Ex-offenders face a number of societal barriers that prevent them from being successful members of society. These include things like difficulties in finding employment and stable housing, difficulty in accessing educational opportunities or rehab programs, limited access to healthcare, and social stigma due to their past convictions. All these factors combine to create an environment that is unsupportive, hostile and often times insurmountable for ex-offenders looking to reintegrate into society. In order to break the cycle of crime and recidivism, it is essential that we start taking steps towards addressing these barriers. This could mean providing better resources for job placement and training, improving access to education and medical care, or investing more money in rehabilitation programs. Only by taking such measures can we truly make sure that former prisoners have every chance of becoming productive members of society when they are released.

Recidivism is a major problem in the criminal justice system, referring to the re-engagement in criminal behavior by individuals after receiving punishment or being released from prison. This phenomenon has been widely studied and is of great concern to many, as it can lead to a rise in crime rates and more frequent incarceration.

The causes of recidivism vary on a case-by-case basis, but there are several known contributing factors that can increase the chances of an individual engaging in criminal activity once again. These include poverty, lack of educational attainment, substance abuse issues, mental health problems, and systemic racism. Moreover, ex-offenders often struggle to reintegrate into society due to various restrictions stemming from their criminal records. This can make securing employment and housing difficult for them, resulting in an increased likelihood of recidivating.

In order for us to effectively reduce recidivism rates across the country, governments and organizations must focus on providing resources that help ex-offenders transition back into society successfully. This includes offering access to job training programs, mental health services, substance abuse treatment programs, educational opportunities, and other relevant resources that can help them become productive members of society. Additionally, reducing systemic racism within our legal system will also improve ex-offenders’ chances at success upon release from prison and help reduce overall recidivism rates.

Overall, it is clear that recidivism poses a serious challenge to public safety and must be tackled if our criminal justice system is going to be successful in reducing crime rates. Providing resources that aid former offenders with their transition back into society alongside reducing systemic racism within our legal system will go a long way towards reducing recidivism rates throughout the nation.

Interconnected Challenges Contributing to the Cycle of Recidivism

 In order to properly understand how ex-offenders are affected, it is important to consider the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of analysis. These levels refer to individuals, families or small groups, and organizations and agencies. In any case of social change, these levels are interconnected and influence each other. Former prisoners face challenges at every level, including livelihoods, places to live, family connections, health concerns, keeping up with criminal justice compliance requirements and maintaining social connections with others. Succeeding in each area presents unique challenges, which can often be related.

Micro Challenges

 Livelihood

 While data on post-incarceration employment in relation to recidivism is famously limited External link ,[4] it seems clear that it is much less likely for ex-inmates to find employment than a member of the general population. A 2002 study of more than 200 employers in the Milwaukee area found that formerly incarcerated candidates with nearly identical professional experience as non-offenders were less than half as likely to receive job offers.[5] According to the Bureau of Justice, only 12.5 percent External link [6] of employers said they would accept an application from an ex-convict. Ironically, getting back to work decreases recidivism, but there are barriers for ex-convicts finding work.

 Many prisoners have limited education and work experience, which makes it difficult for them to secure employment after they are released. According to several studies, “about 70 percent of offenders and ex-offenders are high school dropouts.”[7] As a result of incarceration and involvement in the criminal justice system, many former prisoners are viewed negatively by former employers or by individuals within their former professional networks, if they previously had one. The combination of a limited professional network and a conspicuous résumé gap can make it very difficult for ex-convicts to get an interview with a prospective employer.

According to the Urban Institute, around 75 percent of formerly incarcerated men have a history of substance abuse, and a significant percentage suffer from physical and mental health issues (i.e., 15 percent to 20 percent report emotional disorders). That limits their employability in that employers may not view them as “job ready.”[8]

Many employers worry about being sued for damages resulting from negligent hiring. An employer can be held liable for exposing the public to a potentially dangerous individual, so many balk at the idea of hiring someone with a criminal record. In 72 percent of negligent hiring cases, employers have lost and faced an average settlement of $1.6 million — powerful disincentive to hire potentially risky individuals.[9] Race is also a factor, particularly when combined with a history of incarceration. In the 2002 study of Milwaukee employers mentioned above, African-American offenders were two-thirds less likely to receive offers, and African-American non-offenders were half as likely as white non-offenders to receive an offer.[10] [11] So African-Americans ex-offenders face a huge double-challenge: Even if they hadn’t committed a crime, racism significantly restricts their job opportunities; since they have committed a crime, they must somehow overcome the racism and convince the employer that their ex-con status does not make them a risky hire. Fortunately for many former inmates, employer interest in an ex-offender rises when they find out that the crime was non-violent or drug-related. So long as the individual remains drug-free and has gained relevant work experience (either inside or outside of prison), there is more employer interest in hiring.[12]

Mezzo Challenges

Consistent contact and connection with families during sentences have a lower recidivism rate than those who do not. Over half of incarcerated adults are parents, which means they may miss out on their children’s critical and formative years. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles to maintaining contact with family, and challenges for ex-offenders once released. A 1996 Maryland Department of Human Resources and Women’s Prison Association report listed the following seven major obstacles to parent-child visitation in prison:

Insufficient information about visiting procedures.

