Israel, a prisoners' paradise
Remember this description of an Israeli prison for 'Palestinian' terrorists? BRITAIN made a robust defence yesterday of its decision to pull out of Jericho prison before an Israeli raid, citing fears that its monitors would be kidnapped, and painting a portrait of a jail controlled by inmates living in luxury.Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Sort of.
Palestinian guards confirmed yesterday that Ahmed Saadat, a leading militant captured by Israeli troops in the raid, kept birds and flowers in his quarters. Western officials said that Saadat in effect used other prisoners as “domestic staff”.
An official told The Times that Fuad Shobaki, the alleged moneyman behind a 2002 weapons shipment intercepted by Israel, smoked up to five Cuban cigars a day and was known as “The Brigadier” to inmates and staff. He was also seized.
“Saadat and Shobaki were very much in charge,” one prison source said. “These guys were running the prison. They did what they wanted, when they wanted.”
Almost 18,000 prisoners fill the Israel Prison Service’s 32 correctional facilities, with more than two-thirds of convictions related to drug or property crimes. Jews and Israeli-Arabs are housed in the same facilities, and sometimes share a cell as roommates. Israel has its fair share of white-collar crime and auto theft, but national rates for homicide, rape and other violent crimes are lower than in most developed countries.Read the whole thing. It really does sound like a paradise, except that they ignored the remaining 'Palestinian' terrorists, who have a much higher recidivism rate.
The hour-long Lockup episode features visits to three Israeli prisons: Rimonim, Israel’s largest maximum-security prison; Neve Tirza, the only facility for women, and Hermon, known as “the largest therapeutic community in Israel.” Lockup field producers interview inmates and staff at each prison with an eye toward explaining why Israel’s recidivism — repeat-offender — rates are among the lowest in the world.
Not only does Israel maintain fewer prisoners per capita than most Western countries, but released inmates achieve high levels of reintegration into society. Recidivism rates in the US and Europe hover at 75%, with rates in Israel as much as 20% lower. Israeli prisons themselves are less crowded than in most countries, in part due to the release of thousands of Palestinian “security” prisoners in recent years.
A thread running through Lockup’s Israeli prison interviews is the ability of education, skills-development and job placement to prevent repeat offenses.
Labels: Israeli prisons
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:24 PM
1 Comments:
So, if the recidivism "rates in Israel as much as 20% lower" is an amalgam of Jewish and much higher Arab rates, wouldn't that logically mean that recidivism rates among Jewish Israelis are AT LEAST 20% lower?
And, if that's the case, doesn't it then bring up questions of important cultural differences between Jews and Arabs?
Funny this thread is up now. I just happened to watch that cable program earlier about the three major Israeli prisons. (Pretty rare that I watch leftard MSNBC but I was surfing the cable guide and it struck my curiosity.)
For reasons of easier prisoner management and improved security, the Prison Service mostly groups prisoners ethnically. It tends to more stability, less conflict. Interviews of Arab prisoners brought out that in their groups there were "alpha leaders" who reinforced traditional Arab, Bedouin values, among which is not questioning elders and unquestioningly going along with their traditional values. A prisoner also stated that any Arab prisoner deviating, not going along with the traditional whatever would be "punished". When asked what "punished" meant, he admitted it meant a beating. Maybe that explains their significantly higher recidivism rates.
BTW, I was a bit offended by these prisoners' conditions. They were a lot nicer than some US military barracks I lived in, plus nicer than many college dorms. Gyms, nice kitchens, pleasant furnishings and environment. The prisoners are allowed to bring a large duffle bag of personal stuff with them when they're incarcerated. What those terrorist and Arab criminal gang prisoners need is something like a US Supermax prison. Prisons are supposed to be unpleasant, strict discipline places where you go straight because you don't ever want to go back there after you get out.
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