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“The reformation or reclamation of the criminal does
not depend upon punishment…but upon the reestablishment
of the criminal’s self-respect.”
L. Ron Hubbard.
 Our
communities are today faced with ever-higher rates of incarceration
and recidivism. This dangerous combination forebodes growing
crime and violence unless something effective is done to change
our direction. With the guidance and support of ABLE, Criminon
International is working to accomplish that change in more than
1,400 prisons in 23 countries around the world.
All too frequently our children have grown up in gang, crime
and drug-ridden cultures, and sending them to prison only reinforces
the criminal behavior they learned on the streets. Criminon
programs, however, provide a way for people to change and become
productive, contributing adults. In other words, true rehabilitation
of criminals is not only possible, but happening.
Criminon helps offenders and at-risk individuals in a variety
of settings, ranging from on-site programs  delivered
by volunteers in juvenile halls to correspondence courses which
reach even into the new super-maximum security (“supermax”)
prisons. In all, approximately 7,000 offenders take Criminon
courses each week.
Whether delivered in person or through the mails, the Criminon
program consists of a series of courses which helps offenders
understand the impact of influences in their environment, of
the consequences of past choices and how to make better choices
in the future. The program contains courses dealing with interpersonal
issues such as negative influences and pressures which might
encourage reversion to crime, and issues such as the consequences
of drug use. But the key to the rehabilitation program and to
the individual’s regaining of a sense of personal self-worth,
is The Way to Happiness, a common-sense guide to better
living.
Offenders who study this non-religious moral code are then directed
to apply it. Whether in on-site programs or via the mails,  trained
Criminon volunteer supervisors assist the individuals to thoroughly
apply these materials, giving them a practical understanding
of right and wrong and the satisfactions of ethical or social
conduct—in some cases for the first time in their lives.
Through the progression of courses and drills in the program,
Criminon graduates change their lives for the better. Each discovers
or re-discovers his innate, positive character and learns to
live in harmony with his fellows. With such new perspectives,
they consistently, and on a self-motivated basis, elect to put
their past criminal behavior behind them and choose, upon their
freedom, to become productive members of society.
With 60 to 80 percent reductions in recidivism rates common
among Criminon graduates, the program is taking effective measures
to return to our communities not hardened criminals primed to
commit further anti-social acts, but truly rehabilitated men
and women who are able to contribute to the improvement and
productivity of society.
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“The success
of the programme so far has been remarkable and I am very
pleased with the results  obtained.
“Since the implementation of the programme the workload
of the juvenile court has dropped from 30 cases per month
to just two; the rest were successfully diverted away
from the criminal justice system.”
Chief Magistrate Moldenhauer
Pretoria Magistrate Court
South Africa
“Even though I’m in jail, for the first time
I feel totally free.  Before
I was in prison I was trafficking drugs and I had a false
personality. I had money and material things but I could
not go to the street without looking over my shoulder.
Now that I’m in jail I feel free. I owe this to the
technology that changed the conditions of my life. I’ll
go out with a different personality and feelings for others.”
A.S.
“Current methods employed by the prison  system
have been utterly ineffective—the upshot of which
is the currently high rate of recidivism. The rehabilitative
technology employed by Criminon represents the only truly
workable means to handle the increasingly burdensome criminal
populations.”
Robert F. Henderson,
Captain New York State Department of Correctional Services
“The Way to Happiness course definitely was an
integral and a much-needed part of my recovery.
It provided me with an opportunity to take a look at and
relearn some morals, principles and family values that
I had long ago suppressed and stopped applying to my life.
This course has been like a rebirth, my reintroduction
to a civilized, peaceful, law-abiding and productive way
of life.”
R.E. |
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