I agreeto Idea Three Ideas that Could Transform the Criminal Justice System and Corrections
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Three Ideas that Could Transform the Criminal Justice System and Corrections

Why Is This Idea Important?: Annual costs for prisons are in the 80 BILLION dollar range. And for that we are willing to accept a 65-70% failure rate? We can do better. All the ideas on the above blog add no new costs and could actually reduce costs while improving measurable results.

After a career in corrections, I feel the need to communicate the ideas that I have formulated over 40 some years. I have written a series of short essays on my blog "Essays from the Heart" which cover all the three ideas and the underlying foundation for them. The link is:

http://essaysfromtheheart.blogspot.com/

To encourage you to use the link I'll throw out a teaser - the first idea:

ConAnon - a voluntary 12-step program run by successful ex-convicts to support themselves and new releases from prison.

As you may know, convicts released from prison have very few support systems; they have most of their friends in the Outlaw community; and have a very poor self-image after years in prison. So it is no surprise that 65-70% of them are re-arrested. Other successful ex-cons know what they have been through and at the same time are not likely to accept excuses. Using established 12-step methods, ConAnon could provide a newly released prisoner with a sponsor who can assist in adjusting to life on the streets. And of course, the sponsors are reinforced in their own lives as well. To make the transition to a non-Outlaw lifestyle requires a level of support that is not currently available, even for a released prisoner who is motivated to succeed.

ConAnon requires no funding, sets up no new bureaucracy, and could make a huge difference in recidivism. Read the blog to find out how and why. With annual prison costs in the range of 80 BILLION dollars, we can do better!

I'M GOING TO REQUEST THAT YOU NOT COMMENT ON THIS UNLESS YOU READ THE BLOG. THIS IS A BRIEF TEASER, NOT A FORMAL PRESENTATION. That would be in the blog. Many of the following comments raise issues that are dealt with there. Thanks

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Submitted by sailingflamenco 3 years ago

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Comments (10)

  1. Big Rooster

    That would be just another way to keep criminals connected. You say you have 40 years in the system? I think you would know better then.

    If they don't learn "it sucks to be locked up" from being in prison...they just won't get it. They have programs already put in place to get them re-integrated back into society already...at least in Texas they do.

    3 years ago
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  2. apugh96

    With the new private prisons (and the FEMA concentration camps around the country) there ought to be enough space to separate violent criminals from the non-violent ones. That would make more sense than exposing the non-violent to the violent and then trying to reintroduce them into society. I actually think that non-violent criminals are making these private jailers rich!

    3 years ago
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  3. Big Rooster

    To get rich is the point isn't it...you build a business to make money. The offenders decided on career day what they were going to become...

    3 years ago
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  4. apugh96

    And the scary thing is that the legislators keep making new laws to break. Do we wonder why?

    3 years ago
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  5. sailingflamenco

    Big Rooster - I'm wondering what are your qualifications for the above comments? Do you have some expertise that you'd like to share with us.

    Criminals don't won't need any help in being connected. Who do you suppose they hang out with all day long? I'd suggest clicking on the link. Some of the first essays deal with exactly this subject.

    As far as "it sucks to be locked up" - that is a notion that seems obvious to us non-Outlaws. But in fact is completely false. To an Outlaw, prison is just another place to be - until they get too old and burn out. As a professional, I was shocked to discover this. But once I did, I got a lot more effective.

    3 years ago
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  6. Big Rooster

    11 years as a supervisor at the largest Texas prison with the largest Ad-Seg department in the US... the Coffield Unit. That would be my qualifications.

    Good enough for you?

    3 years ago
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  7. Big Rooster

    "Criminals don't won't need any help in being connected. Who do you suppose they hang out with all day long?"...and you suggest that they hang out even more after prison? They need to be dis-connected from the system they are so used to...not more connected.

    3 years ago
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  8. Big Rooster

    "And for that we are willing to accept a 65-70% failure rate?"...it is the offenders that are giving us those failure numbers. Are you responsible for your kids failure even after you have done everything you can to bring them up to do right? No! They are. Just as you would have no right to blame others for your failures.

    Some people just don't get it. The antisocial behavior they display is not always a reflection of the parents or society at all.

    3 years ago
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  9. tsiya

    We don't need any more FEDERAL programs!

    3 years ago
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  10. ecochristian

    ConAnon would not be a federal program. It is a 12 step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. That is the most succesful treatment for alcoholism out there. You wouldn't think that putting a bunch of alcohoics together would make them stay sober but it does. It is a program that transforms lives. Offenders stay connected anyway. Why not have them help each other to stay out of prison? I work in corrections and see the recidivism. I think ConAnon is a great idea.

    3 years ago
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