“We can make prisons better but we cannot make them work,” said Peter Moskos, author of Cop in the Hood. “Prisons will always fail at their goal of reducing crime because rehabilitation, if it stands any chance of success, must be separated from incarceration” (Page, 2011).
Take a position. Do you agree or disagree that correctional institutions are obligated to rehabilitate prisoners who have the opportunity to be released?
Then, using the information gained in this course and the resources noted above, make your case. Be sure to build your case with factual resources. Consider the following questions as you make your case:
- Has the purpose of correctional institutions changed over time? If so, in what ways?
- What is the primary purpose of correctional institutions today?
- What determines whether or not a correctional institution is “successful”? Consider some of the more recent alternatives to traditional prisons.
- Which alternatives do you believe will be most successful in rehabilitating prisoners and reducing recidivism? Why?