America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. With that said, there is also a high recidivism rate. A major part of this is because prisons are currently aiming to punish rather than rehabilitate. Therefore, prisoners are not properly equipped to be released back into society when the time comes. There is rehabilitation to a certain extent but due to having so many inmates, rehab is not available for everyone. In an online article Sean Smith states, “A 2012 report was indicated that overcrowding of jails and prisons was a leading factor as to why inmates with drug dependency problems were not enrolled in these programs. The overcrowding of jails leads to an increase in the length of the waiting lists to enter drug treatment programs. In addition to overcrowding, staff shortages and limited resources are part of the issue of low enrollment in drug treatment programs” (Smith Drug Treatment Programs of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Exist, but Need More Availability). I have a way to make it possible for every inmate to receive rehabilitation and that is with Virtual Reality (VR). VR requires no staff and is not limited to a certain number of people. If prisons began using VR as a means of drug rehabilitation there would be way more availability and could be done from right side the prisoners cell. VR rehabilitation would typically be used in minimum security prisons to inmates struggling with drug addiction. They would go through the common didactic treatment virtually which would also require them to focus, preventing any distractions or multitasking that occur when rehab is given to a large group. Also, mocking an interactive circle where everyone shares stories and offers support, the VR would allow inmates to tell their stories to the circle of people they see on the screen (even though no can hear them it makes them feel like people are listening), and then they would be able to hear other people stories. There will also be an option to hear success stories from people who have completed treatment. So both didactic and interactive treatment will be available.
Smith, Sean. “Drug Treatment Programs of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Exist, but Need More Availability.” American Legislative Exchange Council, American Legislative Exchange Council, 2 June 2017, www.alec.org/article/drug-treatment-programs-of-the-federal-bureau-of-prisons-exist-but-need-more-availability/