Research Papers / The use of prison pet programs to aid in rehabilitation - research essay [2]

The following is an essay I am working on regarding the use of prison pet programs to aid in rehabilitation of offenders in correctional facilities. I would like to know if there are areas that require more information or explanation in order to best make my point. How can I make the conclusion leave a more memorable impression? Is there enough evidence to supprt my points, if not where. Thank you.

Assignment instructions: Remember that the research paper will run between 8-10 pages, will integrate sources from a diverse array of resources using MLA style, will have a clear thesis/research question as the backbone of the paper, will avoid fallacious rhetoric, and will construct logical arguments to advance the ideas in the paper.

For the Love of Dogs: Benefits of Utilizing Pets within a Correctional Environment
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2010 (latest statistics available) state and federal penitentiaries incarcerated over 1.6 million individuals. In addition the BJS reports that in 2010 over 700,000 inmates were released from custody back into society. With these numbers in mind we need to evaluate what is being done to rehabilitate these offenders while they are incarcerated in order to best prepare them to reenter society upon their release. As time goes on it becomes necessary to come up with new and innovative ways to provide therapeutic and rehabilitative opportunities for incarcerated individuals without drastically increasing the already rising cost of incarceration. Correctional facilities should consider utilizing "Prison Pet Programs" in order to help rehabilitate offenders, provide a valuable service to the community, and to improve the living and working environment within the correctional facilities themselves.

The idea of utilizing animals as a therapeutic method is not a new concept by any means. In Earl Strimple's "A History of Prison Inmate-Animal Interaction Programs" the author documents numerous prison pet programs of varying kinds over the years. The earliest documented mention of such an idea came in the early 1900's when the then Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, wrote a letter to the superintendent of the Government Hospital for the Insane (later renamed St. Elizabeth Hospital) in Washington, DC asking if the use of dogs as "chums" for the inmates had ever been considered. The superintendent responded that to his knowledge it had not, but that he would be glad to try it. The first successful prison animal program is said to have been at Oakwood Forensic Center (formerly the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane) in Lima, Ohio. There a psychiatric social worker initiated a therapy program in 1975 after seeing improvement in some men who cared for an injured bird. According to Strimple "Despite opposition from those who believe prisons should only punish, people with vision have operated animal programs for the Department of Correction in at least 15 different states and in one Federal Penitentiary." So there already exists a certain amount of precedent for utilizing animals within a correctional setting.

The prison pet programs that are currently being utilized in some correctional environments take on one of three forms. The first (and most common) are programs where inmates train unwanted or undesirable dogs in an effort to make them more adoptable, these are also called "Second Change" programs (Britton and Button). In one such program inmates rehabilitate retired racing greyhounds by teaching them manners and skills so that they can eventually be given to an adoptive family (Hogle). The second type of prison pet program utilizes inmates to train dogs to be service animals. With help from service dog training organization inmates learn how to train the dogs that will then be given to disabled members of the community (Hogle). One example of a service dog training program exists at Lejeune Base Brig in North Carolina. There the incarcerated service members (with help from Carolina Canines for Service Inc. (CCS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and certifying dogs for service) train service animals that will be given to "Wounded Warriors" who have returned from combat with disabilities (Hershman). The final type of program simply allows inmates to keep a pet (usually a cat) as a companion provided they meet certain criteria. Each of these program types provides a range of benefits to the inmate participants, the animal participants, the public, and even the staff and fellow inmates who are not directly involved in the programs.

Although there is not a lot of research on the subject there is a plethora of anecdotal evidence that indicates that animal assisted interventions can aid in the rehabilitation of incarcerated offenders. One very essential part of rehabilitation is preparing the inmates for employment upon their release. Employment can be a particular challenge for released offenders. It is difficult enough to find an employer who will hire someone with a felony record as it is, but offenders are faced with an even tougher struggle given the poor economy and the competition for what few jobs are available. Therefore, one of the most crucial tools we can give an inmate to prepare them for release is a good vocational skill. Prison pet programs allow inmates the opportunity to learn to groom, train and otherwise care for animals. In some instances inmates who complete a training program while incarcerated can qualify to attend a 2-year vocational training upon release which will earn them a certificate as a veterinary technician once completed (Strimple). At the Washington State Correctional Center for Women where inmates are taught to train, groom and board dogs %100 of the inmate participants thus far have been able to find employment after they were released, and none of them have returned to prison (Strandberg). Without excellent vocational or technical training many released offenders would end up returning to their criminal ways in order to support themselves. The prison pet programs offer a unique opportunity for the inmates to learn a new skill which they will actually be able to apply upon release regardless of their criminal history.

Inmates also learn valuable life skills while participating in animal training based prison programs. Many of the inmates are also parents. It is imperative that we address the need of better preparing offenders to care for their families upon their release. "Training a dog is a skill which we use with our children, and in our daily lives. Training dogs teaches that you get more with positive reinforcement, and this is an important thing for everyone to learn, especially for the people in prison" (Strandberg). Another life skill that inmates will certainly acquire while participating in an animal training program is patience. It takes a lot of patience to teach service animals the intricate skills they will need to assist their future owners. In some cases the dogs come in with no skills at all, the inmates even have to teach them to play and be social with other dogs and also people, the inmates also have to learn to be very nurturing in order to elicit the needed responses from the animals (Hogle). The animals learn their skills through repetition; this can also teach the inmates the importance of persistence and the benefits that comes with dedication. Many inmates lack the very basic life skills which most of us take from granted. These and other important life skills will be very useful to the offenders that acquire them as they rejoin society.

