...The Alternative Sentencing Policies and Solutions This comprehensive analysis describes the different possible alternative solutions for women, and juvenile offenders. The Bureau of Justice Grant programs developed incentives for other programs to decrease the overcrowded conditions for most state and federal prisons. These grant programs provided the information and incentives for state governments to expand, build, and adapt closed military bases as extension of the federal penal prison system. This initiative encouraged local and state courts to implement truth-in-sentencing and alternative sentencing concepts to lessen the burden of overcrowded prison systems. The grants divided in half for building prisons to increase the bed space for violent offenders, and the other half for alternative solutions to incarceration. The incentive funds used for more alternative solutions; prison islands, or barges, or closed military bases. Sentencing Drug Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported four to one ratio of prisoners showed under the influence of drugs, or alcohol while committing the current crime, or at the time of the violation (Langan, P, & Levin, D, 2002). The BJS showed detailed statistics report of 400; 000 people arrested for drugs, or drug-related offenses; 70% sent to state prisons, 40% drug-related offenses, 32% alcohol-related offenses, and 20% other violent crimes. The survey researched by the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the (BJS) report...
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...Alternative Solution Proposal Manuel Velez CJA/385 February 11, 2016 Jill Spriggs Alternative Solution Proposal There are hundreds of criminal justice policies floating around. There are even policies covering policies. Policies could be covering laws that are in place or rules and regulations of the criminal justice agency. Some policies are put into place after too many incidents have occurred. Some policies protect victims, witnesses, subjects, and the officers that enforce them. Not every criminal justice policy becomes a strong policy out of the gate. A lot of them were created as some alternative solution and then gradually made its way to becoming a policy. This paper will take a peek at the California’s three-strike law. In 1993, the first three-strikes policy was adopted through a ballot initiative, and it was until 1997 that the policy was enacted. Since then approximately half of the country and the federal court system have adopted this policy. Since a lot of offenders are repeat offenders, the three-strikes law is based on an increase in sentencing severity as to reduce recidivism through incapacitation and deterrence. The idea is that the most unreformed criminals deserve the most punishing of sentences. Each of state that...
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...this world causing prison facilities to overcrowd. In turn, this costs the government a significant amount of money to keep these prisoners maintained. One of the main reasons for why many prisons have become so overcrowded is because of many state laws and many parole practices. The need for an alternative route for prisoners has grown immensely. Some examples of alternative routes include parole, community service, and house arrest. Alternatives can reduce the amount of criminals in a prison facility and can help the community tremendously. The use of alternatives can not only help us as citizens, but also give prisoners another way of life. Prison systems should help society and resolve the prison from overcrowding by considering alternatives that currently exist and by considering newly proposed ideas. Prison Growth There are crimes being committed everyday and there is nothing to do to keep those crimes from being committed those crimes. As there are more crimes being committed, this means there are more and more criminals being caught by police officials. Then, those criminals are booked into a facility where they cannot commit those crimes again for the period of their sentencing. As more and more criminals are being caught, this causes prison facilities to overgrow in the number of people being held there. "The Home Office estimates that the average offender commits 140 [offences] in a year" (Whelan). [pic] Source: International Centre for Prison Studies, University...
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...plays a major part in how we live and how we continue to live among all the dangers, evil and corruption that surrounds us. Without it there wouldn`t be the fine line of right and wrong, there wouldn`t be justice. Those that are considered victims in our criminal justice would turn and become the aggressors and the criminals if we didn`t have a Legal System, and we would live in a world of chaos. Many individuals each have a role to play in our Criminal Justice System; there are the criminal and the victims who create the unfortunate events to which justice has to be served and then there are the defense attorneys and the prosecutors who do their best to upload the justice system and make sure that justice is served. What are the goals of sentencing associated? A defense attorney is a hired contractor, charged with representing individuals or entities in criminal or civil matter. People and organization facing criminal charges or being sued civilly hire a defense attorney to ensure their legal rights are properly protected and guide them through the legal counsel, is ethically and professionally required to watch over only the interest of his clients, within the boundaries of the law. He is legally and morally considered an “officer of the court,” and is required to refrain from lying or misrepresenting the facts of the case. Being charged with a crime or sued civilly is often the most distressing situation a person will face. Defense attorneys must be adept at dealing with...
