Education
It is true, that in today's prisons, we find individuals who come from all walks of life. However, there is a large demographic of young men who have the bare minimum of education. This group of men is under 25 and makes up the growing present prison population. These men come into the prison and eventually leave uneducated, untrained, and unprepared for the society they will be reentering. A high propensity for crime or the likelihood of returning to prison almost becomes a given.
The key ingredients of successful reintegration are educational and vocational training.This becomes a paramount catalyst for helping men and women in the fight against recidivism. When an individual is not able to qualify, find, or keep a job, then they will naturally return to illicit means of supporting themselves and/or their family. Plainly put ,there is a lack of educational and vocational skills among the incarcerated which can readily be remedied.
We need to address this issue inside and outside of prison, as the culminating effects are destroying our communities, schools, and children. The next steps of progression for these men, naturally, lead right into the prison system. This makes their lives even darker and all that more dangerous. The situation is not hopeless as there are many options that we as a society can choose from to solve how best to reach the unreachable... to teach the unteachable.
Society-First seeks to be a platform to advocate for reform and to aid men and women in making a positive transition back into society. We are looking for solutions that will greatly reduce recidivism while helping society embrace its returning citizens.
We invite those who have been affected by this epidemic, whether an ex-offender, inmate ,family member, victim, church, correctional officer, or simply a citizen to share their personal experience, solutions, or questions concerning all aspects of the criminal justice system.
More Problems
Youth Offender Lifers
The least culpable/mentally undeveloped offenders are the ones that will have to be condemned to prison for 40-60 years, sometimes 20 years more than the fully developed adult. The scientific study that was instrumental in abolishing the "mandatory" Life Without Parole sentences for juvenile offenders (under the age of 18 years old) is the same scientific study that determined the mind is not fully developed until sometimes the age of 25.
Culture
In today's prison system, there is an epidemic that has amassed a very destructive force, and one would be sadly mistaken to shrug it off as being inconsequential to the world outside of prison. We must not turn a blind eye to the fact that the realities in prison will one day become realities outside of prison.
Florida's Probation System
When it comes to Florida's probation (and parole for those still under the pre-1983 parole commission) systems, there may not be more of an unjust policy for ex-offenders who are trying to start a new life. The negative snowball created when probationers (who are not committing a new crime) are violated and sent back to prison, is a snowball that destroys everything in its path.