Alternative to Incarceration

While previous research has sought to evaluate prisoners’ perceptions of various alternatives to imprisonment, most have centered on the prisoners perspective as to the perceived severity of the alternative punishment. This research is quite different, as the proposed alternative does not seek to punish but rather to rehabilitate. The proposed alternative argues that military enlistment be utilized as an alternative to incarceration we intend to determine if prisoners would welcome such an alternative. Researchers have identified a correlation between military service and desistance from crime among youths, many of whom have had delinquent pasts. This current project is intended to expand upon the life course perspective as the military can act as a “rehabilitative agent” which will act as a hook for change, thereby facilitating desistance from criminal behavior. In the current study, we argue that military service can facilitate social bonds, promote prosocial network contacts, and teach skills necessary for successful integration into the dominant society. Because of the benefits military service offers, it is hypothesized that prisoners will be receptive to such an alternative to incarceration. Through our interviews with prisoners at a minimum security facility in Kentucky, we discovered that indeed prisoners overwhelmingly would welcome such an alternative