Criminon - Effective Solutions to Criminal Reform

Today violent crime casts a long shadow, generating fear and concern for one's self, one's children and one's friends and loved ones. This program addresses the “revolving door” of continued recidivism—a revolving door through which offenders are released from prison increasingly committed to a life of crime and through which they return to confinement with new offenses on their record. The Criminon program directly addresses this area by rehabilitating criminals and returning them to society as positive and contributive members.

The Criminon program accomplishes these goals through a series of carefully worked out courses that use life skill tools developed by author and humanitarian, L. Ron Hubbard. These courses give an offender training and skills to handle his or her life in positive ways. Moreover the Criminon materials, including the common sense guide to better living, The Way to Happiness, help an offender develop a new set of moral guidelines, ones which lead away from criminality and toward a social life, in harmony and co-motion with one's fellows.

There are three basic types of Criminon programs:

Correspondence Courses
In Correspondence Courses trained Criminon volunteers work through the mail to aid prison inmates to understand and apply the course materials.

On-site Programs
These programs are delivered in prisons by Criminon staff and volunteers, and often by offenders who have graduated from the Criminon programs themselves.

Community-based programs
These programs are operated in conjunction with probation and parole departments, court referral programs, schools and community organizations.

Ex-offender re-entry and mentoring programs
These programs help offenders regain their self-respect and personal integrity, enabling them to return to society as contributing, productive citizens.

With 60-80% reduction in recidivism rates common among program graduates, Criminon is creating safer communities. It accomplishes this by ensuring that those released from prison are not hardened offenders ready to commit new offenses, but rather rehabilitated men and women who are contributive and productive members of society.