The recent prison compromise between Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Senate presents California with a unique opportunity to provide a durable, transformative solution to its prison overcrowding problem by focusing on rehabilitation. One reason for the crowding crisis is California's highest-in-the-nation 63.7 percent recidivism rate. That means for every 1000 inmates that leave prison, 637 commit new crimes and land back in prison.
There is a better way -- and it saves taxpayer dollars.
10 comments:
The statistics don't lie. Prison facilities with a focus on rehabilitation have lower recidivism rates. And, although it cannot be said how well this would work in California, it is evident that something must be done to stop the overcrowding crisis. The main reason for a prisoner committing new crimes and ending up back in prison is the feeling that they have nowhere to go on the outside. Many leave without having familial support, jobs (or the ability to get jobs), or money. This makes it extremely difficult to stay away from a life of crime. However, if former inmates had discovered something they enjoy, even been given direction through rehabilitation programs, they may find more of a reason to live within the limits of the law.
Isn't this something that we seem to see more often that we should? An arts program is successful. It is them eliminated because of budget cuts. Hrm…something is not right here. Just like how art in school is so important, but is always the first to go, arts programs in prisons have so much potential. Like it was commented earlier, people released from prison often turn back to crime because of how difficult we make it for them. With no money, no family, no jobs and no way to easily get a job it's not hard to deduce why one would turn back to crime. I'm appalled at times how little of a chance we give former prisoners. I know it's difficult and varies with the crime, but many prisoners were either imprisoned for something trivial or they legitimately have changed and they should at least be able to live their lives without it being so difficult or even impossible. Haven't they already served their term? I know it's a bit of a debate, but I think they need more support if we're going to solve this overcrowding issue. It's crazy that we spend so much money on prison when we need it in so many other places. Art therapy is so helpful. It provides something that maybe a lot of the prisoners have never experienced in their lives. There are so many mistreated people from dysfunctional families that it isn't hard to see how someone can turn to crime. There are legitimately crazy people, but there are also those who have never been given the chance to see something different and it's so necessary in rehabilitation criminals. Maybe then we can spend more on schools and childhood programs to help prevent people from turning to crime in the first place!
This is a really excellent program. I have had many a discussion about what should be done with the overcrowding of prisons. Some think we should use other means of punishment, ie. death sentence, alternative holding places, and such. Some people think we should just put more money in the system. If rehabilitation really works, which this article seems to believe, then that could be an alternative. As far as I can tell, it doesn't really save money, but I can see how it would help solve overcrowding. Personally, I am skeptical of how well rehab works for criminals; if they don't want to get better, will they really? But if the article is true, and it does make a difference, then I am all for it. Art is power, man!
I've never heard of this program before, but I love it! My art teacher in high school used to be an art therapist, and she has told us some amazing stories about how art can have an incredible, long-lasting, positive impact on people. It's such an easy, natural process which allows you to turn pent up anger, fear, or anything into a tangible form. Way to go California!
I have heard of several programs trying to implicate theatre and arts into prisons and each time they come up with a positive ending. I think programs like this should exist all over because not only are they functioning as emotional outlets they are also teaching on the job skills. It is said over and over again at CMU that even if you don't begin working in the arts people with theatre degrees tend to get better jobs are more hirable and are better to work with. So teaching theatre to prison inmates is doing just that. It is making them marketable to get jobs. These art industries are killing two birds with one stone.
It has been proven that the arts can have very powerful effects on rehabilitation. Therefore, it only makes sense to use theatre as a way to fix the overcrowding prison population. Our current system is flawed because we don't put enough effort into rehabilitation, to me it seems like a no brainer that prisons should include arts in there programs. If someone finds that they really enjoy doing something like theatre then they will most likely work in this field and become an active law abiding member of society.
Theatrical therapy has been a concept that I have been somewhat unclear about. Why would people want to be forced to act and do improv as a form of therapy versus just talking? This article somewhat helps put a perspective on this idea in that it works if people want to do it and in the long run it helps find emotions. I can see how this will help the overcrowding problem but I am curious to see how long the effects of the therapy is or how many people it really can affect.
The power of art. Who would have thought. I'm glad my home state is so on board with helping inmates become rehabilitated through art. As many of us here are privileged to know, have the ability to express and explore ones emotions and imagination through theatre is a fairly precious thing. Giving these opportunities to individuals who can change their lives because of it is truly amazing. I do hope that this will lead to further discussion and action in making art more accessible to other communities. Sophie made a god point, Art can make such a huge different in a persons life but it's always the first to get cut in schools and community programs. If it's making such a huge impact on people who are in such radical circumstances, can you imagine what it could do for people preemptively? The possibilities are endless.
If you haven't heard it already, listen to this episode of This American Life about a performance of Hamlet in an Illinois prison. Some of the things the prisoners have to say about their roles in the play are among the most insightful I have heard on the subject. It shouldn't be surprising, but it is. I'm not sure if I'm convinced that the arts can actually reduce the rate of recidivism in our nation's prisons, and I know it can't do it alone. But obviously our system is broken when we feel we need to incarcerate nearly 10% of our population, and over 50% of those released end up back in jail in three years or less. If the arts can be just a small part of reversing that trend, then we should all be doing everything we can to support that. We can start here: http://prisonartsstl.org/
Seeing the actual statistics behind all of this was so cool to me! 74.2% of participants stayed out of trouble that would land them back in prison upon their release! Compared to the 49.6% rate of non-participants! I think those numbers are incredible and such beautiful proof of the positive impact these programs can have. Who knew that a safe outlet to express your emotions would have a positive impact on your life?! Something that all of this has made me think about is - is there a possibility that, though these programs are great to help those already in the system, just having better funding for arts in elementary school might help these people before they even become part of the system? This is something I'm not really sure about because there are so many other factors like a negative home life, a dangerous neighborhood, and systematic racism that has put lots of people at a really unfair disadvantage from the get-go. Sometimes I get all bogged down by the chain of reasons for things that lead to an intimidatingly large problem that I forget that all impact starts small. This is my final comment (yay! what a journey), and I have gained so much insight into this and even my personal motivations behind it.
Post a Comment