Criminal Rehabiliation. Animals in Prison (PDF)

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Sociology - Law, Delinquency, Abnormal Behavior, grade: A+, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, course: Criminology 1208, language: English, abstract: Modern society has always been fascinated with criminal activity, it floods our newspapers, serves as a plot for shows, movies, games, and is even used by political parties to push social policies. However, once the perpetrators of crime are placed in prison, it is as if society turns a blind eye. In an ironic twist of fate, incarcerated offenders are often met with an environment which further propagates future deviant behaviour (Steiner & Wooldredge, 2008).

While many believe that prison is intended to serve as a form of punishment, it is often overlooked that many offenders will eventually be re-introduced into society. So while prison does not have to serve as a proverbial "bed and breakfast," proper rehabilitative measures need to be taken in an attempt to mitigate the implications of aggressive temperaments and poor behavioural controls - which are often linked with crime (Sprinkle, 2008).

This paper will examine one questionable form of prison rehabilitation program, the use of animals as a tool in workshops to encourage pro-social behaviour and whether this program will lessen the rate of inmate on inmate victimization within the prison setting. Victimization for this study is intended to include: both sexual and physical assault, robbery, threats, extortion, and theft.