But, Rehabilitation is a public safety issue that is best addressed by the victims of crime. We have paid horrific prices for another individual’s wrong doing. We are the ones that know that a drug dealer who comes from poverty usually lacks education, and therefore is ill prepared for the work force. We know that they need substance abuse programs, educational services and worker retraining. We know that the sexual offenders that have hurt us have emerged from abusive childhoods, lack control, and require extensive counseling to prevent re-offense. Those of us that have lost a friend or family member to murder, can testify that it is most often a crime of passion, committed by the victim’s own family, friend or associate. We know that the masses of these situations are seldom premeditated. We know that those that are, are completed by psychologically and socially disturbed individuals that also require extensive rehabilitation services to assure the success of their prison sentence. As victims, we must be willing to look beyond our grief and use our experiences to improve the current system. We must learn to understand that individuals who have psychological, economic, and circumstantial issues commit the majority of crime. It’s easy to advocate for justice, it’s not easy to advocate for safety. 

For a hundred years, research has been supporting the rehabilitation process of incarcerated offenders because it lowers the recidivism rates.  For the past two decades American citizens and officials have strayed from this process and have begun to focus on longer prison terms. Rehabilitation services have all but disappeared. Inmates are warehoused for longer periods of time, their psychological, spiritual, educational, and physical needs have been sorely neglected and they have been returned to society unskilled and even more psychologically corrupt than they were when they entered. Unfortunately, this has caused the incarceration rate to rise by 65.69%.  Research shows that 67.5% of released offenders in 1994 became re-incarcerated within three years. Our society does not realize that there are adverse effects associated with the “Get Tough on Crime” movement. Punishment should not only contain and control, it should also assist the offender in becoming a law biding, productive citizen upon release. Incarceration without proper rehabilitation is simply irresponsible. To obtain positive results the offender must receive support including rehabilitation services, humane treatment, and education. We do not evaluate an operating room by the bodies in the morgue; we evaluate its success by the patient’s ability to again live a productive life. When you evaluate the effectiveness of the prison system in a similar way, you can see that we shouldn’t evaluate prison on the number of people in it who are re-offenders, but the number of individuals who return to society rehabilitated.  Preventing re-offense requires providing offenders with humane treatment, psychological, emotional, physical and spiritual tools that they can use to strengthen relationships, rebuild their lives, and become productive members of society. 

Washington Department of Corrections deceives the public. They report that inmates receive adequate meals, educational services, and appropriate medical, dental, and psychological care, along with many other false statements. In reality meals served often lack the flavor, texture, appearance and temperature required to satisfy an offenders appetite. Because of the poor quality, offenders attempt to supplement their diet with commissary items, and when they lack financial means they simply eat only the items that appeal to them. An offender’s physical health often declines while incarcerated. Their medical needs are often misdiagnosed or more often ignored. Simple dental work can take six months or longer to receive, and medical emergencies must meet certain guidelines for immediate treatment to take place. Psychological care circles around a here and now system created to work on current issues such as depression, and seldom seeks the root of the problem. This is due to the skeleton budget created by high maitance costs that do not allow for in-depth psychotherapy. An offender that suffers severe psychological problems is often medicated and left virtually untreated. Last but not least, educational programs lack importance when an inmate who already has a High School diploma cannot advance. A 1995 decision ended secondary education funds and the programs that exist often fail because inmates are placed on lengthy waiting lists, or moved during vocational courses. The state fails to provide equal educational opportunities for all Washington institutions. 

Why should a victim assume any responsibility for an offender’s care?  The answer is quite simple. Offenders are human beings, and the majority of them will be released. Upon their release they will be free to walk the streets, away from the bars that once held them, and totally unsupervised by guards. At that time they will become free to interact with our families, friends, and associates. If they do not receive rehabilitation services, then they will be more apt to create another victim another victim just like us. I personally do not want my loved ones to become victims to one of the 67.5% of re-offenders.  

I cannot erase the darkness of my past, and I refuse to continue to live as a victim. Above all, I do not want anyone else to suffer. I will to do everything in my power to assist in the fight against crime. I am asking you to do the same. Take the time to write your legislature, contribute to support groups for victims as well as the offenders. Speak out against the “Get Tough” supporters who are allowing the same people who hurt you and your loved ones to slip through the system. What ever you do, do not sit in the shadows and remain silent. Haven’t you been silent long enough?