5432824 “Criminology”
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Bridges to Life program
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Bridges to Life program
Rehabilitation programs are vital aspects of the criminal justice system that purpose to
aid offenders acquires the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources for living crime-free lives and productive lives after their release (
Han et al.,2021). This paper critically explores the Bridges to Life program, a prison-based rehabilitation program for wrongdoers in Texas. In addition, the program's emphasis on victim-offender dialogue and restorative justice offers an innovative strategy for addressing the root causes of criminal activities and enhances healing and accountability (
Armour & Sliva, 2018). The paper will discuss more details about
the Bridges to Life program and answer questions about the program, like its purpose, the target audience, the strengths and weaknesses, and the underlying theories guiding the program. Lastly, the paper will reflect on the knowledge acquired in CRM 231 and examine if the program offers insight into the benefits of community involvement and restorative justice in offender rehabilitation. The Bridges to Life program is a restorative justice program implemented in Texas criminal justice system. According to Bridges to Life. (n.d.), the Bridge to Life program is a faith-based program that brings together community volunteers, victims, and offenders in a simplified dialogue process to examine the effect of crime and enhances reconciliation and healing. In addition, the Bridges to Life program comprises a three-month curriculum consisting of weekly group sessions that the trained facilitator conduct leading the team. The trained facilitators ensure the offenders participate in the discussion during the sessions. Still, they guide them to promote personal responsibility, develop empathy, and lower recidivism rates amongst the perpetrators.
Additionally, the three-month curriculum the offenders are enrolled in is categorized into three phases. Phase one is majorly concentrated on building safety and trust amongst participants. In this phase, the perpetrators are involved in group-building exercises,
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icebreakers, guided interactions, and discussions that inspire them to share their opinions and personal stories (
Bohmert et al.,2018). Moreover, during the second phase, the program examines the effect of crimes on the community and the victims. In this phase, the offenders are taught to engage in dialogues with the community members and the victims to have a profound understanding of the harm of their criminal activities (
Bridges to Life, n.d.). Lastly, during the third phase, the program focuses on lowering recidivism and promoting personal responsibility. During this stage, the offenders interact and engage in exercises and guided discussions that promote their self-reflection and aid them in establishing new behaviors and approaches to support their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community (
Tripodi,
2010). Generally, the program encourages offenders to take responsibility for their deeds and make amends with the community and the victim. Also, the program encourages community support reducing recidivism and encouraging rehabilitation among offenders. Moreover, the Bridges to Life program was created to address numerous issues offenders face in the criminal justice system. According to Armour and Sliva (2018), one of the primary goals of the Bridges to Life program is to lower the recidivism rate and promote rehabilitation among perpetrators. Studies have revealed that traditional punishment methods like incarceration have little impact on the perpetrators from reoffending again. According to a study by Bohmert et al. (2018), a larger number of prisoners released from jail reoffered and returned within a short while. The study also revealed that this is due to a lack of resources and support for reintegration into the community. This means the Bridges to Life program addresses the issues of reoffending by offering the offenders a structured program that concentrates on community support, personal responsibility, and rehabilitation. Therefore, through engaging in exercises and discussions, the wrongdoers are inspired to reflect on their behavior, take responsibility for their deeds, and establish new behaviors and strategies that support rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.
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In addition, the Bridges to Life program addresses any harm the offenders cause the community and the victim. According to Armour and Sliva (2018), unlike the traditional punishment approaches that majorly concentrate on punishing wrongdoers without giving into consideration the community and the victim's need, the Bridges to Life program address the concerns by bringing together the community, victims, and the offenders to have a simplified dialogue process. This permits the wrongdoers to understand the harm their deeds cause the community and the victim; hence, they take responsibility for their activities. Lastly, the Bridges to Life program addresses the issue of overcrowding in jails. According to
Bridges to Life. (n.d.), the Bridges to Life program offers wrongdoers an alternative approach
to traditional forms of punishment that are infective and costly. It lowers recidivism rates and promotes rehabilitation, lowering the number of imprisoned offenders and easing the strain on the criminal justice system. Moreover, the Bridge Ridges to Life program was primarily established for incarcerated wrongdoers in Texas prisons. It was intended for perpetrators who committed and were willing to engage in a rehabilitation process for their self-reflection and personal growth. Also, the Bridges to Life program engages volunteers and community members who are mentors and facilitators for the offenders. Studies reveal that these facilitators come from different backgrounds, such as education, business, and faith-based institutions (
Armour et al.,2005). The main role of these volunteers is to offer guidance and support to the offenders and facilitate interactions and discussions. Lastly, the program is meant to benefit the offenders and the community at large. Therefore, by bringing together community members, victims, and offenders in a simplified dialogue process, the program gives offenders a profound understanding of the harm their deeds cause, inspiring them to take responsibility to
enhance restorative justice.
