A lot of people complain that prisons are "too soft" to actually help deter offenders, but the prison with the lowest recidivism rates is Grendon Underwood. It's run democratically by prisoners, with offenders having much more freedom and control, and it encourages open discussion and extensive therapy. (Here's an enlightening article on the prison if you want more information)
This begs the question: are harsh prisons actually effective?
Study: Haney and Zimbardo (1998) published a paper which looked at changes to prison policy in the US between 1973 and 1998, and suggested changes to help make prisons more effective based on their findings.
The report mentioned aspects such as Reagan's "war on drugs" which put pressure on the creation of more harsh prisons, and the high degree of racial bias; half of prison populations were African-American men, when they only made up 6% of the population in the US. The Supermax prison was also included, which was a bare cell with a small window, concrete bed, immovable chair, bathroom, and a black and white TV showing only religious and educative classes.
The paper concluded with a number of suggestions to improve prisons and reduce recidivism rates:
- Prisons should be used sparingly; alternatives should be sought
- Prison environments should take into account individual differences so they are tailored to the offender and thus be more effective
- Rehabilitation should help the offenders to cope with the outside world
- Psychological knowledge should be used to help create more suitable and efficient prisons
- Changes should be made, suggested and/or implemented by impartial "outsiders" (i.e. not people involved in the justice system)
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