FeedRecidivism, or the Revolving Door
Upon my return to Dublin I began talking to a guy named Jerry Robisson. He grew up in the Fillmore and is currently serving a two year sentence for a parole violation. Jerry approaches me wanting to discuss the rate of recidivism, or what is more commonly referred to as the revolving door in which convicts return again and again.
Jerry first started getting into trouble at the age of 13. He attributes his first skirmishes with the law to both peer pressure and growing up in a single parent household. When asked why he felt the need to associate with the so-called “wrong elements”, Jerry explained to me that it was a remedy for the alienation he felt and an opportunity to be accepted.
It wasn’t long before his habits of “getting high, stealing cars, and armed robbery” led him to become a frequent visitor to juvenile hall. He quickly adopted the attitude that if he didn’t have life, he was going to get out and it didn’t matter. In Jerry’s eyes, juvenile hall was little more than an opportunity to see his friends.
He doesn’t see things the same way today: “I need to be a positive role model for my two kids.” He senses the importance of a supportive school environment and told me that “without education you don’t have nothing. [You] don’t have the skills to get the good jobs to survive in these cities where the rent is high.”
When asked about possible solutions to the alarming recidivism, Jerry is quick to offer many suggestions which seem sensible and could prove effective. One of the first things he suggested was to create more after school programs and especially at the elementary levels. He’s quick to point out that it’s too late to really be effective by junior or senior high school and I’m inclined to agree. Another suggestion offered by Jerry is the implementation of mandatory parenting classes both in high school and prisons.
A more controversial suggestion put forth by Robisson is to establish funding for prisoners to become entrepreneurs upon their release and start their own small businesses. While this is certainly an unconventional approach, it’s importnat to keep in mind that many convicts in America were successful businessment in an illicit trade and only find themselves incarcerated after reaching such high levels of success. So why not give these ex-cons an opportunity to succeed in above ground business? Lots of reasons, I’m sure, but it’s something to consider.
Well, it should also be noted that many convicts will have a very hard time getting good jobs after they get released, so learning the skill of entreprenuership can be a great value to them.
I agree with much of what he said. Throughout my school days I saw many of my friends, also from single parent households fall victim to peer pressure and join different groups to be accepted. I never how much of a difference having two strong parents made until I look at where me and my brothers are now and where many of my junior high and high school friends are who came from single parent, usually a mother only, households. Many are in jail or have been killed in crime related incidents.
As Josh’s mom, I think I raised a strong and successful son and for at least part of that time, about 6 years, I was a single parent. It was not through my own choice that the situation was as it was, but like many other single moms, I did the best I could. Fortunately, Josh had an awesome grandpa who was an excellent role model, a loving uncle and a caring stepfather.
Steven Levitt, economics professor at the University of Chicago and the best-selling author of Freakonomics, talks at the Ted conference about the study he was involved in when in College. It studied the inner workings of gangs and how they operated economicaly with similar rules to corporations. The video of the talk is available at:
http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=s_levitt
How true, especially since a considerable portion of the U.S. population, an ungodly 19%, is either incarcerated by the prison system or is on parole. In a way, participants are unwilling clients in big business, and to be able to get out of there and being able to rejoin society with a purpose will return their confidence and hopefully, they won’t end up back behind bars. Though prisons are ghastly overcrowded, it seems our government is more than willing to return minor offenders repeatedly back through the system. It’s a shame, and 19 percent of the now 300 million people in this country is a travesty.
DEAR JOSH,
I RECENTLY BECAME AWARE OF YOUR SITUATION. AFTER SOME CAREFUL THOUGHT I WANT TO SUGGEST THAT, WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, YOU SHOULD GET YOURSELF OUT OF PRISON IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE, THIS INCLUDES COMPLYING WITH ANY REQUEST MADE BY THE AUTHORITIES. YOU WILL HAVE MADE YOUR STATEMENT. YOU WILL ALSO GET MEDIA COVERAGE FOR TURNING IN YOUR VIDEOTAPE, WHICH WILL HELP BRING ATTENTION TO WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.
YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO TO EFFECT CHANGE IN A RESOUNDING, POSITIVE WAY.
Good luck and best wishes,
-Andrew B. Noselli
andrew_noselli@yahoo.com
ps – What do you think of my blog ? Can you link it to your website ?
My blog may be found at http://andrewbnoselli.blogspot.com
Andrew, Josh is posting to his blog by sending letters to hid dad to post. He has no access to a computer in prison. Thanks for your concern.
Dear Liz,
I would appreciate it if you could infom Josh of my opinion on what he should do.
Best wishes, ABN
Vote For Josh at The Vloggie Awards.
Best Male Vlogger … and (drum roll please) Most Controversial Video
http://vloggiessf.com/vote
One approach to recidivism is encouraging inmates to start a Toastmasters club in the prison. We’ve started several prison clubs in the Inland Empire in Southern California. I’ve visited one club and I was blown away by the presentations I heard from inmates. These guys were amazing! They had compelling stories and would make great motivational speakers to encourage kids to not make the decisions they made.
Mike
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I haven’t been up to anything today. I don’t care. I’ve just been staying at home not getting anything done. Basically not much happening right now. Maybe tomorrow. I guess it doesn’t bother me.
[...] Not too long ago I wrote about Jerry Robisson and his suggestions for reducing the recidivism that plagues the criminal justice system. While his recommendations for developing entrepreneurial programs seem like a long term solution, I’ve often wondered what programs already exist for transitioning out of prison and into society. [...]
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