Honors Program
University Honors
Date of Award
5-2025
Thesis Professor(s)
William N. Duncan
Thesis Professor Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Thesis Reader(s)
Melissa R. Schrift
Abstract
The United States criminal justice system has the highest number of incarcerated individuals in the world, with nearly 2 million people currently being behind bars, and around 7.5 million arrests per year according to the most recent available statistics. A key factor in this is addiction, specifically substance use disorders. Between 58% to 68% of adults arrested are addicted to one or more substances, with 68% of drug involved individuals being rearrested within three years of being released. This recidivism rate is incredibly high, and when combined with current prison and jail overcrowding, has created massive problems for the United States criminal justice system as a whole. However, there are alternative facilities which can be explored to potentially fix this issue. Day Reporting Rehabilitation Centers, often referred to as Day Reporting Centers or DRCs, are facilities designed to take those sentenced to prison or jail time with drug addictions and not only provide them with medical care, but also with preparation for their future lives. Should a person complete the program, their sentences are considered completed as well. When examining previously published modern literature with an emphasis on the comparison between the recidivism rates of the correctional system and Day Reporting Centers, it is clear that these rehabilitation facilities offer holistic care for inmates with many benefits as alternatives to incarceration, including suggested lowered rates of recidivism. Some regions have already begun to make a step towards the increased usage of alternatives to make a positive impact upon the community, including the state of Tennessee.
Publisher
East Tennessee State University
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bowers, Daniel R., "Addiction in the Prison System: Recidivism and Alternatives" (2025). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 828. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/828
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Anthropology Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Public Health Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
