Correctional treatment and prison systems are not one-size-fits-all. There are many variations in the types of treatment available, depending on the individual’s needs. Treatment should be based on what is best for the person, not just what will work best with the prison system. And finally, it’s important to remember that all people deserve to be treated like human beings, even those who have committed crimes.

1. Prison Policies

Prison policies exist to help the inmates benefit from the available resources. However, correctional treatment and prison systems are not one-size-fits-all. The policies need to be individualized to fit the inmate’s specific needs. To learn more about these policies, you can look up information on federal prisons and their specific policies. Once an individual has been sentenced to jail or prison, they enter a system that does not take into account their personal history or medical conditions. Their needs are not considered. They are treated like every other inmate in the system.

2. Rehabilitation Efforts

Correctional treatment and prison systems can make rehabilitation efforts more effective by changing policies to individualize them based on personal background, medical history, criminal record, etc. It’s important to understand that all inmates need different things; however, many inmates who enter jail or prison feel shame because they believe they should be able to change themselves without help. So it’s our responsibility as a society to offer them programs that are designed to help them change. Correctional treatment and prison systems should provide inmates with the tools they need to be successful on the outside after release by helping them succeed now.

3. Responsibility

Inmates have a responsibility to take advantage of rehabilitative programs, not just because it’s what they should do, but also because it will have a positive effect on their future if they choose to live differently when released from prison or jail. It’s unfair for society to put so much effort into these programs if inmates don’t participate in them or purposely sabotage them out of fear or simply because they don’t think the program is going to work for them. Also, the only way that the public will begin to trust former inmates enough so they can find a job and become productive members of society is if they see a track record of success instead of failure. Also, a person needs a solid support system in place before they leave the correctional treatment and prison systems. Inmates have a choice to make: succeed or fail. However, this does not imply to prisoners who have committed sexual assaults or coldblooded murder. It is our responsibility as a society to change policies so that inmates have every opportunity available to them, but it’s their choice whether they succeed or not.

4. The Cost Of Incarceration

Incarceration costs everyone money, whether it’s through direct taxation, property taxes for state-owned land, or even indirectly from the high turnover rate in businesses because frustrated employees are leaving their jobs because inmates don’t come into work on time, call off often, etc., causing more business disruptions. It’s important to think about not only the cost from where your tax dollars go directly but also to consider all the other effects that affect the economy as a whole. By now it is common knowledge that the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world, both per capita and overall population.

This staggering fact becomes even more startling when you consider our neighbor to the south. According to Mexico’s National Commission of Human Rights, fewer than half of Mexican prisons are documented as holding any prisoners at all. The reality is that most Mexican prisons seem only to exist on paper, with many drug cartels continuing their illicit activity inside prison walls, and corrupt officials simply turning a blind eye toward this criminal behavior. There are some efforts by the Mexican government to reform this system, but at best it’s moving slowly. Many of the same problems that exist in Mexico also exist here in the United States, with inmates being motivated more by fear than for rehabilitation for a better life once they are released.

5. Prison Time vs Community Service

Many offenders are currently sentenced to community service instead of prison because the cost of imprisonment is simply too great. Offenders need to take responsibility for their actions by making themselves productive members of society once again, even if that means doing it in a different way than what is considered traditional. It’s also unfair to society at large if former inmates are left with no viable options but crime because they can’t find an employer willing to hire them. Community service enables former prisoners to learn skills so they have more opportunities when they are released from jail or prison. Community service allows them to work within certain parameters that ensure the safety of everyone involved.

6. The Changing Face Of Corrections

Our prisons and correctional treatment systems don’t look like much today compared to what they will look like in 5 years. Technology is advancing, which means correction systems are improving. Everything from the tools available to rehabilitate inmates to the way that corrections officers monitor inmates during incarceration will be changing rapidly over the next several years. This change will directly affect society at large because it will have a positive effect on all of our lives once former prisoners find productive ways to contribute to society instead of being dependent on public assistance or other programs.

The courts are not ready for this type of sentencing option so any sentences using “restorative justice” would likely be appealed and overturned by a higher court, unless there are mitigating circumstances. I don’t think this idea has much hope, but who knows… The goal here isn’t necessarily this idea being enacted as law, but rather to present an idea that society can consider and discuss.

It is important to remember that all people are deserving of at least basic rights, including prisoners. Prison time should be used as a punishment to rehabilitate individuals so they can live normal lives once they are released, not to punish them further by imposing restrictions on what they’re allowed to do or where they’re allowed to go post-incarceration.