...following research paper we are going to discuss imprisonment. We are going to discuss why people are incarcerated as well as talk about different alternatives to imprisonment. We will then touch on benefits of each alternative as well as the negative aspects. Alternatives to Imprisonment 4 A look at why we imprison convicts- Imprisonment is defined as “putting someone in prison or in jail as a lawful punishment” (Imprisonment). Ever since the first prison opened in the United States in 1790, incarceration has been the center of the nation’s criminal justice system. The criminal justice...
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...What do you see as some of the advantages and disadvantages of the systems concept of corrections? There are many different ways to look at corrections as systems, to begin studies show that the systems are not very effective and this makes it hard for corrections to have a justified case when asking for money for, prisons, criminal justice policies and new ideas. Although over seven million Americans are now in the corrections system, it is still a misinterpreted field because prior to 1990 no Americans were exposed to corrections. Another disadvantage seen when analyzing corrections is the fact that building prisons doesn’t necessarily mean crime rates will be lowered; examples of this could be New York and Florida. While New York decreased their incarcerations by 16% their crime rate when down double that of Florida’s while the crime rates in the same period of time went up the same amount with a 16% higher incarceration rate. Some positives of the corrections system are that it is a broad and growing field in America and there are many jobs being created in the field. Another advantage to the system is that the field is full of new ideas on how to reduce crime rates while decreasing incarcerations therefore, saving money and lowering prison counts in the U.S. What does Lipsky mean by the term street-level-bureaucrat? Lipsky states that street-level-bureaucrats are social workers that provide higher quality treatment for their clients than what they can afford to. Meaning...
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...The United States is a country known to have highest incarceration rate throughout the world, with around 700 people per 100000 population and according to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), around 2.2 million adults were incarcerated in the US federal and state prisons, and county jails in 2013. The main reason is because of high-occurrence rate of criminal deviance happened. Based on the research, races and classes are two main factors caused criminal deviances. And based on the historical data, white and black arrested rate for murder and robbery are almost the same while white arrested by forcible rape and forgery more (Around 70%). But there’s a significance difference in population of race since the report of population in 2013 showed that 72.4% of population is white alone and only 12.6% of population is black alone, which means black race has the higher criminal rate. And among the violent crime in the US, the assaults stay the highest and murders stay the lowest throughout the history. Both rates per 100,000 population committed assault and robbery crimes varied a lot throughout the history and reached the peak in 1990’s and both rates of rape and murder stayed relatively the same throughout the history. With the high requirements and costs (Around $30,000 per inmate/year) of prisons to hold these inmates, the cash-strapped states start to give their prison operation industry to private prisons. The modern private prison business first emerged and established...
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...an individual's ability to function in society, giving them more options than simply sending an offender to prison. Probation is a system of "second chances" that simultaneously maintains monitoring mechanisms over would-be criminals. It provides individuals a chance to redeem themselves, but monitors their behavior and progress to prevent them from committing crimes again. Disadvantages of Probation Probation is generally considered a better alternative than jail (from the perspective of a convict and his family), but it still represents an incursion by the state into the lives of individuals. Millions of people are "in the system" under probation, a fact that has been criticized by sociologists, constitutional rights activists, civil rights leaders and others, who claim that ensnaring so many people in the criminal justice system is detrimental to both the individual and society. Other critics of probation may claim that it gives criminals too much leeway in letting them live freely when they should, in fact, be imprisoned. Advantages of Parole ,is the early release of convicts from prison, prior to the completion of their given sentence. Parole is issued based on good...
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...The history of community corrections shows that many changes have occurred in the criminal justice system regarding punishment of offenders. Shortly after the creation of the penitentiary community, many people came to the view that incarceration was not an appropriate response to address all offenders. As a response to this concern, community corrections such as probation and parole were developed and implemented by the criminal justice system (Travis 1998, p.308). The aim of this paper is to examine the issue of parole, which has been discussed prolong and many controversies related to it have arisen. The essay will explore the advantages and disadvantages of the existence of parole in the criminal justice system. Firstly, various community measures addressing offenders will be explored. Next, a definition of the concept of parole will be provided, followed by a discussion of its' aims and objectives. Next, the advantages and disadvantages of parole will be examined. Finally, the paper will address the issue whether parole is under or over utilised in Australia. The Queensland criminal justice system takes a utilitarian approach to crime, providing inmates with programs designed to help rehabilitate offenders for the long-term benefit of society. Queensland Correctional Services provides offenders with options that are aiming at their rehabilitation and successful reintegration back into society (Qld Department of Corrective Services 2004). These options seek to provide prisoners...