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...Failure to address these special considerations perpetuates cycles of inequality and undermines the goals of justice and rehabilitation within the U.S. criminal justice system. Potential Solution or Strategy One potential solution to address the disproportionate representation and inequities faced by minority populations within the criminal justice system is the implementation of community-based diversion programs. These programs aim to divert individuals from traditional criminal justice processing and towards community-based interventions and support services. Community-based diversion programs can help mitigate racial disparities within the criminal justice system by providing alternatives to incarceration that are more equitable and responsive to the needs of minority populations. By promoting fairness and reducing the reliance on punitive measures, these programs contribute to a more just and inclusive criminal justice...
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...condition. For many homeless people, their day is consumed with a search for food, clothing and shelter. Most homeless persons are not in a position to fight the procedural or substantive issues a case presents. The homeless are aware that the court also requires a decent appearance. Not wanting to make a bad first impression, a homeless person with poor hygiene or without a place to store belongings may choose not to appear in court at all. Many homeless people are reluctant to attend court given the uncertainty of court proceedings and the threat of custody. Unresolved legal issues can ultimately preclude homeless people from accessing desperately needed services such as employment, housing, public assistance and treatment programs. The Solution: Homeless courts are special court sessions for homeless defendants to resolve outstanding misdemeanor offenses and warrants. Several jurisdictions in California have instituted Homeless Court Programs, including Contra Costa County, Alameda County, and Santa Clara County. San Diego County began the first homeless court program in the country in 1989. Homeless court programs reduce court and jail costs, build community collaboration, improve access to court, and assist homeless people in accessing vital services and jobs. Access to court for people who are homeless is improved by bringing the court to the community. Court sessions are held at local shelters or agencies that serve this population. Many of the homeless have received multiple...
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...Juvenile Sentencing Alternatives to Incarceration David Schuster Oakland Community College Abstract There are many different ways to punish a juvenile for a crime that they have committed. The most common is incarceration, otherwise known as jail or prison. This option has many disadvantages. I will explore the different aspects of incarceration: how it affects the juveniles, and if, over all, it is an effective way to punish young criminals. I will then present several alternatives to incarceration, now being used, such as: community diversion, counseling, education, behavior management, probation, as well as other methods that not only punish the juvenile, but also provide an opportunity for rehabilitation. For this paper, when talking about incarceration and community alternatives as sentencing options, I intend for them to be applied to the not as serious juvenile crimes. Status offenses, minor in possession, breaking and entering, and minor burglary charges would fall into this category. However, I think for more serious, violent crimes there is less discretion as to punishment options, and therefore most community alternatives may not apply to them. Keywords: Incarceration, community alternatives, juvenile delinquents Juvenile Sentencing Alternatives to Incarceration Incarceration for juveniles in this country is largely based upon our criminal justice system for adults. As Jeffery Fagen (2010) states in his article, there are many similarities between...
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...Justice Policy I N S T I T U T E Treatment or Incarceration? Treatment or Incarceration? National and State Findings on the Efficacy and Cost Savings of Drug Treatment Versus Imprisonment by Doug McVay, Vincent Schiraldi, and Jason Ziedenberg January 2004 Justice Policy Institute 4455 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite B-500 Washington, DC 20008 v 202.363.7847 f 202.363.8677 www.justicepolicy.org POLICY REPORT J u s t i c e P o l i c y I n s t i t u t e Table of Contents Introduction: The national and local problem of drug imprisonment 3 Methodology 4 Finding 1: Treatment can be less expensive than a term of imprisonment 5 Finding 2: Treatment can be cost effective 6 Finding 3: Treatment can reduce substance abuse and recidivism while building communities 9 Finding 4: Promising treatment models exist in Maryland and around the country 11 Maryland: Break The Cycle The Correctional Options Program (COP) Drug Courts: Maryland and the National Perspective California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA) 11 12 13 14 Conclusion: Drug treatment can be more effective than cycling people in and out of prison 18 Endnotes 20 About the Authors Treatment or Incarceration? was primarily authored by Doug McVay, former research director for Common Sense for Drug Policy, a non-profit dedicated to expanding...
