What Can America Do to Prevent Crime and Recidivism?

Jeffrey Reiman, in his 2004 book The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, And Criminal Justice, 7^th edition, suggests several ways in which we could prevent crime and recidivism. He states (1) we need to make a concerted effort to eliminate poverty. Reiman also suggests (2) legalizing drugs and treating drug addiction as a medical problem rather than a criminal one. (3) Prisons need to reevaluate in-prison and reintegration programs. Reiman further argues for (4) stricter gun control laws.

Poverty breeds crime. Being a member of the lower socio-economic class (SES) does not make a person into a criminal, but often the consequences of being poor leads to engaging in a criminal lifestyle. Persons living in poverty tend to live in inadequate housing, located in rough, often crime-ridden and neglected neighborhoods. The poor tend to be undereducated. They often suffer from poor nutrition and unhealthy lifestyles. Those in lower SES also must often do without adequate health care.

In an April 17, 2007 online editorial, the New York Times illustrated the difficulty in determining exactly what "poverty" is, stating that the Census Bureau recently "released 12 alternative measures of poverty, and all but one are higher than the official rate." Currently 12.6 percent of Americans are considered poor by the most conservative means of measurement, and this percentage is growing larger.

However, the official measurement of poverty is not accurate, and undercounts the number of Americans who are having difficulty making ends meet. This means that the figures lawmakers use - the official measures -- when making decisions, and speeches, are not necessarily accurate. However, using these more conservative figures makes it easier to justify cutting social programs such as school family resource centers and head start programs.

To put an end to poverty, society needs to make changes. Programs such as early education and adult literacy have shown to be effective in combating poverty. Investing in public schools and job training programs has also proven effective.