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...Andrew Knop Professor Hotfelder 11/26/2012 Intro to Criminal Justice Handling the Dilemma over Community vs Institutional Corrections It is the first day of break and Jimmy wants to have a good time with his friends. Long story short, Jimmy decided to drive home drunk and crashed into another car. The driver of the other car passed away.What kind of punishment should Jimmy receive? It seems fair for him to spend time in prison. Should he see probation after the jail time? How much? This scenario helps introduce the dilemma we have today as a society about institutional vs. community corrections. Punishment for crime has always been an issue for debate. With the growth of the American colonies, the colonists needed a system of punishment for lawbreakers. Many methods developed in Europe meant to bring shame to those offenders were adopted. Around this time, the world saw a change in punishment ideology; some began to stress that humans are not perfect and make mistakes. Thus, there should be more reform as well as punish. In 1682, William Penn made a push for change. He limited the death penalty to cases of murder only and called for fines and imprisonment for most offenses. This is widely considered the beginnings of the prison system in the U.S. He also helped start the creation of jails, like the High Street Jail. The first federal prisons were established in 1891. Before this date, prisons were organized by states and territories. The establishment...
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...This article points out the disparity in wealth and inequality of incarceration between whites and blacks with similar family characteristics and education. It also points out that poor white kids are less likely to go to prison than rich black kids. I feel that the whites started out with an enormous advantage over blacks because whites had a longer history of prosperity so a large percentage of whites tend to get more of their family inheritances. For instance, assets like houses are passed down from parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and they appreciate throughout the year. The blacks on the other hand had generations of discrimination, mass incarceration, and voracious finance. This have prevented the blacks from succeeding and disallowed them from building wealth for themselves and their families. They are treated unfairly when dealing with police officers, in the court system, applying for a house loan of any sort and in workplaces. For example, a white man receives a job offer over a black man with more qualification and educational background....
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...years. This paper aims to convey the positives and negatives of parole and in turn determine whether parole is under utilized or over utilized in Australia, or whether we have struck the right balance. Parole is defined as the "supervised conditional release of a prisoner before the expiration of his or her sentence." (Legal Terms Website, 2004). Parole is seen as a back end model of community corrections and is usually approved to a prisoner after they have completed the minimum, required time in prison set by a judge. However parole is only granted if the prisoner has behaved well in prison and cooperated with staff by abiding by set rules (Queensland Parole Orders Act, 1984). When a prisoner has completed the minimum time in incarceration of their sentence they are put before a parole board to plead their case. The parole board takes a number of things into consideration, such as their behavior and cooperation with in the prison and their likelihood to reoffend if let out on parole. The parole board may grant or deny a prisoner the freedom of parole. While on parole the inmate must cooperate with the rules and regulations placed upon him or her. And any deterrence from these rules means they will be sent back to prison to complete his or her entire sentence (White and Perrone, 2004). If granted parole the parolee is placed back into the community under supervision from a parole officer who is there to provide help and support to the offender. The parole officer...
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...Doniesha Robinson November 10, 2015 In this paper, I will attempt to define and discuss plea bargaining, distinguish between charge bargaining and sentence bargaining, compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining, and last but not least describe how plea bargaining reflects or thwarts the crime control and due process models of criminal justice. Define plea bargaining A plea bargain is defined as any form of agreement in a criminal case that is between the prosecutor and defendant and the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a certain charge in return for some reduction from the prosecutor. This can generally mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a charge that is not as serious of what they’re being charged with, or to one of many charges in order to have other charges dismissed from their case; or it could also mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal offense in return for a lighter sentence. Plea bargains allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge. For example, in the legal system in the United States, a criminal suspect charged with a felony theft charge, the conviction of which would require incarceration in a state facility may be offered the chance to plead guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge which may not carry a sentence but be placed on probation. Distinguish between charge bargaining and sentence...
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...prison. The principal goal of a penitentiary was for the offender to think about what they have done in isolation with no other prisoner contact. The American prison system was divided amongst two different types: Eastern State and Auburn. Both prisons were run in very different manors and my intentions are to explain each prison and the goals that they had in mind. The penitentiary was designed to be a place where punishment would be given in a humane way to people who had committed a crime. People who were incarcerated could receive rehabilitation as well as gain spiritual improvement while serving their sentence. The prisons should be a place where an individual would do their time as well as reflect on the events that led them to incarceration and make a choice to change their life around. Prisons were not made to be a comfortable living space so punishments and confinement should be expected. The state can respond to crime in a number of ways; together, the responses of the criminal justice system constitute one set of possible actions. The American Prison Association changed its name to American Correctional Association. The name change reflected the growing role of probation, parole, and other non-institutional methods of supervising and helping...
