Project Archive

Abstract:

The United States has a huge recidivism issue. The U.S. Department of Justice says that an estimated 68% of released prisoners were rearrested within 3 years. Some states contribute more to this number than others. Of the 35 states that collect comparable data, Alaska has the highest recidivism rate with 61.6% people returning to prison after 3 years and South Carolina has the lowest with only 19.4%. This inductive exploratory study uses the methodology of content analysis and a total population count of all the programs offered at each state prison in order to determine what is working. It seeks to answer the research question of what state prison programs are effective in reducing recidivism. Prior research suggests that reintegrative shaming, access to basic education, and more legitimate opportunities could decrease recidivism rates. South Carolina state prisons seem to practice reintegrative shaming with many of the programs offered both internally and community facing. It also offers plenty of basic education and self-help classes, with the addition of pre-release specific prisons. While Alaska does offer similar programs, they have less basic education offered. They also offer no community facing programs at all and no facilities dedicated to prisoners at the end of their term. As prior literature suggests, these differences highlight the change needed in order to deter future crime after release. It could be theorized that allowing more basic education and self-help classes with a reintegrative focus would decrease recidivism in the United States.