SAVE INNOCENT VICTIMS
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF OFFENDING
By focusing on crime prevention and prisoners rehabilitation at the earliest stage of their graduation in the cycle of violence, some innovative programs allow prisoners to reduce significantly the risk of their re-offending. For instance, research in the UK has shown that providing support to people at their exit of prison will help reduce the re-offending rate by up to 40%. Some new forms of prison in Norway have the lowest re-offending rate, as low as 16%.
Better policing strategies also allow to play a key role. For other more violent felons, who are a threat to society, Life Without the Option of Parole is a safe solution. Any of these options can help improve people's safety and help save tax payer's money by reducing the cost of incarceration.
WATCH David Dow discuss lessons from death row inmates:
"The best possible version of a story is a story where no murder ever occurs"
"The best possible version of a story is a story where no murder ever occurs"
(With thanks to David R. Dow and TED)
1. Support for troubled households
In the UK, a report identified clear advantages have been identified in intervening at the earliest stage (see study here)
The needs of troubled families vary significantly. The typical problems plaguing troubled households include:
□ employment problems;
□ domestic violence;
□ physical and mental health issues;
□ drug and alcohol abuse;
□ child protection issues.
Early years intervention (such as home visitation programs, early parent training programs, school based programs) can yield significant long term benefits by getting to the root of many later social problems.
Later years interventions can lead to the immediate benefits of less crime, more employment, less welfare dependency as well as potential long term benefits.
The report shows that diverting just one young person from a path of crime could save society a great deal of money. By contrast, reactive spending is eight times greater than spending on targeted interventions)
READ HERE: Model policy in the UK to help troubled families to turn their lives around:
The British government is committed to working with local authorities and their partners to help 120,000 troubled families in England turn their lives around by 2015. They want to ensure the children in these families have the chance of a better life, and at the same time bring down the cost to the taxpayer.
The needs of troubled families vary significantly. The typical problems plaguing troubled households include:
□ employment problems;
□ domestic violence;
□ physical and mental health issues;
□ drug and alcohol abuse;
□ child protection issues.
Early years intervention (such as home visitation programs, early parent training programs, school based programs) can yield significant long term benefits by getting to the root of many later social problems.
Later years interventions can lead to the immediate benefits of less crime, more employment, less welfare dependency as well as potential long term benefits.
The report shows that diverting just one young person from a path of crime could save society a great deal of money. By contrast, reactive spending is eight times greater than spending on targeted interventions)
READ HERE: Model policy in the UK to help troubled families to turn their lives around:
The British government is committed to working with local authorities and their partners to help 120,000 troubled families in England turn their lives around by 2015. They want to ensure the children in these families have the chance of a better life, and at the same time bring down the cost to the taxpayer.
2. Divert young people from crime
In Scotland, the Scottish Government has studied all evidence showing what works to reduce re-offending
In identifying successful strategies, the report shows that:
i) The majority of offenders will have desisted from crime by the time they reach their mid 20s/early 30s.
ii) Diverting young people away from the criminal justice system helps reduce their re-offending
iii) Holistic interventions addressing multiple criminogenic needs are more likely to reduce re-offending.
Offenders often experience multiple problems. Scotland’s Choice (2008) reported that:
• prisoners are 13 times more likely to have been in care as a child;
• 63% of young people have substance misuse issues on admission to prison;
• of all prisoners 80% have writing, 65% have numeracy; and 50% have reading skills of an 11 year old
• 25% of these young people have clinically significant communication impairment.
iv) Interventions that help offenders develop pro-social social networks have significantly higher chances of success in reducing re-offending.
Desistance studies have found that Interventions that aim to increase offenders’ sense of agency, self-efficacy and good problem-solving skills are more likely to be effective in reducing re-offending
v) Drug treatment programs have, on average, a positive impact on re-offending and offer value for money
Read more: What works to reduce re-offending: A summary of the evidence
3. New legislation and smarter policies
In the US, crimes have been in sharp decline since the 90s and particularly in the last 2 years, thanks to better anti crime measures, new legislation and smarter policies, experts say.
. New York City, for instance, is recording crime rates in recent years comparable to the rates of the 1960s. Murders are down from 2,245 in 1990 to 471 in 2009, and the city has just completed its 19th year of consecutive declines in the major crime categories. The crimes most frequently committed by repeat and career criminals—robbery, burglary and auto theft—are down 81 percent, 82 percent and nearly 93 percent, respectively. In the nation as a whole, the violent crime rate has fallen from 758 per 100,000 residents in 1991 to 445 in 2008, and the murder rate is down from 9.8 to 5.4 per 100,000 residents.
. What caused this swift and massive reversal?
US policing experts believe that Anti-crime measures, including new legislation, introduced by the Clinton Administration (1992–2000) led to heavy investment in law enforcement during the 1990s, enabling to modernize equipment, put some controls on firearms, and build new prisons.