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The Bridges to Life program is also based on numerous theories, such as cognitive-
behavioral therapy, restorative justice, and social learning theory. According to Zhang et al. (2006), restorative justice theory is significant since it repairs the harm that the offenders caused and rebuilds relations with victims, wrongdoers, and the community. Also, the Bridges
to Life program aids offenders in understanding the depth of their actions, inspiring them to take responsibility for the damage they caused (
Bridges to Life, n.d.). Moreover, cognitive therapy aids offenders in establishing and challenging their negative thought patterns and behaviors. Through engaging the offenders in exercises and group discussions, they develop positive coping techniques and decision-making approaches to help them not to re-offend once released. Lastly, the social learning theory provides offenders with peer support and role
models that aid them in developing prosocial behaviors and attitudes. Furthermore, the Bridges to Life program has several strengths that make it suitable for a rehabilitation program for perpetrators. Some of the strengths of the Bridges to Life program include; a restorative justice approach in which perpetrators can understand the effect of their actions and make amends with the community and the victims. The offenders participating in interactions and dialogues with the victims have a profound interpretation of the harm their actions cause, promoting empathy and accountability (
Bohmert et al.,2018). The other strength of Bridges to Life program Bridges to Life program is that it utilizes collaborative learning that permits wrongdoers to learn from each other and enhance positive peer relationships. Studies reveal that Bridges to Life program group discussions and activities offer the offenders a chance to share their perspectives and experiences, enhancing understanding and opportunities (
Han et al.,2021). In addition, the Bridges to Life program involves community members as facilitators and volunteers to promote community support and engagement for perpetrator rehabilitation. These aids break the barriers between the broader community and the offenders.
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Moreover, the Bridges to Life program was established in Texas, where the criminal justice system has been seen as a tough-on-crime approach. According to studies, Texas is amongst the states with high incarceration rates in the US, and because of that, most jails are soured and overcrowded. But with research, the state established that traditional forms of punishment were ineffective in lowering crime and protecting the public (
Armour & Sliva, 2018). This led to establishment of the Bridges to Life program to offer a restorative strategy for offender rehabilitation that concentrates on empathy, accountability, and community involvement. The founders strongly believed that the program could lower recidivism and promote offender rehabilitation in contrast to traditional forms of punishment (
Bridges to Life, n.d.). Moreover, the program works within a broader social and political context through which they value public opinion on crime. However, despite its great benefit, law enforcement officials and victim's rights advocates are skeptical of the restorative approaches since they prefer punitive approaches to rehabilitation (
Zhang et al.,2006). Currently, the Bridges to Life program faces challenges with resources and funding due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which interrupted many activities under the criminal justice system. However, some of the weaknesses of the Bridges to Life program is its limited reach of the offenders since it has few volunteers and facilitators. This is because the program depends on trained volunteers to ease the restorative justice circles hence lacking enough facilitators to serve all qualified perpetrators (
Bohmert et al.,2018). The other weakness of the
program is that it lacks empirical research on its outcome since it does not undergo rigorous assessment, making it challenging to establish its efficiency. Lastly, the Bridges to Life program has limited support for victims since it does not offer extensive support to heal them from their trauma. Furthermore, focusing on the knowledge learned in CRM 2315, it is evident that the Bridges to Life program is a vital step to promoting rehabilitation for perpetrators and
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restorative justice in the criminal justice system. Moreover, the Bridges to Life program concentrates on addressing the root causes of criminal behavior and enhances accountability through facilitating victim-offender dialogues which bring to line the principles of restorative justice that focus on repairing and healing instead of punishment. In addition, the Bridges to Life program's utilization of trained facilitators and volunteers to conduct mentorship and victim-offender dialogue pinpoints the significance of community support and involvement in
promoting offender rehabilitation (
Han et al.,2021). Also, the Bridges to Life program helps the perpetrators to break the cycle of crime and rebuild their lives by fostering a sense of support and connection. Lastly, despite the Bridges to Life program have put a lot of effort into addressing the issue of recidivism, it cannot fully address all the challenges of criminal behavior and the complex issues surrounding crime (
Koss et al.,2003). Therefore, there is a need for more study to explore and assesses innovative approaches to offender rehabilitation like community involvement and restorative justice. In conclusion, the Bridges to Life program is a restorative justice program implemented in Texas criminal justice system. It is a faith-based program that brings together community volunteers, victims, and offenders in a simplified dialogue process for examining the effect of crime and enhances reconciliation and healing (
Bridges to Life, n.d.). The Bridges to Life program comprises a three-month curriculum consisting of weekly group sessions that the trained facilitator and volunteers conduct to help support offenders. Some of the strengths of the Bridges to Life program include; a restorative justice approach in which perpetrators can understand the effect of their actions and make amends with the community and the victims. The other strength is that the program utilizes collaborative learning that permits wrongdoers to learn from each other and enhance positive peer relationships (
Armour
et al.,2005). The program also involves community members as facilitators and volunteers to promote community support and engagement for perpetrator rehabilitation. However, some
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weaknesses of the program are its limited reach to the offenders since it has few volunteers and facilitators. Also, it lacks empirical research on its outcome since it does not undergo rigorous assessment.
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References
Armour, M. P., Sage, J., Rubin, A., & Windsor, L. C. (2005). Bridges to Life: evaluation of an
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Armour, M., & Sliva, S. (2018). How Does It Work? Mechanisms of Action in an In-Prison Restorative Justice Program.
International Journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
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(3), 759–784. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X16669143
Bohmert, M. N., Duwe, G., & Hipple, N. K. (2018). Evaluating Restorative Justice Circles of Support and Accountability: Can Social Support Overcome Structural Barriers?
International Journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
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(3), 739–758. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X16652627
Bridges to Life. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved from https://www.bridgestolife.org/
Bridges to Life. (n.d.). Our program. Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.bridgestolife.org/our-program
Han,
S., Valdovinos Olson,
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C. (2021). Reducing recidivism through restorative justice: An evaluation of
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https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2021.1966156
Koss, M. P., Bachar, K. J., & Hopkins, C. Q. (2003). Restorative justice for sexual violence: repairing victims, building community, and holding offenders accountable.
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Tripodi,
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https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2010.509660
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Zhang,
S.
X., Roberts,
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E., & Callanan,
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J. (2006). Preventing parolees from returning to prison through community-based reintegration.
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