Career criminal?

[DaisyNY]

On Sat night a shootout took place on a rooftop right across the street from me. The suspect is 22 years old and was only released from prison on Thursday. He went on a robbing spree, and ended up shooting a guy for a cell phone. Police acted quickly and took him down - he is recovering and now faces life.

Here's my question. Didnt his previous time in jail tell him anything?? 22 years old and now faces the rest of his life in prison for a cell phone!!

Does anyone have opinions about rehab in prisons or know if any states actively use it to any success?

[retired]

How does the state rehabilitate someone who doesn't want it? Most of these scum are in prison because they don't care about anyone else.

[Pigskin]

Rehab in prison? What's that? The only rehab is within themselves. Some learn, some don't. This one didn't & hopefully he will spend a lot of time in prison for it. Better to isolate him from the innocent than try to reason with him. He can go be "bad" with others of his kind. Besides, he won't be in long & we'll do it all over again in a few years, hopefully without anyone getting badly hurt.

[DaisyNY]

From the inside it looks like he will get life as long as a lawyer doesnt step in with a bogus "He's a misunderstood young man" case for appeal. He shot a victim for a cell phone and then fired 6 shots at police with intent to kill (he had two guns). Both guns have been found, one with the chain, and his prints are on both.

I maybe niave but I cant see that positive reinforcement rehab can be useless. I have known a man (for the record its Jimmy Boyle here if you are interested who is an advocate for it having been a Scottish gangster for years. His rehab took place in one of the toughest prisons in the UK and it was the only thing, he says, made him look at what he was. Scots arent really known for being gangsters but there was some really violent crap going on in the 70's. I cant believe that there is nothing being tried, attempted to make the change. Whats the point of jail if it doesnt try to teach the prisoner that his or actions are wrong/unsociatal or whatever?

[Mr.Orange]

posted by DaisyNY:

quote:

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Whats the point of jail if it doesnt try to teach the prisoner that his or actions are wrong/unsociatal or whatever?

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Do you think that he or she doesn't understand what he or she did wrong?

The point of jail is to punish those who commit the crimes.

Reread what retired wrote, that sums it up.

[Oregon Mike]

Prison should not attempt to rehab people. It's a waste of resources. Prison should only exist to remove dangerous people from society. We cannot force a change of heart on anyone.

Mike

[ateamer]

Criminals know right from wrong. Everyone does. They made a conscious choice to become criminals and deserve whatever they get.

[Glockarmorer]

quote:

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Originally posted by ateamer:
Criminals know right from wrong. Everyone does. They made a conscious choice to become criminals and deserve whatever they get.

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Except that many criminals are sociopaths and can't distinguish right from wrong. We can't assume that the criminal sociopath regards the world through our mores and ethics.

In my opinion, prison just teaches criminals to be better criminals. They get 3 hots and a cot, plenty of excercise, and most importantly, exposure to hundreds or thousands of other prisoners who can give them all sorts of nifty new ideas to try when they get out.

Prison is for punishment and criminals belong behind bars. Period.

[JKT]

One reason prisons work in Scotland and don't here, is that there, THEY ARE PRISONS.

Here, they are holding pens for those awaiting release back into society, for the most part.

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard "I'm never coming back here, I'm getting my s(** together and staying out of Jail" over the years, I could retire and live very comfortably.

They do act as training grounds for the inexperienced criminals, too.

/rant

[Choppy]

This is a pretty interesting thread.

In my opinion, a prison must first punish a criminal, and then rehabilitate. Sentences shouldn't be restricted to a set time period, but until complete rehabilitation can be demonstrated.

[auntysuz63]

There is no rehabilitation for a career criminal. The best way to "rehab" is to start when kids are young, before they ever become a criminal, and teach them to make better, smarter choices. Parents need to make their kids responsible for their actions (like my parents did) and with a little luck, maybe they'll choose not to shoot someone for a cell phone.

[txinvestigator2]

I went thru the academy in 1983 and they instructed on this. Do they still use the term and teach about "institutionalized"?

[MikeinMN]

My nephew is a career criminal (well, actually, the conviction in WI was "being a habitual offender", but close enough). To make a long and varied story short, he and some friends robbed my nephew's neighbors at gunpoint. The neighbors immediately identified the little loser because his voice has never changed, and guess who demanded "your money or your life?". Yeah. A real genius.
He was extradited to Pennsylvania, to stand trial there for something or other; never learned what. He's now well into his second year at Quehanna boot camp; as I understand it (don't know for sure), his sentance was to the effect of "until he can be safely released into society". I'm not holding my breath.

Rehab doesn't work well, from what I can see. "Prehab", maybe, but it's likely about as effective as the "war on drugs". People are always going to do stupid things, and stupid people who do stupid things get caught. Those that don't learn become well-known to their local LE.

[Rizkyt]

quote:

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Originally posted by JKT:
One reason prisons work in Scotland and don't here, is that there, THEY ARE PRISONS.

Here, they are holding pens for those awaiting release back into society, for the most part.
/rant

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Damn straight
Working in a County Jail for only a year and 1/2, I've noticed that at LEAST half of our inmates are habitual offenders. Seeing them come and go makes me sick. And what really ticks me off is most of them have children that get left behind, they don't give a $hit. That is why they end up in prison to begin with. I've seen these people get multiple chances doing county time, obviously its not too important to change while they have the chance BEFORE prison time comes along. These idiots want people to feel sorry for them, asking how they can get help. Its too bad we don't have near the space or enough "babysitters" (like me) to keep them where they belong.

[JKT]

quote:

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Originally posted by txinvestigator2:
I went thru the academy in 1983 and they instructed on this. Do they still use the term and teach about "institutionalized"?

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Maybe not widely, but it's still used. Usually referring to those that can't operate outside a structured environment.

In my career, I've seen more than a few. With some, it's like coming back home. The ones I"m referring to are usually into drugs or theft, but while they are incarcerated, they are almost model inmates.

It's very sad in some cases. I've been dealing with a lot of the same people for over 20 years.

Along the sames lines, we have quite a few inmates that are patients of the State MHMR system, and would really better benefit from treatment rather than incarceration, but the arresting Officers don't take (or don't have) the time to go through the hoops for a mental commitment. These are mostly Criminal Trespass offenses where the person refuses to leave or keeps going back to (usually the same) businesses.