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Incarceration Vs Recidivism

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paper, I will argue that offering treatment to addicts is better than incarceration because it is cost efficient, recidivism rates will decrease, and it is a long-term solution. While also looking into race and how it affects sentencing. Treatment costs tend to be far less than incarceration and the recidivism rates decline if addicts are offered treatment earlier. These factors have been proven to increase the rates of incarceration and substance use. The recidivism rate is also higher among inmates with substance use issues. Treatment helps prepare addicts to return to society and a chance to choose something different. It seems that the system sets addicts up for failure when they turn around and send them back into the situation that …show more content…
This is a social problem and it is costing taxpayer money but there is a solution and the solution it treatment. Some of the most commonly used evidence-based practice therapy being used today to help is Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT) and Seeking Safety. In 2015 House Bill 348 was passed in Utah in hopes that over the next twenty years it will save more than $500 million dollars and reduce prison growth by 90%. There is a serious epidemic with drugs going on in Utah, this affects everyone from the taxpayers to the parents of the drug addicts. Addiction does not discriminate it can choose to attack anyone at any time. There is a need to be hyper vigilance with being aware of the problem. There are higher rates of substance use within Caucasians, but higher rates of African Americans being incarcerated for drugs. In 2009 African Americans were incarcerated at a 6.7% higher than Caucasians and 2.6% higher in the US than Hispanics. Part of the reason being there is additional crimes in lower income neighborhoods, there are less people graduating in …show more content…
Treatment is the key in successful recovery and lowered recidivism rates. To change the cycle of addiction, there needs to be education given. One way to educate is to give tools for recovery. There is a newer program that President Obama instated, Justice Reinvestment Initiative Act. This allows states to offer reduced criminal sentences for non-violent drug offenders, Utah was one of the states who has joined this act. There are mixed reviews on how this has impacted Utah, there are the officials telling people it is not working but also the health providers data showing that treatment is working. Overall there needs to be a balance between to community and the officials to make this work. It is a new concept and it is going to take time to collect data and see the results. It is too soon to make early assumptions on if it is causing more crime or if there are other factors involved. If the data can be shown in five to ten years to see if the tracking shows how the addicts that are being offered treatment now instead of being sent straight to prison has changed or not. People tend to be afraid of what they do not understand, data needs to be shown to help educate the public population. Not everyone agrees that it is working, in an article Ben McAdams, Salt Lake County mayor, said "I think JRI has been a major shock to the system, and the impacts of that are phasing in over time," McAdams said. "Because I think JRI was poorly implemented, we're seeing

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