BEHIND BARS AGAIN: A STUDY OF RECIDIVISM AMONG DRUG OFFENDERS IN TANAY, RIZAL
Keywords:
recidivism, repeat drug offenders, lived experiences, descriptive phenomenology, Colaizzi’s method, rehabilitation, coping mechanisms, social reintegration, BJMP, Tanay, RizalAbstract
Drug-related recidivism remains a continuing concern in the Philippine criminal justice system despite existing rehabilitation and reintegration programs. This study explored the lived experiences of repeat drug offenders detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Tanay, Rizal, focusing on their experiences of drug use, the challenges they met in rehabilitation programs, their coping mechanisms, and the social support and readiness for reintegration they perceived. A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was used. The participants were twenty (20) repeat drug offenders currently detained at BJMP Tanay, Rizal. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews using a validated, bilingual (English/Filipino) 25-question interview guide and were analyzed with Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method (significant statements, formulated meanings, theme clusters, exhaustive description, fundamental structure, and member checking). Bracketing was observed to minimize researcher bias and keep the analysis focused on the participants’ lived experiences. Repeated drug involvement was associated with interconnected personal, social, economic, psychological, family, and environmental experiences. Peer influence, financial difficulty, family problems, environmental and workplace exposure, psychological dependence, cravings, and emotional distress were prominent. Participants described personal determination, religious faith, family support, counseling, rehabilitation activities, self-reflection, and positive relationships as important coping mechanisms. In preparing for reintegration, they identified family and community support, employment and livelihood opportunities, skills development, spiritual growth, community acceptance, and continued rehabilitation and aftercare as important forms of support. Rehabilitation was experienced as a gradual process of personal change that should not end with custodial detention. The Enhanced Reintegration and Aftercare Support Program (ERASP) is proposed as a complementary intervention to strengthen existing rehabilitation, reintegration, and aftercare services through psychological recovery and relapse prevention, family reintegration, livelihood and employment assistance, values formation and spiritual development, community reintegration, and structured aftercare and community monitoring.
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