Highlighting the persistent problems from the US's high recidivism rate

Liz Benecchi has this effective new piece at the Harvard Political Review under the headline "Recidivism Imprisons American Progress." I recommend the full piece, and here are excerpts:

Each year, more than 600,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons. Another nine million are released from local jails.  Within three years of their release, two out of three former prisoners are rearrested and more than 50% are incarcerated again.  This process of previously convicted criminals reoffending and reentering the prison system is known as recidivism.

Recidivism clogs the criminal justice system. Without employment opportunities and bare necessities such as housing, food, or clothing, successful reentry into society seems nearly impossible for former prisoners.

America’s recidivism crisis is far more alarming than any other democratic country in a similar economic bracket.  If prison were teaching the “lessons” corrections workers claim it does, it is concerning that so many of the same prisoners end up back behind bars.  The country’s high recidivism rate alone demonstrates that our prisons are as ineffective as they are inefficient, a sobering reality which calls for a reimagined criminal justice system....

Since the 1960s, the U.S. incarceration rate has more than tripled. Defunding rehabilitation in our justice systems directly correlates with the increase in the incarceration rate.

To put it plainly, unhealthy minds can’t make healthy choices.  The reality is 37% of incarcerated individuals and 44% of those in jail have been diagnosed with a mental health illness.  Yet, 66% of prisoners reported not receiving any form of mental health care during the full length of their incarceration.  With more accessible mental health care and substance abuse recovery for prisoners, they can be properly diagnosed and receive comprehensive treatment.  With these revamped forms of relief and stabilization, the probability that those with mental illness relapse into destructive habits is far more unlikely than if they receive no treatment at all. Our justice system has an obligation to prepare prisoners for a safe and successful reintegration, a process which starts with a healthy mind.

Prisoners who participate in education programs have a 43% lower chance of being reincarcerated than those who do not, and for every dollar spent on prison education, the government saves four to five dollars on the costs of reincarceration. Education can do wonders, and if incarcerated people left the system with degrees and hard educational skills, it would be far less difficult for them to secure and maintain steady jobs. Besides allowing the formerly incarcerated to pursue a job, education — whether that be through adult literacy, GED, or post-secondary programs — inherently shapes one’s decision-making abilities....

When prisoners are released in Norway, they stay out of prison. Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world at 20%.  The U.S. has one of the highest: 76.6% of prisoners are rearrested within five years.  Among Norway’s prison population that was unemployed prior to their arrests, they saw a 40% increase in their employment rates once released.  The country attributes this to its mission of rehabilitation and reemergence into society through its accepting and empathetic approach....

Today’s recidivism crisis calls for a paradigm shift from prisons as punitive institutions to rehabilitative ones. Implementing the rehabilitating practices of prioritizing mental health care, education, and the process of creating a prison-to-work pipeline would lower the rates of recidivism in the United States. Lower rates of recidivism do not singularly benefit society by reducing the rate of crime but also by reducing prison populations, saving taxpayers’ dollars, and most pertinently, ensuring that prisons are serving their purpose of reform and improvement.