Inmates who participate in animal training programs receive positive physiological as well as emotional support from the animals they care for. Prison rules do not allow inmates to have physical contact with each other, nor with any staff member. This is absolutely necessary but at the same time creates a new set of problems. The inmates feel lonely, isolated and withdrawn; they can eventually become institutionalized leaving them unable to function in "the real world" upon release. Prison pets provide the inmate's with affection without jeopardizing the safe orderly running of the facility. These programs provide the inmates with a sense of purpose and pride evoked by the notion of giving back to the community. Some inmates see it as a way of right some of the wrongs they have done to their communities (Britton and Button). "The program gives prisoners an increased sense of self-esteem, an increased sense of responsibility, teamwork and more compassion," says Gloria Gilbert Stoga, president and founder of Puppies Behind Bars." (Neal) The positive support that these inmates receive from their pets gives them the motivation to continue to improve and rehabilitate themselves; the value in this cannot be over stated.

The inmates are not the only ones that benefit; prison pet programs are uniquely equipped to provide the public with valuable community services. Inmate's have a vital asset when it comes to the training of animals and that is time. They have nothing but time to dedicate to the task at hand. Training service animals can also be very costly; utilizing inmates to conduct the training creates a huge financial benefit to the public. A well trained service dog can have a value of $30,000 or more (Hershman). Depending on the data you are looking at it can cost anywhere from $4,000 for the military to train a service dog to $10,000 to $12,000 for a private organization (Strimple). The figures can also reach as high as $21,000 for a 12 to 18 month training program publicly (Hershman). The cost of raising and training a specialized service or seizure response dog is about $10,000 a year. The average cost to house an inmate in the Massachusetts prison system is $42,733 annually. By using inmates to train service puppies, society essentially recovers one-fourth of an inmate's expenses." (Neal) Prison pet programs allow for disabled members of the community to receive the service animals at little or no cost, and the service animals then provide their new owners with assistance that in many cases is life saving.

There is a great need for service animals and inmates can assist in filling the need and closing the disparity between the supply and the demand. Service animals are in great demand. Service animals can provide assistance to people with a wide range of disabilities including: the seeing impaired, hearing impaired, wounded veterans, veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and autistic children, they even aid those with depression, diabetes and seizures. Currently the production of service dogs takes place at a rate of about 500-600 a year. Depending on where you live the wait can be anywhere from 2 years to about 5 years (Neal). The current prison service dog programs are helping to shorten the waiting list, and new programs would help even more.

Animal shelters and rescues are overburdened leading to many animals being euthanized. Inmates can teach these animals skills that make them highly desirable and therefore easily adoptable. Most all the prison pet programs utilize dogs which are donated, or that come from animal shelters and rescue organizations (Neal). This would also result in a cost savings to the community if these dogs can be made useful and in turn spare the expense of euthanasia. Inmates are very proud to prevent the death of these animals while showing that they can be responsible (Hogle). The homes that receive these animals are receiving pets that are socialized, housebroken and well mannered. This spares the new owners the cost of obedience training as well as the headache that comes with training a new puppy. Inmates assist the community by relieving the overcrowded shelters and rescues and ensuring that the animals are well prepared for their new homes.

The presence of "Prison Pet Programs" has the ability to improve the quality of life for the inmates within the facility as well as the quality of work environment for the staff who work there. Most prison pet programs have strict criteria for participation including that the inmates have no disciplinary infractions and maintain the highest standards of conduct. Participation in "Prison Pet Programs" is a privilege which creates an incentive that lowers the incidents of inmate behavior resulting in fewer disciplinary infractions making the job less stressful for staff. Participants believe that the dogs help them to deal with anger, teach them patience, give them unconditional love, and simply make doing time a little easier (Britton and Button). Even a small improvement on the participant's attitudes and behaviors would likely have an effect on the population as a whole. Tension between inmates and correctional staff can often run high. "Administrators in facilities that host dog-training programs often report benefits that extend far beyond the small number of inmates actually participating - benefits including reduced tension and violence facility wide." (Hogle) Prison pet programs create a commonality between the officers and the inmates which leads to reduced tension and more positive interaction. Such programs appear to have the potential to break down barriers of fear and mistrust between staff and inmates and there is also some evidence, again anecdotal, that they reduce recidivism and behavioral infractions among inmates." (Britton and Button) These programs give staff and inmates a reason to interact as the canines go about their daily routines (Neal). One administrator of a prison pet program remarked that "everyone loved the puppies - inmates and staff alike. It was something for staff and inmates to talk about that were positive, not about problems," she said, adding that staff members would go out of their way to visit the unit and interact with the puppies - and their handlers." (Hogle) Positive staff - inmate communication and interaction is essential to progress within a correctional facility. There is no downside to improved morale between staff and inmates but there are countless benefits.

It is clear that prison pet programs have a variety of benefits to the inmates, to the public and to the correctional facilities that house the programs. These programs provide valuable vocational and life skills for the inmates. They provide training and sometimes a life for the animal participants. Prison pet programs give back to the communities be supplying much needed service animals as well as loving pets. Even the staff members that observe the programs in their facilities seem to be greatly improved by their presence. There is limited fact-based research currently available that can absolutely demonstrate these benefits. However, one of the benefits of starting new programs where they do not currently exist is that each one would add to the mounting evidence which support the fact that these programs have certain value. Prison pet training programs are a cost effective method of assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders while directly giving back to the communities they serve.