The Self-Respect Module improves an offender’s self-esteem and self-respect. By using a unique system designed to help improve their cognitive and behavioral skills, the offender is able to resolve past conditions and using that understanding make decisions with more optimum behavior patterns for the future.

It has been found that the point a person becomes criminal in his thinking and actions is the point they do something that results in their loss of self-respect. At that point they then begin to lose their self-control, their responsibility for their own actions drops, they no longer trust themselves and this results in more and more criminal behavior.

This module gives the offender additional tools to help him create a future for himself, as without the certainty a person can create a future for himself, he has nothing more to lose by being criminal.

This module assists the offender by further developing cognitive and behavioral skills as well as improving his skills in creating interpersonal relationships. He learns the importance of personal responsibility, develop skills in relationship building and anger management.

The long-term effect of the therapeutic community environment further gives the offender the opportunity to practice and strengthen the skills he learns from the rigorous participation in the classroom.

The pilot for this program was established in 1995 in the Ensenada State Prison, which housed over 1000 inmates. The first six months of the pilot had an average of 40 inmates in the program. The program was gradually expanded so that by June 2000, over 500 inmates was simultaneously receiving treatment. At the end of the pilot almost 1,000 of the inmates were participating daily in the program.

Initially, in 1995, approximately 90% of the inmates in the Ensenada prison population were using heroin. Except for a very small maximum-security area and a small women's section, all of the inmates had complete access to the entire prison for 10 hours a day. This made it impossible to completely segregate those participating in the pilot.

Baja has had a history of severe violence in its prisons when attempts were made to reduce drug consumption through increased security and drug enforcement means. For this reason a different method to reduce drug usage inside the prison was needed. This was important in order to reduce the peripheral impact of those outside the program on those participating. A method using vitamin and mineral supplementation was used prison-wide to reduce the demand by the drug consumers. Gradually over a period of months, by reducing the demand, security was gradually increased and the majority of the prison was detoxed from heroin usage. This method, along with the application of the four rehabilitation modules, has dramatically decreased the violence as well.

By the end of 2001, nearly 3,000 had participated in part or all of the four modules. In that time period, over 3,500 had participated in the initial vitamin and mineral regimen.

Approximately 80% of offenders have used drugs prior to incarceration. By the time most offenders in the US reach prison, they have been detoxed. In Mexico however this was not the case. This required SCP to provide a short-term detox lasting at most a week. A regimen of vitamins and minerals were used in this non-medical detox.

For all those with a prior history of substance abuse, the next step is an effective method of cognitive behavioral therapy in a manualized program of peer supported exercises designed to help improve basic communication skills, raise responsibility and improve interpersonal and socialization skills.

This is followed by a long-term detoxification regimen using nutrition, exercise and a low-temperature sauna.

It is recognized that many offenders have learning deficiencies that have contributed to their poor judgment in problem solving. In the Education Module if the offender does not read at least at an 8th Grade level, a remedial reading step is done. Once at that level the offenders learn effective tools to help them recognize and overcome the barriers they have to not only learning but applying what he learns.

The Self-Respect Module improves an offender’s self-esteem and self-respect. By using a unique system designed to help improve their cognitive and behavioral skills, the offender is able to resolve past conditions and using that understanding make decisions with more optimum behavior patterns for the future.

It has been found that the point a person becomes criminal in his thinking and actions is the point they do something that results in their loss of self-respect. At that point they then begin to lose their self-control, their responsibility for their own actions drops, they no longer trust themselves and this results in more and more criminal behavior.