Do you think that criminals can be rehabilitated?

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I think that hard-wired criminals can't be rehabilitated because that's simply how they are. A sociopathic and/or psychopathic brain is simply what it is. They will do the wrong thing all the way until the day they die. Even when they are old and crippled, they will put their gnarled, arthritic hand in some other old, unsuspecting geeser's pocket and steal their last bit of change just to buy a couple of cups of "past-the-expiration-date" yogurt that they want. Old rotters do old rotter things. They also like to brag about the horrific things they did to people when they were young and ABLE. Don't be fooled.

I think most cannot. Some are rotten to the core. I think the majority of the criminals have a tendency to do dishonest/harmful things if they are put in certain situations. It's their nature.

I think it varies by criminal & the prison programs

Depends on what their crimes were, whether or not they are crazy, and what you mean by rehabilitated.

I grew up around a lot of criminals and know many of them. I'm pretty well versed with the criminal element. They will never be rule obsessed and afraid of doing anything wrong like some people are, but they can decide to pretty much walk the line if they choose to. It will only be for self preservation though, because they probably won't see right and wrong like others do.

Like I said, it depends on the person. I'm assuming you mean career criminals not part timers or something. Career criminals are the ones I'm familiar with. I'm not talking about guys who go around hurting others for the thrill of it, that's crazy criminals and they can't be fixed. I'm talking about guys whose job it is to go rob houses or people or steal this or that. Thieves mainly. Maybe some guys who hurt others to collect money or send a message but it's business not for twisted fun. They can straighten up. If they know the cops are watching them then they can straighten up and work regular jobs and stop stealing. They may not ever stop looking for a con but they can stop doing the cons.

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I think that, while many people who commit the more severe crimes are probably incapable of change, that there are enough people who are that rehabilitation should be left as an available option for most crimes. Furthermore, there are the people who may be imprisoned because have been wrongly accused of the crime that they didn't commit.

Some can, some can't, there isn't a black or white answer. I would be hesitant to say violent criminals can be rehabilitated but there are a lot of people that are considered criminals that only committed a crime against themselves and are made into real criminals by incarceration. Incarceration in general I think isn't inducive to rehabilitation and usually makes things worse, it should be reserved for those that truly pose a threat to society.

[moved to PPR from random discussion]

of course, rehab is going to be much less effective on career criminals than one time offenders.

I think it depends on the criminal. Were they committing the crime because they were financing an addiction, do they enjoy hurting people, was it a lifestyle for them (gang bangers)?

Sometimes taking a drug addict out of their environment helps to get them clean for a while, but I've seen addicts have a higher recidivism rate because the addiction is never actually addressed by incarceration. People with a sexual deviancy (rapists, pedophilia) I don't believe can be rehabilitated.

It is interesting to note that most people charged with murder do not go back to prison. In most women's cases the crime was usually a self-defense case. Sometimes it was a complete lack of judgement. If you have even one beer at a bar, then get into an accident that kills another person (even if they were the one that ran the red light, etc) you are at fault and in many cases the state will press charges on you for second degree murder or manslaughter. Do I think those kinds of "criminals" will get out only to kill again? No.

I did five years in the pen for accessory to murder. Long story short, I refused to testify against my boyfriend who beat up that guy who was raping me. Unfortunately, he died from his injuries. My choice was A) To testify against him and him receive a life sentence or B)Not testify, he gets a lesser sentence, and ruin a good chunk of my life. While I am a "criminal", I was an upstanding citizen before the event, and I see no reason why I wouldn't be now.

So it depends on the definition of criminal. Do you mean hard core gang bangers or do you mean ex-offenders who made a bad judgement call?

I don't think our society is structured to allow them the possibility of rehabilitation.. once you have a criminal record, no one will hire you, no one will rent a place to you.. society doesn't offer many second chances.

If you mean psychologically then yes, I absolutely believe people are capable of learning from their mistakes and are capable of changing themselves for the better.

Do you think that criminals can be rehabilitated?

Some can, some cannot.
Who decides who gets the chance?
Should all be treated as capable?
What do you do with those who can't?

What causes people to become criminals? Let's start there.

There is a re-offending rate, which not usually 100% obviously so.

Some people just need to need to be a cell once to not want to be there again. Some people are so embarrassed about what. Common example drink driving. They come in drug the next day when they sober up, it hit them, they loos their jobs, etc.

I think people have a rather singular idea of criminals. You could commit a crime tomorrow.

It is the people with little to loose, or come from criminal fraternity that can be a real problem.

I also think he war on drug has failed, and a hard drugs drive a lot of crime. What's more the cartel thrive on the status quo, and prison are just an extension of their networks.

With a fraction of the budget of the war on drugs, you could buy the yearly yield of heroin an cocaine or should I say coca leaf, and poppy from the farmers.

You will get people who were first arrested at 10 and are now 40 are still habitual offenders. Obviously these people had no real guidance or discipline as kids. or the guidance they get is criminal.

Depends on the criminal. I don't know if much can be done for a true psychopath or a habitual.
If it were up to me I would make changes, though.

1. Overhaul our laws and decriminalise silly s**t. For one thing, the "War on Drugs" would be history.

2. Overhaul the criminal court system. Too much overcharging just because they can with no apparent system of checks and balances.

3. Having effectively instituted the above changes, sentencing for real crimes would be harsher but once that sentence has been served the former convict would leave prison with a clean slate. No restrictions or anything hanging around their necks for life that would keep them from starting over. As it stands now, an ex-con is set up to fail and I don't think that is fair.

Some criminals do mellow out as they get older, and they can be rehabbed. Others can be rehabbed if put through good rehab programs when young. There are others though, who are hard-core, and these can rarely be rehabbed. Many hard-core criminals are sociopaths. They only care about themselves, and don't respect common sense rules or rights of others. There is no real cure for that condition.

I personally think there are those who can be corrected, while others cannot no matter what.

As others stated, it depends on the criminal.

The younger the person, the easier (usually) it is to rehabilitate.

The prison system doesn't help, frankly.

Having a criminal record prevents many people from obtaining employment--thus "forcing" them to be economic criminals.

We should have a system whereby, after five years of no new arrests, nonviolent felony offenders' records should be automatically expunge; three years for misdemeanors.

That sort of system is already in place in Canada. People have to apply for "pardons," though.