Proximity of prison facilities can limit visits or make them too expensive. Difficulty scheduling visits is another challenge. Visiting areas that are inhospitable for children or that provide inadequate privacy exacerbate the situation. Foster parents who refuse to aid in visits create yet another obstacle. Finally, phone calls and written communication to/from prisons are very expensive because of surcharges from companies and/or the prisons themselves.

Once ex-offenders return home, they must overcome years of limited contact, potential resentment, and a change in the household dynamic if they hope to reconnect with loved ones. According to the Urban Institute Justice Policy Center, just before release, 82 percent of ex-offenders thought it would be easy to renew family relationships; after returning home, over half reported it was more difficult than expected. Family members often assume a new financial burden when ex-offenders return home.

Some prisons have programs to improve parenting skills which could ease reconnection with family members lost during incarceration; such programs have shown benefits for prisoners as well as their families but participation has declined in recent years due in part to lack of incentives for co-participation by other family members.

Ex-offenders tend not to find that their expectations for returning to normal life are realistic after serving lengthy incarcerations because they are likely facing advances in technologies that are essential in new job markets without having had training making them viable candidates for those jobs. According one study on Baltimore-area prisoners by the Urban Institute, offenders who re-enter the system tend to come from communities which already face higher than average rates of female-headed households living below the poverty line thus presenting additional challenges beyond those faced by other returning inmates.

Ex-offenders will face massive obstacles when searching for employment anywhere so coming back with this disadvantage greatly increases risk of unemployment especially if the return area has low job prospects. The same Urban Institute study found only 54 percent of prisoners believed before release that they would be able rely on their own jobs as sources of financial support; after release 51% turned instead toward relying on their families while only about half reported helpfulness from parole officers during transition periods.

According to the study, it is not clear why parole officers were not considered helpful post-release. The data suggests that many prisoners who received parole supervision did not expect it and may have entered the relationship with their parole officers with pre-engendered negative feelings toward them. Two big challenges are living with less structure and having fewer social contacts. Prison life is extremely structured, and prisoners with long sentences become accustomed to it, resulting in feelings of shock and deep distress by its absence in the outside world. While they may return to their home communities or families, their social networks may no longer exist or have changed. This means released inmates must rebuild or create new social networks. They also may need to learn new ways of living. One of the most unexpected adjustments can be learning new technologies that replaced traditional systems. For example, prisoners with medium- or long-term sentences may have never used a smartphone External link [23] or metro card External link .[24] These may seem like minor adjustments to most of us since we experienced these changes gradually, but to learn them all at once, and to have them replace old routines, can be both difficult and disorienting.

Collateral Consequences

Collateral consequences are legal restrictions unrelated to the original crime that apply to ex-offenders after their release from prison. Many ex-offenders face tens of thousands of legal restrictions imposed on them after their convictions. Some restrictions are explicit and permanent; others are vaguely worded and administrators often assume the strictest interpretation. Many housing administrators incorrectly think that they are required to turn down applicants with a criminal record, creating a widespread de facto ban on public housing.

Parole

In theory, parole gives offenders a chance to prove that they can re-enter society without serving their maximum sentences. Paradoxically, parole conditions can create extra readjustment challenges for ex-offenders.

Systemic Changes

Many of the challenges facing ex-offenders require policy changes and a shift away from continuing punishment against those who have served time in prison. “Ban the Box” is a national campaign against continued punishment in hiring that calls for employers to remove the box on job applications that requires applicants to disclose criminal records.

Grassroots Changes

In addition to lobbying for policy changes, many nongovernmental organizations help ex-offenders with recidivism through programs like The Prison University Project [34] which helps inmates earn college degrees while incarcerated.

Conclusion

After serving time in prison, ex-offenders are released with significant economic and societal obstacles preventing them from thriving which indirectly push them back into crime and back into the prison system. Employers refuse employment for ex-cons; systemic collateral consequences restrict tens of thousands’ legal rights inhibiting normal function as citizens — revisions in policy must occur before ex-offenders have real opportunities promoting success and reducing recidivism.