Claim in criminal justice

The prominent claim of adequate availability of vocational training programs in prisons is not statistically supported. Despite the importance that vocational training has in the success of a prisoner upon release, correctional facilities in the criminal justice system do not pay adequate attention to vocational training. Vocational training is meant to provide job-specific technical training for work in a given industry or profession. As such, while traditional training is focused on expanding an individual’s general literacy and knowledge, vocational training focuses on getting an individual the skills necessary to apply for jobs in specific industries. There are numerous vocational training courses that are available or could be made available in prisons such as food and beverage, health care, auto repair, and carpentry.

While some correctional facilities in the country have a broad range of good vocational programs for prisoners, it is evident from statistics that they are not enough. The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics indicates that 95% of the people currently imprisoned will eventually be released (Pompoco, et al. With this statistic, it is imperative for the society to ensure that those released from prisons do not come out the same, or worse, come out and get rearrested. As such, it is upon the society to ensure that the incarceration facilities provide the needed opportunities to enable inmates lead different lives when they are released. One of the best ways of achieving this is offering vocational programs that impart real and desirable skills in prisoners.

In such situations, the certificates issued from these vocational programs are not credible, and do not mean anything for the ex-offenders (van Zyl Smit & Dünkel, 2018). The survey by the Families Against Mandatory Minimums also found that close to all vocational training programs in prisons are led by fellow inmates with little or no teaching experience. While everyone across the country believes that inmates have the privilege of participating in job skills programs, information from the survey shows that such programs are only available to prisoners who are close to finishing their terms. Furthermore, college courses in the many prisons are too expensive for prisoners who mainly depend on a few dollars that they earn from the available prison jobs. A very small number, 3% of survey respondents indicated to having access to a compute (van Zyl Smit & Dünkel, 2018)r.

In this manner, properly-designed vocational training programs reduce the prisoners’ risk of recidivating. In addition, well-designed vocational programs in correctional institutions minimize institutional problem behaviors by replacing the prisoners’ idle time with constructive work. Furthermore, some vocational training programs can be helpful in the operation of the correctional institutions by having the prisoners assist in maintenance tasks in the institutions (Goggin, 2018). Conclusion A large section of the media and popular entertainment shows portray the notion that correctional facilities in the United States have adequate vocational training programs that offer quality courses to inmates. This concept is so ingrained in the public belief to the point that it is often ignored when discussing important issues related to the criminal justice system such as prison reforms.