Can criminals reform?

**Jenna** · 08-05-07, 02:24 PM

Have you ever seen serious (felony-committing) criminals turning their lives around and becoming law-abiding, productive citizens? If so, what do you think caused them to change?

**BigDawg** · 08-05-07, 02:51 PM

Yes I do think they can reform. I have seen some do it. But they have to want to do it, and not many of them do. Alot of them just arent willing to change their lives, friends, etc to change their ways. They arent willing to have a 9-5 type job for little money. But since approx. 80% of crime is committed by repeat offenders, then you take out the first time offenders from that (unknown percentage) then it shows that a small percentage do change their ways.

**jato** · 08-05-07, 05:55 PM

Have you ever seen serious (felony-committing) criminals turning their lives around and becoming law-abiding, productive citizens?

Yes.

If so, what do you think caused them to change?

Successfully kicking their addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex) seems to work most of the time. Most crime is connected to addictions. I guess it mostly comes down to pure willpower.

**mfranklin01** · 08-05-07, 06:00 PM

yes, as long as the person is trying to reform for the right reason i.e. changing for themselves and not to please other people. i have seen people that used another person as their support system to change and that works but the core reason to reform has to be because the person reforming wants to.

**gozling** · 08-05-07, 06:27 PM

i havent been on the job long enough i dont think...
but,
from what i have seen no.

i also dont get involved with caring or knowing.

**213th** · 08-05-07, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by gozling

i also dont get involved with caring or knowing.

I like that answer

**Lazy Fed** · 08-05-07, 07:47 PM

Yes people can do whatever they want............ With that being said

No most (99.9&#37

will not change because da man is repressive and holding them back, they love the game, insert any number of lame ass excuses for people not taking responsibility for their own actions and blaming everyone else.

**Deputy2400** · 08-05-07, 08:18 PM

If i do they are much much older...then i am thankful that i did not waste my life on stupidity!

**deputysykes** · 08-05-07, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by Jenna

Have you ever seen serious (felony-committing) criminals turning their lives around and becoming law-abiding, productive citizens? If so, what do you think caused them to change?

There are many people who made poor choices and realize what they did. Those who put themselves in those situations sometimes are mature enough to realize it and change.

On the otherhand there are criminals, like thieves, whose crimes prove their lack of respect for other people. Those are the types of convicts who, in my opinion, lose their right our trust for the rest of their lives.

All people earn respect at birth, however, people must earn trust throughout their life.

**jmur5074** · 08-05-07, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by gozling

i also dont get involved with caring or knowing.

+1

In addition to that, working in a town of 30,000 people, whether I care to know if someone has reformed or not...eventually I find out.

Because I stop dealing with said criminal. Either that, or said criminal has moved out of town.

So can they reform? maybe.

Have I seen it happen? I dunno...maybe they just moved from my city cuz they're tired of being hassled, and known to every police officer in town.

**sgtbear111** · 08-06-07, 01:35 AM

jato made a good point - addictions. To kick the addictions, the "frieinds" and the lifestyle has to go too. I know a man who was a heroin addict, drunk, robber, burglar, wife beater .... all around bar-room Rambo. After a stretch in prison that took him from his early 20's to mid 30's, he went for recovery and trying to rebuild his life. I first met him thru his PO.

It was tough for him to get out of the "convict" mindset and listen to what his "culture" considered a pile of crap. He didnt talk "sincere", he walked it, and that's the walk to success. He made it, has a nice family, a career, home. He's now a decent guy. I stopped him once after dusk for no lights on his camp trailer. I ran the plate so I knew who it was. He was tense and shaking, but as as I explained he recognized me. Everythiing else was OK, they were on a family trip to the Pacific coast. He relaxed and I sent him to the next town to fix the wiring. I later learned this was his first "stop" by LE since he left the "old" life...about 8 years clean and sober.

Gangs are the antithesis of reform. They support, reward and demand criminal behavior. Make an effort to get out and reform, you die. Gang leaders need to be isolated on a remote island, or hanged.

The other offenders that do not reform are the sociopath or psychopath, and the molester. Their freedom to act, to do unto others, is not limited by a conscience.

**lewisipso** · 08-06-07, 09:00 AM

Personally, no I have not seen a criminal change their lives. Much less become productive. Could they? Yes. I believe a person can change with the right environment and tools if they so desire. However, without the desire to change or fight a destructive lifestyle it is doubtful change will ever occur. Unfortunately we are creatures of learned behaviors and habit. A person committed to a learned behavior or habit can actually believe they are ok with said behavior or habit however self destructive or harmful to another it may be. Criminals are what they are for any number of reasons. Change can occur. The problem is will that person ever see the need to?

**Jenna** · 08-07-07, 09:54 AM

Thanks for your very insightful responses everyone. I tend to think that people are products of their environment, and therefore that criminals can be reformed just by changing their environment. But I don't actually know any serious criminals, much less reformed ones.

I'm glad to hear that even skeptical LEOs have seen cases of serious criminals reforming, though it seems to be rarer than I would like to believe.

**kjlaw** · 08-07-07, 12:28 PM

Can it Yes!

But the major problem is that even if someone wants to change most my kick the drugs while in jail. When they are released they move back to the same area and hang with the same group of low lifes that got them hooked and in trouble in the first place.

**tapout** · 08-08-07, 09:16 PM

depends on how you are defining a criminal

career criminals can not reform
a person who made a mistake or two, and got caught, can

to me there is a major difference