Reintegrating Offender Incarceration

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Reintegrating offenders into society is an important part of incarceration. Within the United States justice system, we are often more concerned with the punishment of the offender and neglect to assist them in reentering society. By developing programs that are different from the formal control agencies which offender’s encounter upon release, we can hopefully begin to see a decrease in offender recidivism across the United States. When reintegrating an offender back into a community, it is important to involve the community (Young, Taxman & Byrne, 2002). Research has shown that when there are more control agents, rather than just the formal ones of the state, holding the offender accountable, their chances of successful reentry is higher …show more content…

This has led to the development of Reentry Partnership Initiatives (RPIs) in hopes of supporting the offenders when reentering the community through community support (Young, et al., 2002). By engaging the community in the reentry of the offender into society, These informal social control agents of control are an effective means of holding the offender accountable for the actions upon release (Young, et al., 2002). The involvement of the community also sends the offender the message that the community is committed to their …show more content…

Furthermore, offenders who are released often have a negative and distrustful view of police officers, parole agents or any other mandated program they must attend (Young, et al., 2002). Reentry Partnership initiatives have been implemented in several states. Each program varies from state to state. One measure that many RPIs include is the involvement of family in the offender reentry (Young, et al., 2002). Not only do they often have the capability of meeting the offender’s needs, they also are able to share with the offender a sense of ownership and desire for success (Young, et al., 2002). The method of engaging families in reentry for offenders is an effective method for reducing recidivism for both juveniles and adults (Young, et al.,

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