The Crises of Overcrowding

The State of California has just enacted a state of emergency. The prison system has been for some time running at double capacity. Now it will be running at triple capacity. That means when the facility was designed and built it was for a certain number of prisoners. This will be 3 times as much in eating spaces, sleeping spaces and outdoor facilities.

The biggest factor as reported is that the counties are unloading their maximum-security prisoners to the state facilities.

California legislators are in a quandary about this sudden move as they were not informed. The Senator over the state prison system, Sen. Gloria Romero from Los Angeles, plans on having an emergency hearing on this next week to get testimony on what is going on and tell corrections officials "you have to be open with us."

Immediate responses was that we need more money, though increased money they did get— in the form of more benefits and higher wages of prison security personnel. Another report said that the increase of prisoners is just that... they were sentenced to the state prison system recently.

Above it all is the question where is rehabilitation? Or will most of society be found in prison in the future as people go through the criminal college — which is the state of prisons today? Statistically it is a revolving door of criminals released and sent back again and again.

The only real rehabilitation can only be Criminon as it has the statistics to back it up as a workable system.

CAN REHABILITATION WORK?

A hotly debated topic inside social service agencies, legislatures and throughout the non-profit arena is whether or not rehabilitation works. Frankly, I think we're grappling with the wrong problem.

In its broadest sense, "rehabilitation,"—which literally means to restore to good health or useful life—is something we all do. Helping a son or daughter who has taken a wrong turn, helping a friend get back on track after an alcohol-induced downturn, or even assisting high school drop-out to return to school could all be classified as "rehabilitation." Most would argue that these are merely impressions of that essential attribute we all possess: a desire to help.

So if rehabilitation, in its basic sense, is part of our social character, how did it fall into such disrepute that policy makers are now arguing over whether or not it's even worth attempting?

Unfortunately, to many people, "rehabilitation" has become related to rehabilitation theories and practices of psychiatry and psychology. And ironically, there is no debate about these subjects to speak of. They simply do not work.

They didn't work when they introduced rampant lobotomies in the 1950s or during the 60s when their strategy was the wholesale warehousing of people in appalling mental hospitals. They were not merely ineffective but downright harmful with their new epidemics of electric shock and mind-bending drugs during the 70s.

If only from a sound business viewpoint, it's time to pull the plug on the traditional psychiatric/psychological model. It's a failure and every statistic confirms it.

By contrast, the mentoring movement is a wonderful breath of fresh air. The sudden national acceptance is due in no small part to the fact of regular people with big hearts and helping hands can do more for troubled kids than an army of well paid psychiatric experts.

So let's not lose rehabilitation. It can work. But let's say good riddance to the failed models that have given honest rehabilitation efforts such a bad rap.

With the Criminon program, the biggest resource is its technology as developed by author and humanitarian, L. Ron Hubbard. It is truly new, and it truly works. Not just occasionally, but over and over in case after case. And of course the second biggest resource is the dedicated staff and thousands of volunteers who use this technology every day.

Finally, there is the very valuable resource of people who want to get better. And with those three elements, we can help them. The future of rehabilitation never looked brighter.

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