Reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration (3R) of prisoners: a good practices approach in southern states of India

The true aim of our Prison system as many would argue that is to punish the criminal. Prisons are no longer a place of punishing the offenders but correcting them thus the prisons are now called as Correctional Institutions. The primary and most important function of the correctional institutions is to Rehabilitate and reintegrate the criminals into the society as law abiding citizens, so that prisons can have a positive effect on inmates. Using punishment to rehabilitate a criminal is equivalent to using an ice pack to fix a broken bone. Each remedy attempts to correct only the symptoms, but once the remedies are taken away the problem is still there. As a weed must be purged by its roots, crime must be eradicated by destroying its underlying causes. The majority of prison population in India are from low economic background and the reason for the commission of crime varies like poverty, poor family setting, unemployment and so on. Through education and job training, these criminals can have the power to take control of their own life and contribute to the community. This not only prevents recidivism but, a person will feel a sense of ownership in that society which helps them reintegrate into the society as law abiding citizens. In short, if criminals are treated with the right reformation and rehabilitation, they can be turned from a menace into one of its valuable assets to society. This concept paper presents various good prison system practicesreformation, rehabilitation and reintegration. The secondary sources was mainly referred which is available in the form of books, reports, as well as websites for the purpose of preparing the research work