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...prison. The principal goal of a penitentiary was for the offender to think about what they have done in isolation with no other prisoner contact. The American prison system was divided amongst two different types: Eastern State and Auburn. Both prisons were run in very different manors and my intentions are to explain each prison and the goals that they had in mind. The penitentiary was designed to be a place where punishment would be given in a humane way to people who had committed a crime. People who were incarcerated could receive rehabilitation as well as gain spiritual improvement while serving their sentence. The prisons should be a place where an individual would do their time as well as reflect on the events that led them to incarceration and make a choice to change their life around. Prisons were not made to be a comfortable living space so punishments and confinement should be expected. The state can respond to crime in a number of ways; together, the responses of the criminal justice system constitute one set of possible actions. The American Prison Association changed its name to American Correctional Association. The name change reflected the growing role of probation, parole, and other non-institutional methods of supervising and helping...
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...Abstract This essay will focus on the application of Correctional Theory and the effective assessment of the correctional institutions. Criminal Justice System Introduction To comprehend the definition of corrections a person must examine the reasons of correctional punishments in addition to discovering how criminals have been punished during the course of history. Correctional theories distinguish the rationale for what the correctional system should be and how it should be applied (highered.mcgraw-hill.com, 2005). Theories of Correction Theories of corrections consist of three factors. First, there’s the objective or purpose of corrections. These have a tendency to highlight both restraining the offenders and restructuring the lives of the offenders (Cullen, Jonson, 2012). Secondly, each theory has an unreserved or obvious outline of exactly how the correctional system should be organized, together with policies, practices, and organizational structure. Theories also generate opposition for the reason that everyone requires that the correctional system be structured in a different way. Third, theories make a claim of effectiveness. Supporters declare not only that a theory’s goal is moral but that their theory can also be executed successfully (Cullen, Jonson, 2012). Main Theories of Corrections Incapacitation Deterrence Rehabilitation Community Restraints Structure, Discipline and Challenge ...
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...For many of us watching the evening news can be depressing with the number of shootings, killings, robberies, etc. that we are bombarded with every evening. A lot of minorities feel that the media only seem to fuel public opinion that crimes are mainly committed by minorities which mean that an increase in immigrants means an increase in crime. Do native born Americans have a viable concern with immigration and an increase in crime or is this just a way for the media, politicians, and anti-immigration groups to spread their opinions and fears on immigration? If there is a correlation between crime and immigration how will this play a role in today’s prison system? An overwhelming amount of native born Americans believe that the influx of immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, will have a negative effect on the crime rate in the United States. Of course, in an absolute sense, it probably does. Immigration brings more people into the country, and unless this process is counterbalanced by emigration, the absolute volume of crime will very likely increase. In addition, immigrants are often disproportionately male and at early ages of labor market entry and advancement. Because young males are disproportionately likely to be involved in crime in all parts of the world that we know about (Hirschi and Gottfredson, 1983), this may also contribute to increases in crime. In this sense we will probably want to know whether immigrants who enter the country contribute to crime...
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...The advantages and disadvantages of state vs. private prisons The advantages and disadvantages of state vs. private prisons In both state and private prisons, it is important to keep in mind that while the prisoners are being punished, they should be treated as human beings. The treatment of prisoners is just one of the issues when dealing with both types of prisons. There are many differences and similarities in state versus private prisons. These factors result from more than just funding issues; there are several factors to look at when studying each type. The main points that many people argue about are funding, privileges, and conditions or treatment. Not one of these factors is more important than the other. Financing for private corrections facility varies from state to state and from facility to facility. Georgia private prisons may be funded differently than a private prison in Florida. However there are two main forms of financing the capital cost earned during the construction of private correction facilities. The first option is that the corporation undertakes the construction of the private correction facility without the assistance of the public and rents the services to contracting jurisdictions. The other choice is that the facility may have the jurisdiction issue bonds to finance the development of the private facility. Private prison operators depend on cooperation from elected officials who are willing to continue funding experimentation with...
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...Prison Term Policy Recommendation Proposal Throughout criminal justice, laws have been modified for the purpose of ensuring the protection of the citizens of the United States of America. A person who commits a crime will receive punishment and will be prosecuted under the court of law. Prison policies have been written to assist the court in sentences according to a specific crime. The policies are usually to keep criminals in prison, and to deter further criminal activities. Those convicted of a crime may face a longer sentence than a person who is currently serving time for the same crime because of the changes to prison policies. Therefore, the prison policy of convicted armed robbery is under review and must be voted on, which voting for bill to pass can sometimes have mix reviews. Robbery occurs when property from a person, place, or bank is taken by force. Armed robbery is using a type of weapon to take possession of something, which results as more of a serious crime than robbery. According to "Armed Robbery Charges" (2010), “Armed robbery is the taking of said property, but with the use of a firearm or other taking of said property, but with the use of a firearm or other weapon. Just by including a weapon in a particular robbery crime, a robbery can be viewed with a lot more seriousness” (Para. 2). Even if the person who committed the robbery mentions a weapon or uses a fake weapon can still be charged as committing armed robbery, and the crime is considered...
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