NCJ Number
133719
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 53 Issue: 7 Dated: (December 1991) Pages: 112,114-117
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Representatives of Maharishi Consultants International (MCI) claim that Transcendental Meditation (TM) can promote lower recidivism rates and reduce prison populations in the U.S. TM is a self-development technique in which practitioners utilize a special mental procedure that produces a deeply relaxed, yet fully alert state.
Abstract
According to MCI, TM has been taught to 2,700 inmates and more than 250 correctional officers in 28 facilities throughout the country. In California, where 950 inmates learned the technique, there was a 35-percent decrease in recidivism 5 years after the participating inmates were paroled. Many correctional officers and inmates have praised the positive outcomes of TM in terms of stress reduction, elimination of prison violence, and lowered recidivism rates. Most prison officials, however, maintain that TM must be integrated with other types of treatment programs.