However, the key factor, they believe, was what local police departments did with their increased resources. The additional funds allowed them to better respond to community priorities and to more accurately target criminal activity. After years of remote and disengaged policing tactics, community policing ideas pushed police departments to reconnect with local communities, decentralize operations and work in partnership with citizens to prevent crime. Read more
Other experts have come up with a variety of other reasons, of which the death penalty is not part of such as:
The Obama effect, the fall in demand for crack, the smarter policing, and other factors. Read more
. New York City, for instance, is recording crime rates in recent years comparable to the rates of the 1960s. Murders are down from 2,245 in 1990 to 471 in 2009, and the city has just completed its 19th year of consecutive declines in the major crime categories. The crimes most frequently committed by repeat and career criminals—robbery, burglary and auto theft—are down 81 percent, 82 percent and nearly 93 percent, respectively. In the nation as a whole, the violent crime rate has fallen from 758 per 100,000 residents in 1991 to 445 in 2008, and the murder rate is down from 9.8 to 5.4 per 100,000 residents.
. What caused this swift and massive reversal?
US policing experts believe that Anti-crime measures, including new legislation, introduced by the Clinton Administration (1992–2000) led to heavy investment in law enforcement during the 1990s, enabling to modernize equipment, put some controls on firearms, and build new prisons.
However, the key factor, they believe, was what local police departments did with their increased resources. The additional funds allowed them to better respond to community priorities and to more accurately target criminal activity. After years of remote and disengaged policing tactics, community policing ideas pushed police departments to reconnect with local communities, decentralize operations and work in partnership with citizens to prevent crime. Read more
Other experts have come up with a variety of other reasons, of which the death penalty is not part of such as:
The Obama effect, the fall in demand for crack, the smarter policing, and other factors. Read more
4. Strong focus on rehabilitation
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A report by the European Union explains 13 key practices that have proven to help resettle successfully ex offenders into society at their exit of prison and prevent them from re-offending.
A research report (Emergency Exit: Which actions for supporting offenders close to release) resulting from 2 years of collaborative efforts between non profit organisations to help identify models of good practice for the resettlement of offenders in Italy, UK, Greece, Germany, Hungary and Belgium. Solutions to help break the cycle of violence exist. Helping prisoners to re-settle successfully into society can help bring down the rate of re-offending by an additional 40%; research in the UK has also shown that for every £1 invested in measures helping to resettle prisoners, £10 is saved through the reduced costs of re-offending. Read more |
In Sweden, criminality plummets thanks to a strong focus on rehabilitation
Prison numbers in Sweden, which have been falling by around 1% a year since 2004, dropped by 6% between 2011 and 2012 and are expected to do the same again both this year and next year. Sweden has decided to close down four prisons and a remand center."We have seen an out-of-the-ordinary decline in the number of inmates," said Nils Öberg, the head of Sweden's prison and probation services. "Now we have the opportunity to close down a part of our infrastructure that we don't need at this point of time." A strong focus on rehabilitating prisoners, may have played a part.
READ Guardian article
Prison numbers in Sweden, which have been falling by around 1% a year since 2004, dropped by 6% between 2011 and 2012 and are expected to do the same again both this year and next year. Sweden has decided to close down four prisons and a remand center."We have seen an out-of-the-ordinary decline in the number of inmates," said Nils Öberg, the head of Sweden's prison and probation services. "Now we have the opportunity to close down a part of our infrastructure that we don't need at this point of time." A strong focus on rehabilitating prisoners, may have played a part.
READ Guardian article
In Norway, a prison for the most serious offenders have received increasing global attention for its remarkably low re-offending rate of just 16%
compared with around 70% for prisons across the rest of Europe and the US. Read more
And Is kindness the best way to deal with criminals? Read The Day article about Halden prison in Norway
IN FOCUS: WAR ON DRUGS: THE FAILURE OF CURRENT POLICIES
In the US, a trillion dollars has been spent since the Presidency of Richard Nixon on the war on drugs.
Drugs should be spent on health, not on prisons:
$30 000 spent in the USA to keep an inmate a prison a year compared to under $12 000 for a public school student. "It's terrifying" says Richard Branson. Watch video and learn about the shining example in Portugal:
Instead of locking up people with drug problems, they support them by providing
social support and assistance, as well as treatment.
WATCH ALSO THE SUCCESSFUL DUTCH EXAMPLE HERE: COFFEE SHOPS AND COMPROMISE
(OR READ REPORT HERE)
5. Keep Life Without The Option of Parole for the most serious crimes
Life Without the Option of Parole (LWOP)
The death penalty costs more, delivers less, and puts innocent lives at risk. Life without parole provides swift, severe, and certain punishment. It provides justice to survivors of murder victims and allows more resources to be invested into solving other murders and preventing violence. Sentencing people to die in prison is the sensible alternative for public safety and murder victims’ families. (Source: ACLU) Read more
