Recidivism occurs when a person who has already committed a crime and served time for it again commits crime. It is largely agreed upon that preventing recidivism is the point of the penal system, but there are disagreements as to how this should be achieved. Some people believe that pure and simple punishment should be the main focus, while others believe that rehabilitation would be the best way to prevent future crime.

 

The dilemmas regarding the privatization of correctional organizations extend to both prisons and probation and parole services. People who are for privatization argue that private companies can run their programs more efficiently and cost-effectively than the government can. People who are against it argue that the government should be responsible for making the decisions regarding punishment, and that handing that responsibility to private companies is unethical. Another concern with those who oppose privatization is that companies would abuse the system and attempt to keep inmates in for longer periods of time in an effort to generate more income.

 

Prison labor is another ethical concern. On one hand, it does give inmates something positive to do with their time and can give them skills that will be valuable upon their reintroduction to society. However, this is another area where abuse of the system can occur, as businesses would be able to pay inmates less than the rest of the population. In addition, safety procedures in prisons are often very different than those in a union and can result in more accidents that occur in the prisons.

 

Finally, the corruption of prison guards and probation and parole officers is also an ethical challenge. People in these authority positions can abuse their roles by sexually harassing inmates and clients, taking bribes, and showing favoritism. All of these actions defeat the mission of justice and cannot be tolerated.