How to Improve Re-entry Program for Ex-prisoners

Proposal outline
To: Houston, TX City Council
From: City planning Annalist
Subject: Re-entry program for ex-prisoners
Executive Summary
Individuals released from prison who seek legal, stable job opportunities often face difficulties doing so, which leads to recidivism. The members have to struggle with societal stigma and often succumb to mental illness and drug abuse. Such behaviors are high risk for recidivism. Free training, educational programs & career services for ex-inmates in creating better job opportunities. While the current programs are helping in reducing crime rates and creating a labor force, they are not achieving the expected efficiency. There is a need for more research on how to improve these re-entry programs.
Rationale
Mass incarceration in the United Stated is characterized by extreme imprisonment cases that rose significantly in the 1970s through to the 21st century. The prison populace began to increase during this period when legislators from both sides of the political divide began using fear and thinly veiled racial rhetoric to advance punitive policies. The trend began with Nixon, who declared “war on drugs,” followed by a justification speech about being “tough on crime.” However, the prison populace burst during President Ronald Reagan’s tenure in 1980 after he assumed office. During this period, the total prison numbers were 329,000 and when his term ended in 1988, the total population had doubled, to 627,000. The graph below better represents this growth
The significant increase mainly affected people of color as they were unjustly incarcerated. Sadly, the picture remains the same today. The incarceration increased significantly both at the federal and state levels, with the states experiencing the highest growth rates, where a majority of the country’s prisoners live. The number of convicts grew significantly in all states. For example, while 182 people for every 100,000 were incarcerated in Texas in 1978, the number increased exponentially such that by 2003, the figure had increased to 710. These changes can be attributed to the introduction of laws such as the 1994 Crime Bill that funded states to implement policies that overpopulated the prisons. While the issue received little attention, it has affected the whole country for five decades[Cullen, James. “The History of Mass Incarceration.” Brennan Center for Justice, July 20, 2018. /our-work/analysis-opinion/history-mass-incarceration.]
However, there has been a positive improvement in efforts towards reducing mass conviction. For example, in the last decade, prison numbers have declined significantly by approximately 10 percent. Consequently, there has also been a decline in the racial inequalities in the prison population, which can be attributed to the general consensus that mass incarceration is an error. Law makers from both parties have agreed that locking people up does not solve the criminal problems facing the society but only increases the states expenses, with the country spending $81 billion a year on mass incarceration
This change in perspective has led to a gradual decline in the number of people incarcerated. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (B...