Free «Rehabilitation Paper» Essay Sample

Definition and origins of rehabilitation in prison

Rehabilitation refers to a process of restoring the desirable person’s behavior in a judicial system. The process creates an environment that encourages people who were previously involved with crime activities to re-evaluate their behaviors. They are encouraged to develop positive attitude towards life and an improved self-esteem. It involves transformation and change of the reasoning ability to improve social interaction with other people in the society. Through rehabilitation process, people gain better discipline and become better and beneficial to the community (Latessa & Smith, 2011).

Although prisons are meant to punish and discipline people because of their wrong-doings, they must help prisoners become better people after their release. Since the eighteenth century, prisons have played the rehabilitation and punishment roles. However, in the past, rehabilitation was mainly focused on reforming the prisoners’ characters. Since passing the Penitentiary Act by the British Government in the year 1779, criminals’ rehabilitation has become a key function of prisons. Key emphasis on correction instead of punishment has increased.  In the recent days, prisons have started paying additional attention to the prevention of reoffending. Improvement in the prisons’ management has seen development of varying techniques to handle various natures of crimes. Some of the techniques include vocational training, educational and interactive counseling to promote skills of offender (Latessa & Smith, 2011). The aim is to help the prisoner develop beneficial skills to apply after their release. 

Definition of parole and how it differs from mandatory release

Parole refers to the release of prisoners before they complete the maximum sentence period after agreeing to certain conditions. Such people are considered as serving their sentences and can be returned to prison under certain conditions, particularly after violating the agreement. Involvement in undesirable practices and behaviors in society can prompt the state to recall such a person back to the prison. Compassionate and medical paroles are some of the reasons that encourage release of prisoners before the end of the serving period (Latessa, & Smith, 2011). Various conditions may encourage an application of parole, such as refraining from alcoholism and drug abuse, obeying the law, maintaining the required contacts, obtaining employment, and evident change of behavior.

Unlike the parole, mandatory release refers to setting the prisoners free after the completion of the serving period. The release considers the good time deductions earned through efforts and desirable behaviors during the confinement. Prisoners who are given a mandatory release are not considered as serving their sentences and cannot be recalled to the prison unless they commit another crime. On the contrary, prisoners released under parole must remain under supervision until they complete their serving period (Latessa, & Smith, 2011).

Definition of probation and how it compares to other forms of sentencing

Probation refers to the release of a prisoner, particularly after a considerable period of good behavior under the state’s supervision. The court may release some inmates to serve their sentences outside the prison premises. It entails a trial or a testing period after a release from confinement. The process can suspend the indicated prison sentence after demonstration of good behavior. Probation offers some freedom though under strict conditions that the released prisoner demonstrates good behavior and maintains peace for a given period. Just like with the parole, people under probation face the risk of being recalled to the prison to serve for an additional period. By probation officers monitor their behavior and write a report to the court for action, either to free or recall to the prison. Such people must report the probation officer after a given period.

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In some situations, probationers are placed in an inactive status, which excludes them from reporting regularly because of various reasons, such as severity of the offense and supervision reduction. Unlike the mandatory release, prisoners who are on probation are still considered as serving their sentences. They must refrain from undesirable behaviors, such as possession of firearms, adhere to orders from the probation officer and must not leave the indicated jurisdiction (Latessa & Smith, 2011).

Definition and options of community corrections

Community corrections refer to the managerial and supervisory actions of offenders in a given community. Offenders might be serving imprisonment or be released on parole as ordered by the court (Harris, 1996). They are supposed to report to their correction officers on a regular basis. They also participate in community activities, such as cleaning, and other programs. There are different options of community corrections. These include day jail program, day reporting program for offenders, as well as work release program. In addition, an offender is tracked when at home using electronic devices (Harris, 1996).

Day jail is a partial imprisonment or confinement, where the court can sentence an offender to community programs. In the day reporting program, offenders are ordered by the court to report to their correctional officers as scheduled. In the work release program, an offender receives a partial confinement, which aims at re-introducing him to the society and allows him to become a reliable community member. The offender can work and attend school or health programs as per decisions made by the court. There is also the outside inmate worker program, where selected inmates take part in public activities and other non-profit-making organizations (Harris, 1996).