41 Lawyers And Cops Reveal The Dumbest Things People Have Done To Try To Cover Up Their Crimes

Whether you and the society you are in believe that criminals should be punished or rehabilitated affects how your overall justice system functions. What the function of prisons is, what to do with criminals, and how the damage they’ve done to society should be restored are all difficult questions that say a lot about your sense of ethics and morality.

There’s an argument to be made for restorative justice, where the criminal justice system encourages the restoration of relationships among the offenders, victims, and communities. However, there’s a question here whether the state should (or even could) force an individual to atone for their crimes.

According to the American Psychological Association, until the mid-1970s, the idea of prisoner rehabilitation was a key part of the prison policy in the United States.

“Prisoners were encouraged to develop occupational skills and to resolve psychological problems--such as substance [misuse] or aggression--that might interfere with their reintegration into society. Indeed, many inmates received court sentences that mandated treatment for such problems.”

However, things soon drastically changed.

In the US, the system’s stance toward criminals then took a more punitive turn, with less focus on rehabilitation. In other words, there was a switch towards a “get tough on crime” philosophy, where prisons were seen as a place to punish the incarcerated.

The result, according to the APA, was a huge growth in the prison population. And yet, the effect on crime rates was modest.

“As a result, the United States now has more than 2 million people in prisons or jails--the equivalent of one in every 142 U.S. residents--and another four to five million people on probation or parole. A higher percentage of the population is involved in the criminal justice system in the United States than in any other developed country,” the APA reports.

As per the US Department of Justice, an estimated 15% to 20% of people in prison are mentally ill.

"Prisons have really become, in many ways, the de facto mental health hospitals. But prisons weren't built to deal with mentally ill people; they were built to deal with criminals doing time,” noted former prison psychologist Thomas Fagan, PhD.

Meanwhile, Robert Morgan, PhD, a psychologist at Texas Tech University, explains that psychologists struggle to implement special programs for prisoners to transition back into society, alongside their regular prison caseloads.

“We're focused so much on the basic mental health services that there's not enough time or emphasis to devote to rehabilitative services.” There’s a lack of resources and too few mental health professionals in most prisons.

What’s more, there’s a fundamental tension between psychology, which is rehabilitative, and corrections, which is much more oriented toward punishment.

“Right now there's such a focus on punishment--most criminal justice or correctional systems are punitive in nature--that it's hard to develop effective rehabilitative programs,” Morgan explained.

What do you think? Have you ever witnessed someone covering up their crimes, only for everything to backfire in an even worse way? If you’ve ever worked as a lawyer or in law enforcement, what are some of the worst, most bizarre criminal behaviors you’ve seen?

What do you personally believe criminals can do to make genuine amends? Is everyone capable of repenting for their crimes?

If you feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and experiences, you can do so in the comments at the very bottom of this post.