Introduction

Rehabilitation involves a gradual process, with reduced recidivism as a key measure. It

includes maintaining safety and order in prisons, enforcing discipline, and encouraging
participation. Upon admission, prisoners undergo programs overseen by Reception Boards,
and success leads to grade tests or certificates. Prisoners can connect with the outside
world through family visits, home release, letters, telephones, legal advice, and consular
representatives. Prison overcrowding, a social issue in social work, happens when prison
space demand surpasses capacity, resulting in poor healthcare, increased gang activity,
mental health issues, violence, racism, disease spread, and staff stress. In social work,
inmate rehabilitation aims to restore prisoners to health or normal life through training and
therapy during imprisonment. (Geegbe, Mbabazize et al., 2013)

Overcrowding in prisons not only hampers inmates' health and access to education but also
impedes their successful reintegration into the community. The strain on resources creates
a shortage of space for essential services, including education and rehabilitation programs,
affecting inmates' overall well-being. The challenges posed by overcrowding extend to
prison staff, jeopardizing their health and morale. Limited resources amplify security and
control difficulties, leading to heightened levels of conflict and violence within the prison
environment. In essence, prison overcrowding not only diminishes the effectiveness of
rehabilitation efforts but also poses significant risks to both inmates and staff members.
(MacDonald, M., Greifinger, R. & Kane, D. (2012)

The evidence suggests that rehabilitation can be beneficial for individuals with long-lasting
disabilities, regardless of the cause, stage of illness, or age. The success of rehabilitation
relies on a skilled multidisciplinary team following the biopsychosocial model and
collaborating on established goals. General interventions, such as exercise, task practice,
patient education, and psychosocial support, play a crucial role. However, the complexity of
rehabilitation requires a personalized approach, with interventions tailored to the specific
needs, goals, and preferences of each individual, while acknowledging the unpredictable
nature of outcomes. (Derick T. Wade 2020)
Theoretical framework

In this chapter, theory presented show theoretical foundation of the study. This study was
conducted on overcrowding in the county jail, a problem that needs to be explored concerning
the geographical influence and crime rates related to the locations in society. The theoretical
frameworks used in this study were the concentric zone model (Park, Burgess, & McKenzie)
and the social disorganization theory (Shaw & McKay, 1969). The social disorganization theory
helps in explaining the fact that the people belonging from low-earning areas mainly perform
more crime compared to high-class societies. The social disorganization theory was most
commonly used to explain crime rates; it can also be used to show why certain incidents occur
in specific areas. The social disorganization theory can be used to explain overcrowding
because crime rates are one of the reasons why correctional institutions are overcrowded. This
theory was developed based on some of the principles of the concentric zone models’ theory,
which states that low-income areas have higher crime rates.

Preventing overcrowding in prisons is a key initiative to rigorously battle the

problems and concerns for prisoner and staff health resulting from the impact
of living and working in overcrowded prisons. Such prevention measures can
include providing programmes to deal with drug addiction, improve education
and employment skills. Both the EU White Paper (2016) and the UNODC
(2013) recommendations to reduce prison overcrowding are broadly similar
and suggest improvements to the judicial systems to encourage efficiency,
develop fairer sentencing policies and promote through-care programmes to
increase social reintegration and reduce the “revolving door” effect. One
response to the challenge of preventing overcrowding is a European initiative
in the Netherlands and Norway. This uses an approach which delays
admission to prison of a convicted individual until there is “adequate space”
for them. In effect, there is a “waiting list” for admission to prison (Van zyl Smit
and Snacken, 2009).

Prison administrators, when faced with rising populations, find it harder to

adhere to or meet international standards and guidelines to ensure humane
conditions for prisoners. It also becomes harder to manage prisons effectively
as overcrowding puts pressure on resources, and reduces the space available
to provide educational and rehabilitative programmes. Working in
overcrowded prisons can impact negatively on staff morale, create control and
security concerns and can lead to increasing conflict and violence in the
prison environment.
Conceptual framework

Figure 1 Schematic Paradigm shows the illustration of the relationship

between independent and dependent variables, and out put of the study.