Rehabilitation of Criminals in America.
Prison inmates, are some of the most maladjusted people in society. Most of the inmates have .
had too little discipline or too much, come from broken homes, and have no self-esteem. They are very .
insecure and are at war with themselves as well as with society (Szumski 20). Most inmates did not .
learn moral values or learn to follow everyday norms. Also, when most lawbreakers are labeled criminals .
they enter the phase of secondary deviance. They will admit they are criminals or believe it when they .
enter the phase of secondary deviance (Doob 171). .
Next, some believe that if we want to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just send them .
to prison. For instance, we could give them a chance to acquire job skills; which will improve the .
chances that inmates will become productive citizens upon release. The programs must aim to change those .
who want to change. Those who are taught to produce useful goods and to be productive are likely to .
develop the self-esteem essential to a normal, integrated personality (Szumski 21). This kind of .
program would provide skills and habits and replace the sense of hopelessness that many inmates have .
(Szumski 21). .
Moreover, another technique used to rehabilitate criminals is counseling. There is two types of .
counseling in general, individual and group counseling. Individual counseling is much more costly than .
group counseling. The aim of group counseling is to develop positive peer pressure that will influence .
its members. One idea in many sociology text is that group problem-solving has definite advantages over .
individual problem-solving. The idea is that a wider variety of solutions can be derived by drawing from .
the experience of several people with different backgrounds. Also one individuals problem might have .
already been solved by another group member and can be suggested. Often if a peer proposes a solution it .