Reducing recidivism rate: A comparative study of Nigeria and China‟s prison system
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Date
2021-12-01
Authors
Banwo, A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journal of Social Issues, A Publication of the Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5099, South Africa
Abstract
This study examined the two prison systems of two different countries, Nigeria and China with
the aim of identifying the rates of recidivism among them. One of the goals of any criminal
justice system is to rehabilitate criminals and turn them into responsible citizens that can be
reintegrated into the society. A sound criminal justice system aims to end crime not the lives of
the citizens that committed the crimes. Data for this research work were obtained through critical
case sampling and content analysis was used to study this work. Certain factors such as
prisoners, criminal justice system, recidivism and crimes were selected for this study. It adopted
the Person in Environment perspective and the Systems Theory as its theoretical framework. It
depicted that the environment has an impact on the behaviour of people and that there were
certain systems that interact to influence the conduct of humans. This study observed that the
Chinese government has implemented effective correctional programmes and policies for
prisoners to get accepted in the society while the Nigerian government has failed to design and
implement policies and programmes aimed at reducing the rate of recidivism. It argued that
China takes care of the rights of prisoners while in Nigeria prisoners‟ rights are alienated with
inappropriate prisons conditions. This study recommended that prisons should facilitate
prisoners‟ employment and skills development which can assist them to deviate from their
offensive acts. It concluded that improved prisoners‟ conditions through education, training, skill
development, and restoration of rights are of great necessity for prisoners while undergoing
rehabilitation.
Description
Scholarly article
Keywords
Prisoners , Criminal Justice System , Recidivism , Crimes , Nigeria , China , Research Subject Categories::HUMANITIES and RELIGION::Languages and linguistics
Citation
Banwo, A.O. (2021). Reducing recidivism rate: A comparative study of Nigeria and China‟s prison system. African Journal of Social Issues, 4(1):1-21