social debt

Not many issues prompt as much discussion as those that surround judicial procedure and criminal rehabilitation, especially in a society that has a serious problem with overcrowded correctional facilities and restrictions in public expenditure. These are social issues with burden the US at this present time, and are tightly interwoven through the vast sums of public money that it currently takes to maintain the crowded and bustling correctional facilities that are currently in operation throughout the country.

Crime has become something of a social epidemic in recent times, with the last 2 decades seeing the prison population rise by over 1 million inmates. This has unfortunately been the catalyst to the inflated levels of public money that have been invested into building and maintaining correctional facilities, while also accounting for rising amount of tax payer revenue to feed and house the criminal fraternity. With both crime and public spending coming under intense public focus, now is the time to tackle the theories of rehabilitation and how convicted felons should pay their debts to society.

A Case in Point

DC Central operates a Kitchen’s Culinary Job Training program, which is geared specifically towards homeless and previously incarcerated individuals. This is the kind of initiative which has developed in the wake of increased rates of conviction and criminal behavior, and is primarily conceived to give those with a criminal past an opportunity to grow and refrain from re-offending. As this and many similar schemes have a keen basis in the interests of society, they also allow their employees to repay their debts to the society that they once disparaged.