Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2016

Journal Title

Urban Lawyer

ISBN

0042-0905

Abstract

Part I of this Article begins with a brief historical explanation of halfway houses as a model of criminal rehabilitation. Part II addresses why recidivism rates provide the most appropriate metric gauging halfway houses' success and how they apparently have failed to improve recidivism rates. Part III then delves into the body of scholarship that explains how an individual's likelihood of landing back behind bars is to some extent demonstrably tied to their location, meaning their surrounding cultural, economic, and criminogenic environment. Part IV discusses the sparse data on the sorts of neighborhoods where halfway houses ultimately end up and how local opposition typically relegates these facilities to disadvantaged neighborhoods. Finally, Part V wraps up the Article by calling on lawmakers to take steps to give corrections agencies the zoning exemptions they need to put halfway houses in neighborhoods more conducive to criminal rehabilitation--with or without, though optimally with, local blessings.

First Page

329

Last Page

363

Num Pages

35

Issue Number

2

Publisher

American Bar Association

FIle Type

PDF

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