MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF A PRISONER'S TREATMENT PROGRAM


      One of the primordial concerns in corrections is not merely the physical segregation of the person from society or to safe-keep him but more importantly, to rehabilitate him so that upon his return to society he shall be a responsible and law-abiding citizen.

      As a pillar in the country’s criminal justice system, corrections play a vital role in crime control under the premise that a rehabilitated offender released from prison will lend himself as a positive force in the community where he belongs. Its basic principle is not merely the safe custody of prisoners or to promote discipline but significantly, to secure the prisoner’s reformation through various effective rehabilitation programs.

      Along this end and before any effective rehabilitation effort or treatment can be undertaken, inmates are given adequate living space and afforded basic human needs within the prison environment, in the process treating them as dignified and decent human beings. From thereon, the rehabilitation and treatment process includes work programs, health care, education and skills training, recreation and sports, religious and moral guidance as well as behavior modification using the therapeutic community approach.

      Prior to implementing the treatment process, each inmate is carefully evaluated over a period of time to determine the appropriate treatment type for him. This diagnostic procedure involves interviews, testing and screening plus a series of other activities undertaken by a competent diagnostic staff, to include a medical and psychiatric evaluation, psychological testing, sociological study as well as vocational and educational placement interviews. While the whole procedure is institutionalized, its approach is remarkably individualized, with the purpose of determining the most appropriate treatment program to be applied to each and every inmate regardless of his race, culture, social, religious or educational background. It is therefore not only a holistic and multi-pronged approach, but highly effective as well.

      Once the diagnostics are completed, the formal treatment process follows. Here, the inmate is immersed in various work and rehabilitative programs, encompassing physical, moral, spiritual and educational development in the course of his stay in prison. Correctional authorities are tasked to continuously monitor not only the inmate’s adherence to institutional rules and regulations, but his overall progress and individual reformation as well. All these are duly recorded in his prison record.

      Measuring and gauging the success of an inmate treatment process involves a combination of both quantitative and qualitative factors. The quantitative measures are easily identifiable. Such objective measures as the rate of recidivism, the incidents of untoward incidents or disturbances within the penal facilities are used to gauge whether the treatment process has yielded the desired results.

      However, the most significant measure to gauge the success of the inmate’s treatment program is qualitative in nature. It lies in the inmate’s behavior and adherence to societal norms after release. These include his degree of involvement in his local community, attitude towards life, work ethics and his positive contributions to society in general. After-care programs and services of the Bureau of Corrections provide a feedback mechanism from which the success of the treatment process can be gauged. Accordingly, the institutional treatment process is continuously improved to make it more attuned and responsive.

      The balancing act between effective safekeeping and rehabilitation is a tough act to follow, much less sustain in the long run. This poses a continuing challenge for correctional authorities in the light of limited institutional resources. Still, the importance of rehabilitation and the implementation of a successful treatment process is a primordial concern in furtherance of the mission and vision of the Bureau of Corrections.

      In the final analysis, the best gauge of how successful a prisoner’s treatment program is, lies not only in whether how high or low is the recidivism rate, or how discipline has been instilled within the walls of a penal facility, but how the whole treatment process have enabled the prisoner to effect a positive change within himself, such that upon reintegration into the mainstream of society, he is not only law-abiding but also contributes positively to the local community where he belongs. These positive manifestations exhibited by an inmate after societal reintegration include his capacity to sustain social relationships, to profess love of country, to nurture faith, exude moral uprightness and to persevere in life.

      It is in this process that a reformed and rehabilitated prisoner becomes a positive force in nation building, with the mission and vision of the Bureau of Corrections being continuously actualized by each and every one of them as they walk out of the corridors of prison to start life anew.