Problems Parolees Face Once Released

¶ … Parolees Face Upon Release

When a prisoner is paroled from prison and attempts to reintegrate himself into society he can face many different obstacles that keep him from successfully resuming a life outside prison. These problems can range from internal problems the parolees have to deal with in their own lives, like drug addiction, to problems that society inflicts upon them, like the inability to find employment. Even without those difficulties though, many prisoners find the adjustment from a life in confinement to one of freedom to be impossible to navigate. Many of these parolees end up violating their parole and returning to prison, a full two-thirds return to prison within two years. Even if a parolee is successful in staying out of prison, just finding affordable housing can be a serious challenge. All of these problems must be overcome if a former prisoner is going to re-enter society and live as a functional member of society.

Substance Abuse

Probably the most serious problem facing most parolees is that of substance abuse. This is the problem that plagues Richard in the film From Prison to Home and the problem that landed Calvin in jail in the same film. For Richard, like many other parolees, substance abuse is an ongoing problem and he has spent about twelve years moving in and out of the penal system. This is not unusual since roughly eighty percent of the prison population reports a history of drug and alcohol use, with about fifty percent saying they were using at the time of their incarceration. For these parolees the rate of relapse in an unstructured environment on the outside is much higher than it might be behind bars. Since even using or purchasing illicit drugs is itself a crime, these parolees are very likely to be repeat offenders. When you add that they might commit other crimes while under the influence of such substances or in order to be able to get drugs or alcohol, the recidivism rate is bound to be quite high.

One way to battle this is to offer in-prison drug treatment that has shown great promise not only in reducing addiction while in prison, but in preventing long-term relapse upon release. Prisoners who received longer terms of treatment intervention were more likely to avoid relapse in the future. This treatment, along with strong criminal justice supervision after release and community-based aftercare, can be very effective in reducing the potential problems of substance abuse for parolees.

Employment Problems

Having a steady job that pays a decent wage has been directly linked to a lower recidivism rate. This is to be expected, since many people commit crimes because they lack the financial means to gain the things they want or need legitimately. While over three quarters of inmates report having been employed at the time of their arrests, many of them struggle to find gainful employment upon their release and there are many reasons for this. The lack of stable employment and wages will continue to affect parolees who have been released long after their prison time has passed.

Many prisoners are unable to work in several fields upon their release, depending on the state in which they live. In many states they cannot be public employees or work in education, healthcare, law enforcement and other fields. Even in fields where they are not restricted there is a general stigma attached to hiring an ex-convict. Many employers will simply not hire them at all, citing the fact that they are not trustworthy or lack the skills and education necessary to be employable. But, since many of them were employed prior to their arrests, this seems unlikely.

Randy who is emerging from prison after a 16-year sentence for murder, has decided to try to combat this disadvantage by enrolling in college. Proper job-training for prisoners can provide valuable trade skills that may make parolees more attractive job candidates. However, this will not prevent many employers from avoiding them simply because of their criminal record.

Housing and Reintegration