CSS Solved Criminology Past Paper 2024 | Rehabilitation Centers Role in Criminals‘ Reformative Treatment
Question Breakdown
In this question, two main parts are to be discussed, including the role of rehabilitation centres in the reformative treatment of criminals and how these centres contribute to reintegrating offenders into society. The examiner has demanded a proper explanation of the role of rehabilitation centres in the reformation and reintegration of offenders. Nonetheless, to secure good marks in these types of questions in criminology, giving a proper explanation and the significance of concepts like reformation and reintegration in this question is crucial. Furthermore, an explanation of the responsibilities of rehabilitation centres with the help of relevant examples will further enhance the quality of one’s answer. The second significant part of the question is the contribution of rehabilitation centres in reintegrating offenders into society.
Outline
1- Introduction
2- Defining Rehabilitation Center
3- Role of Rehabilitation Centers in the Reformative Treatment of Criminals
- ✓Understanding the Unique Capabilities of Individuals
- ✓Counselling
- ✓Changing the Attitudes of Former Criminals via Education and Development of Skills
- ✓Helping Individuals Deal with Drug Addiction
- ✓Providing a Conducive Environment for Learning
4- Contribution of Rehabilitation Centers in the Reintegration of Offenders into the Society
- ✓Educating the Former Offenders
- ✓Vocational Training Programs
- ✓Teaching Positive Behaviors
- ✓Providing Skills and Opportunities to Reduce Recidivism
- ✓Aftercare and Follow-up Services
6- Critical Analysis
7- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Rehabilitation centres play a crucial role in the criminal justice system by providing programs to address the root causes of criminal conduct and encourage offenders to change their negative behaviour patterns. These centres are essential in assisting the rehabilitation and reintegration of people who have participated in criminal activity because they offer rehabilitative services such as education, counselling, therapy and social assistance. Through education and skill development, rehabilitation centres help individuals transform their behaviours from destructive to constructive, thus minimising the prospects of recidivism. Nonetheless, in Pakistan, rehabilitation centres face various challenges due to a lack of proper resources, which hinders the effective provision of services.
Defining a Rehabilitation Center
According to the World Health Organization, rehabilitation can be defined as,
“A set of interventions designed to optimise functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interacting with their environment.”
On the other hand, a rehabilitation centre is a facility where healthcare services are provided to patients and criminals along with proper skills and education to transform their behaviours and provide them with opportunities.
Role of Rehabilitation Centers in the Reformative Treatment of Criminals
By addressing the root causes of individuals’ criminal behaviours, rehabilitation centres work to reform offenders. In these centres, the behaviours of criminals are transformed from negative to positive and from destructive to constructive. This is done by assessing their strengths and particular needs and providing them with educational opportunities and proper training.
- Understanding the Unique Capabilities of Individuals
Rehabilitation facilities start by thoroughly evaluating each offender to understand their unique requirements, strengths, and weaknesses. Considering the situation and evaluations of every person, treatment plans are created for individuals. The Biological School of Criminology delineates that despite physical characteristics, crime is caused by several psychological factors that should be treated through rehabilitation. These treatments can help with issues like substance abuse, traumatic experiences, mental health issues, lack of employment skills,, or other factors that sway individuals’ behaviours.
- Counselling
One fundamental role of rehabilitation centres is counselling former criminals. Trained therapists help the offenders by conducting several sessions with them. By understanding their behaviours and the causes of their criminal behaviour, they treat various psychological disorders, develop coping mechanisms, and help them manage anger.
- Changing the Attitudes of Former Criminals via Education and Development of Skills
Rehabilitation centres’ primary objective is to teach former offenders constructive behaviours. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is used for this purpose, as it assists in changing thinking patterns, inculcating positive attitudes, and strengthening the problem-solving skills of former criminals. Some courses might concentrate on impulse control, communication skills, empathy development, anger management, or conflict resolution.
- Help Individuals to Deal with Drug Addiction
Pakistan is home to a large number of rehabilitation facilities that target a range of problems, such as drug addiction and the treatment of criminal offenders. The nation has a combination of privately owned and government-run clinics with a specialisation in drug addiction. For instance, Willing Ways deals with substance abuse treatments and manoeuvres in cities like Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore. Furthermore, AAS Trust assists adults as well as street children traumatised by substance abuse.