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...vary from state to state, This paper will analyze the current trends and the impact incarceration has on communities of color and how criminal justice policy and practice plays a role in this. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are black or Latino, though these two groups constitute only 25 percent of the national population. Some of the greatest racial disparities in rates of incarceration happen in states in which minorities are massed in urban areas, which tend to have both higher rates of crime and greater law enforcement activity. This paper will also discuss how these incarcerations affect the offenders, public safety, criminal policies and procedures. Racial Disparities in Corrections There are many factors regarding the disproportional rates of incarceration in communities of color. Data generated by the U.S. Department of Justice predicts that if current trends continue, one out of every three black males born today will go to prison in his lifetime, as well as one of every six Latino males. The rates of incarceration for women overall are lower than for men, but similar racial/ethnic disparities still apply. Some law makers are looking at ways to develop policies and practices to reduce insupportable racial disparities in the criminal justice system, it is essential to analyze the factors that have produced the...
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...1. CASE SUMMARY Androids is an audit firm which provides audit and consulting services to their clients. Androids & Co started in 1913 when Arthur and Clarence, both from the audit firm of Price, bought out a small audit firm in Illinois to form Arthur, Clarence & Co, which became Androids & Co in 1918. Arthur Androids, who is the founder, headed the firm of Androids & Co until his death in 1945. He was a passionate supporter of high standards in the accounting industry. In 1945, Leonardo Sparky, who handled Androids at the founder’s death, continued this emphasis on honesty. For all these years, Android’s motto was “Think Straight, Talk Straight”. David Lawrence joined Androids twenty years ago and earned a salary of USD 700,000 per annum. David is Androids’ partner and auditor who are responsible in auditing Enronaa’s account since 1987. Enronaa is a client of Androids for the past 16 years. David is one of the Androids’ partners who are responsible to check on Enronaa’s account and to ensure that they fairly representing the state of the business. The issues arise when there are evidences suggesting that Androids assisted Enronaa to sort of increase reported returns of off-balance sheet activities by units called raptors. In addition, the second issue that arises in Enronaa is many off-book partnerships were not properly accounted for. From this issue, David stated that millions in debts and losses had to be reflected in Enronaa’s books. David also confessed...
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...were some suggestions of negative impacts of harsh policies, in that “[c]ounties that made fewer drug arrests, and concentrated their enforcement efforts on felony manufacture or sale rather than simple drug-possession offences were significantly more likely to experience declines in violent crime.... Counties that rarely imprisoned low-level drug offences showed the largest reduction in violent and property crime” (pp. 10–11). Minor drug arrests appear to have “no relationship to, and no impact on, either crime or drug abuse” (p. 14). Notably, Californians voted by a 61%–39% margin in 2000 to require drug treatment instead of jail for those arrested for drug possession or use. Indeed, it would appear that they have learned that they are not getting “value for money” from the billions of dollars being spent to imprison small drug-users. In fact, California voters were not alone in demanding reform of harsh drug laws: there were drug policy issues on ballots in seven states in the recent election, and in five of them, harsh drug laws were voted out. Combined with the long-term drop in crime (especially violent crime) that has taken place over the past ten to fifteen years, as well as the budget crises at the state level, this gradual recognition in the US of the enormous costs of harsh sentences, with little criminal justice benefits, has — in fact — led to a decline in support for prisons as a one-(jumbo)-size-fits-all solution. As King and Mauer (2002) noted already in 2002, this...
