When Pam Thompson was released from prison, she couldn’t find housing. Landlords wouldn’t rent to her because of her conviction history. Employers, too, wouldn’t hire her.

“I just hit wall after wall,” she said. Eventually, she started taking more risks to make ends meet and ended up back in prison.

Thompson is far from alone. Many of the millions of people who leave jail or prison every year struggle to find a place to live and a job that enables them to provide for themselves and their families. Any involvement in the criminal legal system can lead to a web of barriers that makes it almost impossible for people to rebuild their lives.

The United States criminal legal system fails to break the cycle of crime or set people up to succeed. Research shows that, in 2012, about 71 percent of people exiting prison were rearrested within five years of release. And, of the estimated 5.6 million people sent to jail each year, at least 20 percent are jailed more than once in a given year.

Even people who have not been convicted of any crime can become trapped in this cycle. On any given day, more than 450,000 people are in jail because they are being detained pretrial. They are still legally innocent and awaiting their day in court, but many will stay in jail simply because they cannot afford to pay bail. Unable to buy their freedom, they, too, become trapped in the cycle of crime. In fact, research shows that detaining someone for even a day increases the likelihood that they will be arrested again.

The criminal legal system is meant to hold people accountable and uphold public safety. But our current approach, which relies on punishment to deliver accountability, has led to more crime. This approach is failing. This country’s overreliance on incarceration isn’t making our communities safer.

The lasting impact

A single arrest or conviction often has far-reaching and devastating consequences that impact people for the rest of their lives. People saddled with an arrest or conviction history often cannot find safe, stable, affordable housing, and a past conviction often makes it harder to secure a good job. People who have been incarcerated are close to 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than those who have not, and research suggests roughly 60 percent of formerly incarcerated people are jobless—both of which make them more likely to be rearrested.

Many people with arrest or conviction histories also lack access to health care, including mental health care and substance use treatment. They may lack resources to acquire basic goods, like food for themselves and their families. The challenges they face can and often do lead to further criminal legal system involvement.

In all these ways, the United States puts up barriers that serve only to perpetuate the cycle of crime. Denying people leaving prison access to housing, employment, and the care and services they need helps no one—especially since more than 95 percent of people in prison will eventually return to their communities.

A smarter approach to public safety

Incarceration will not solve homelessness, job and food insecurity, or unmet mental health and substance use treatment needs. Breaking the cycle of crime requires reducing the country’s reliance on incarceration and holding people accountable in ways that address the underlying issues that lead to criminalized behavior.

Diversion programs, which move people out of the traditional criminal legal system and enable them to remain in their communities, can promote long-term community safety and are far more cost-efficient than spending on prisons and jails.

Restorative justice approaches, which bring together people harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm, prioritize acknowledgment and healing over punishment. Not only do people harmed by crime often prefer alternatives to incarceration, like restorative justice programs, but the program participants who caused harm are also less likely to be rearrested than people prosecuted and sentenced in the traditional criminal legal system.

Bail reform can help ensure that people are not trapped behind bars, becoming more likely to experience rearrest simply because they cannot pay to get out.

Lastly, investing in housing is one of the most effective ways to stop the cycle of crime. Policymakers also need to ensure that people leaving prison have the skills to secure good jobs and that employers do not discriminate against people with arrest or conviction histories. And, to make our communities safe and stable, jurisdictions must provide mental health and substance use treatment services.

Investing in these solutions is key to breaking the cycle of crime and building stronger, safer communities for everyone.