray Cressey 18 Organized Crime and Criminal Organizations 1955). This means some people learned their ways from undesirable
...
...