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...criminal law functions in and affects modern society. This course highlights a variety of key topics, including the concept of crime and the development of criminal law, defenses to criminal charges, and a number of specific types of crimes, including personal crimes, property crimes, public order crimes, and offenses against public morality. Legal issues affecting punishment will also be discussed, as will ways the criminal law impacts victims of crime. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Champion, D. J. (2009). Leading U.S. Supreme Court cases in criminal justice: Briefs and key terms. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Lippman, M. (2010). Contemporary criminal law: Concepts, cases, and controversies. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Schmalleger, F., Hall, D. E., & Dolatowski, J.J. (2010). Criminal law today. (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice...
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...Eight Steps to Effectively Controlling Drug Abuse And the Drug Market The United States has been fighting a losing war against drugs for decades. Budgets have increased dramatically over the last two decades and drug-related incarcerations consistently reach new records yet drug problems worsen: adolescent drug abuse is increasing, overdose deaths are at record levels, heroin and cocaine are cheaper, more pure and more available than ever before, and health problems related to drugs, especially the spread of HIV/AIDS are mounting. Meanwhile an expensive and ineffective international counter narcotics policy entails growing human rights and environmental costs. Drug problems can be reduced at less cost if we change course and adopt strategies that work. At a time when the federal budget is limited programs need to be re-evaluated. Funding needs to go to programs that work. We need new ideas to save lives – we can't afford to continue to be wrong. Below are eight steps that are effective methods of controlling drugs and reducing drug-related harms. (To download a copy of this as a PDF, click here.) 1. Shift Resources Into Programs That Work 2. Make Treatment Available on Request Like Any Other Health Service 3. Prevent Drug Abuse By Investing in American Youth and Providing Them with Accurate Information 4. Focus Law Enforcement Resources on the Most Dangerous and Violent Criminals 5. International Drug Control Efforts Should Be Demilitarized and Focus on Economic Development...
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...Policy Development Prison crowding is becoming more and more of an issue in the United States. Every day the problem continues to grow as each person who is arrested, taken into to custody and ultimately convicted joins the prison population. Concerns have been raised when it comes to the topic of prison and its population by everyone from the public to law makers. Over the years, the growth of prison capacity has been slightly behind that of the inmate population always resulting in an overcrowding issue. “There has been no consistent evidence that crowding is associated with mortality, morbidity, recidivism, violence, or other pathological behaviors, but rather due to changes to both federal and state sentencing policies. These changes have increased the proportion of the individuals who are charged with felonies and sentence to lengthy jail and prison sentences” (Van Ness, 2008). In addressing any problem area, one first must define the terms or operational definitions. “The United States Supreme Court on November 30, 2010, heard oral argument in Schwarzenegger v. Plata about whether a federal court in California properly ordered the release of 40,000 prisoners to relieve the severe overcrowding in the state's prisons that has led to inadequate medical and mental health care for prisoners” (“U.S. Supreme Court Reviews Prison Overcrowding And Horrendous Conditions Of Confinement,” 2010). “America’s prisons now hold more than 2.3 million people, and many of the...
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...United States Prison System: The War on Drugs The United States of America is no longer the home of the free. It is the home of the locked up and caged. How can this nation embrace the concept of freedom when over 2.4 million of its citizens are locked up in prison? How can Americans have the nerve to utter the words, “racial equality” when over 10% of all African-American men is incarcerated? How can we take pride in a nation that locks up its citizens that suffer from the disease of addiction? This should be an embarrassment to all Americans. The criminal justice system must be reformed and surrender the “War on Drugs.” According to the June 2008 Bureau of Justice Summary, Americans make up only four and a half percent of the world’s population yet boasts twenty-two percent of the world’s incarcerated population. According to the same report, the American Criminal Justice System imprisons six times more of its population than other free nations such as Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Italy. America incarcerates ten times more of its population than Japan, France, and Finland. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, much higher than China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea whom we consider fascias police states. The 2009 statistics reported in the Prison Index showed that one third of African-American men will serve time in prison at some point in their life. The Bureau of Justice statistics reported, “The number of inmates in...
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