Rehabilitation is a growing option that people believe will be a better alternative to punishing criminals and incarcerated them. “Rehabilitation gives someone the chance to learn about his/her problems and offers one to learn how to change their behavior in order to not commit a crime” (GadekRadek n.d., pg.1). Unlike incarcerating someone for their max jail time then throwing them back into society, rehabilitation is a way to easy the offender back into society. This is one of the biggest reasons people want to push this option so the recidivism and crime rates decrease. There is evidence to show that rehabilitation methods have worked in the past such as in the late 1900s rehabilitation was a prominent factor in the U.S prison system. As years went on punishment was more of the concern and crime rates grew.
Rehabilitation is also wanted for the fact that prison systems do not give a person the help they need to get better. For example, if a person needs a drug, alcohol, or violence rehabilitation they would get it through rehabilitative programs. “Today, somewhere between 15 and 20% of people in prison are mentally ill” (American Psychology Association n.d, pg. 1)
On the other hand, punishment and incarceration is the top option for people who commit crimes. “Punishment puts offenders in the confines of a cell in order to think about the crime he/she has committed” (GadekRadek n.d., pg.1). People need to know there are consequences to their actions like if someone knows they will only have to go through a rehabilitative program and not do physical time they will not learn their lesson. Within the prison system, there are programs that the prisons can do such as having drug or counseling on how to be a better parent. One of the main reasons for punishment is so victim’s families get closure. If a family member is taken from them, then they expect that the person who did it at least lose their freedoms. Another good aspect of incarceration is the fact that the prisoners can get their GED and education so when they are released they can get jobs. Some educational opportunities are high school diplomas and vocational.