- Providing a Conducive Environment for Learning
According to the Social Learning Theory, individuals learn from interaction and environment. Rehabilitation centres provide positive role models and a conducive environment for former criminals so that they can act better. This helps inculcate positive and constructive behaviours among individuals.
Contribution of Rehabilitation Centers in the Reintegration of Offenders into the Society
Rehabilitation facilities assist in reintegrating offenders into their communities via positive interpersonal relationships. Through education and skill development, criminals are transformed and given opportunities to create support networks and a sense of belonging within their societies. According to the Sociological School of Criminology, rehabilitation is crucial for reintegrating former offenders into their communities by assisting them in becoming productive members of society.
- Educating the Former Offenders
In Pakistan, despite various socio-economic and political reasons, lack of education is the foremost cause of crime and deviance. Therefore, rehabilitation centres like the Aman Foundation focus on enhancing the basic literacy and skills of juveniles in Karachi. Furthermore, rehabilitation centres facilitate criminals to acquire secondary education like the General Educational Development (GED) test in order to have education beyond basic literacy. For instance, the Punjab Prisons Department introduced various programs that help prisoners acquire secondary education.
- Vocational Training Programs
The vocational training programs aim to teach particular skills to individuals so that they can gain direct entry into the workforce in diverse fields like information technology, healthcare, economics, etc. These programs are practical and focus on enhancing the capabilities of individuals to perform specific tasks efficiently compared to traditional academic education. For instance, in this digitalised world, the KP Prisons Department, with the help of non-governmental organisations, has initiated training regarding Information Technology in various prisons, such as courses in basic computer skills, graphic design, etc., to create employment opportunities for offenders. In addition, some rehabilitation centres, such as the Balochistan Rehabilitation Center, train inmates regarding agriculture to help them contribute to Pakistan’s agrarian economy.
- Teaching Positive Behaviors
In Pakistan, rehabilitation centres emphasise the transformation of the behaviours of criminals from negative to positive to reintegrate them into their communities and promote their personal growth. For instance, the Saibaan Drug Rehabilitation Center in Islamabad teach various anger management techniques and non-violent tactics. On the other hand, the Punjab Prisons Department has introduced cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) to help offenders adopt positive behaviours. To assist criminals in enhancing their interpersonal relationships and reintegrating them into society, various rehabilitation programs like the one at Karachi Central Jail facilitate individuals by initiating social skills training, which includes communication strategies, listening skills, empathy, etc. Besides, the rehabilitation facilities of Edhi Foundation encompass moral and ethical education, helping offenders create a sense of responsibility among themselves.
- Providing Skills and Opportunities to Reduce Recidivism
According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, recidivism can be defined as;
“Tendency of a convicted criminal to relapse into a habit of criminal activity.”
The Classical School of Criminology delineates that deterrence can reform criminal behaviour. When an individual does the cost-benefit analysis of his behaviour and is aware that one can achieve the goals without committing a crime, one might not relapse into the habit of crime. According to the National Institute of Justice of the United States, most people are involved in criminal activities due to a lack of education. Therefore, providing education and training is paramount to creating employment opportunities for them. The Punjab Prisons Department has established vocational training institutions within several prisons to teach carpentry and tailoring to prisoners. In addition, the DOST Welfare Foundation in Peshawar is contributing to training life skills like anger and stress management, budgeting and communication strategies for juvenile criminals.
- Aftercare and Follow-up Services
After the criminals are released, rehabilitation centres are also responsible for monitoring them to prevent recidivism. Therefore, they provide them with access to education and employment opportunities.
Critical Analysis
According to the Social Learning Theory, human behaviour is influenced by the environment and interaction. Therefore, rehabilitation centres are crucial in helping criminals unlearn old behaviours and learn new positive ones. This assists them in reforming themselves and ensures their reintegration within the society. According to the Strain Theory by Robert K. Merton, every society sets goals and prescribes institutionalised means to achieve those goals. However, when there is a conflict between defined goals and institutionalised means, a person commits a crime. Through vocational training and educational opportunities, rehabilitation centres help offenders achieve culturally defined goals through legitimate means. Despite these endeavours, lack of financial resources, trained personnel and stigmatisation by society, reformation and reintegration of the criminals remain a considerable challenge in Pakistan.
Conclusion
To cap it all, rehabilitation centres play a significant role in the reformation of criminals. Despite providing education and skills to offenders, these centres assist them in transforming their behaviours from negative to positive. Furthermore, by teaching former criminals communication strategies and social skills, the centres facilitate their reintegration into their communities.
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