SOCIAL REINTEGRATION: CONCEPT, IMPORTANCE AND POLICIES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Social reintegration is a concept that is used to define the set of systematic actions that are carried out to re-include in society an individual who for some reason has been marginalized from it.

Although the term is generally used for the cases of people who were deprived of their liberty for breaking the law, it can also be applied to initiatives carried out to integrate foreigners, victims of traumatic or violent events, addicts and the mentally ill. among others.

Social reintegration seeks to favor the integration into society of the marginalized and the condemned. Source: pixabay.com

The idea of ​​social reintegration is present in those communities that see themselves as entities that offer help and containment to their members. Its objective is to ensure that individuals who are outside the system can re-enter.

To this end, specific programs are usually developed that include therapeutic and psychological support, education, vocational training, sports and physical exercise, access to cultural activities, health and care, and promotion of social relationships.

In the case of people convicted of violating the rules, the reintegration process begins during the period of serving the sentences and continues when they regain their freedom.

Its purpose is to reduce the chances of recidivism and achieve a readjustment in society so that they do not commit another crime.

Social reintegration concept

The concept of social reintegration is first made up of the word “reinsertion”, which comes from the Latin “reinsertare” and means to reinsert.

From the etymological point of view, this term is formed by the repetition prefix “re” and the verb “insertare”, in the sense of “introduce”. It refers to the act or action of placing someone back in a place from which they had left voluntarily or involuntarily.

For its part, the adjective "social" refers to a society, understood as the set of individuals who share a culture and history and live under the same rules.

This word comes from the Latin “socialis”, which can be translated as “belonging to the community of people”. It is composed of the terms "socius", which means "partner", and the suffix "-al", synonymous with "relative to".

The concept of social reintegration is based on the idea that a person's wrong behaviors are the consequence of a failure in the socialization process. Therefore, the system opens the possibility for a new integration, through re-education and rehabilitation.

On the contrary, the death penalty and life imprisonment are opposite notions, since they imply the impossibility of readjustment to the community.

Importance of social reintegration

Already in Ancient Greece, the philosopher Socrates (470 BC - id. 399 BC) argued that no one acted deliberately wrong, but did so out of ignorance. He believed that, to practice good, you first had to know it.

The same was the opinion of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), one of the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment, who explained that man was good by nature, but was forced to err by a society that corrupted him.

For her part, the Spanish poet and essayist Concepción Arenal (1820-1893) affirmed that it was necessary to hate crime but pity the criminal and that, by opening schools, prisons would be closed.

Today the idea that social reintegration is possible, mainly through education, is present in most communities.

In addition to offering a new opportunity to the marginalized, specialists assure that these programs are also one of the most effective and efficient ways to reduce crime.

This is so since, by correcting the conduct of the convicted, recidivism is avoided.

Social reintegration in Mexico, Colombia and Chile

Resocialization must be the purpose of prison treatment. Source: pixabay.com

Mexico

In Mexico, social reintegration is provided for in article 18 of the General Constitution of the Republic. There it is stated that “the prison system will be organized on the basis of respect for human rights, work, training, education, health and sports as means to achieve the reintegration of the sentenced person into society and ensure that he does not return to commit a crime ”.

Meanwhile, the 2016 National Criminal Enforcement Law establishes the development of a comprehensive reintegration system and continuous support for convicts and their families, which continues after their release.

Colombia

In Colombia, article 4 of the Penal Code -Law 599- states that the sanctions will fulfill “the functions of social reintegration and protection of the convicted person”.

In turn, the Council of State, in its judgment of October 12, 1993, emphasizes that it must seek the “readaptation of the defendant to social and community life, so as to correct the failures that led him to commit the crime and he can return to society when he is recovered ”.

For its part, the Constitutional Court, in its judgment No. C-549/94, conceives that resocialization is the purpose of prison treatment “through discipline, work, study, spiritual formation, culture, sport and recreation, under a human and supportive spirit ”.

Chile

Meanwhile, in Chile, Decree Law No. 2,859 of 1979 establishes that the gendarmerie is responsible for assisting, monitoring and contributing to the social reintegration of persons who are detained or deprived of liberty.

Within this body, it designates the Technical Sub-Directorate as in charge of developing institutional programs and projects for this purpose, ensuring the permanent improvement of the penitentiary regime.

In addition, with the objective of making social reintegration possible, Decree Law No. 409 allows convicted persons to eliminate their criminal records for all legal and administrative purposes, after two years of having served their first sentence.

In the same way, Decree No. 518 regulates acting in prisons and the way in which this rehabilitation will be carried out. In this regard, it establishes various exit permits, conceived as benefits that are granted within the framework of a progressive system of sentence compliance.

In turn, Decree No. 943 specifically structures the way in which the gendarmerie must carry out the labor development of the people under its control, for which education and work centers were created.

Finally, social reintegration is one of the fundamental rights that Mexico, Colombia and Chile must respect for having ratified the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

References

1. United Nations Office on drugs and crime. Introductory handbook on the prevention of recidivism and the social reintegration of offenders. Criminal justice handbook series. United Nations.
2. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States. Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty and for the Prevention and Combat of Torture. Available at: oas.org
3. Ministry of Justice of Chile. Social reintegration. Available at: reinsercionsocial.gob.cl
4. Gonzales Martínez, Lina María (2010). Social reintegration, a psychological approach. Law and Reality. Number 16,. Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, UPTC.
5. Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. Available at: Ordenjuridico.gob.mx