...Writing Assignment (Part 4): Race, Incarceration, and Recidivism Nicholle Harris SOC 100 - Intro to Sociology Professor Deborah White June 15, 2014 Writing Assignment (Part 4): Race, Incarceration, and Recidivism Racism in this country directly impacts incarceration and recidivism; specifically for African American males. This is an age old issue in our country that continues to propagate itself. Our society strips away the rights of felons and they become life-long criminals. The implications of incarceration, recidivism and race directly creates quality of life issues for a large percentage of people in the country. There are several sociological concepts that apply to this theory. Poverty leads to higher crime rates. People with lower social classes are more likely to be targeted by the police. The Drug Policy Alliance (n.d) explains in the article “Race and the Drug War” that law enforcement has a “focus on urban areas, on lower-income communities and on communities of color” (para. 1). This type of targeting creates a negative view and disrespect for authority; as a result, it is more likely for crime to be committed. Macionis (2010) states that “race is closely related to social standing, which as already explained, affects the likelihood of engaging in street crimes. Many poor people living in the midst of wealth come to perceive society as unjust and are therefore more likely to turn to crime to get their share.” (p. 232). Higher crime rates...
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...Community Corrections or Incarceration Are community corrections a better solution than incarceration? Michelle Brooks ITT Technical Institute Community Corrections or Incarceration Abstract In this research paper will read about different subjects and topics that pertain to incarceration and community corrections. The incarceration rate is going up in the United States while at the same time community corrections is slowly fading away because of limited support from the local communities and government officials within each state. In this research I hope to find out those community corrections has more to offer than incarceration. In conclusion incarceration is not the right way but community corrections will be. Community Corrections or Incarceration Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Background on Community Corrections Background on Incarceration Effectives of Community Corrections Effectives of Incarceration Programs dealing with Community Corrections Programs while Incarcerated Theory Interview with Mr. Sharron Wilson Result Reference Page Community Corrections or Incarceration Introduction Community Corrections is a better solution than incarceration because it offers many different alternative programs for several different types of offenders. Incarceration also offers similar programs...
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...The subject of recidivism in the Criminal Justice System has been long studied. It has also been argued over as to the extent of its effectiveness. Recidivism is defined as the repeating of a negative action after experiencing negative consequences from that action or receiving treatment for that action. In regards to the criminal justice system, recidivism occurs when one is rearrested after serving a sentence. With this in mind, recidivism is only discovered when an arrest and or conviction has occurred. Therefore the true number of recidivism cases only covers reported cases. The question develops of just how does incarcerating criminals affect the rates of recidivism? As of mid 2008 there was approximately a population of 2,310,984 held in federal or state prisons or jails in the United States. Of these 1,540,805 were serving out sentences under federal or state jurisdiction. There was an increase of 509 from 506 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 United States residents from yearend 2007. This was an overall increase of 0.8% from the previous yearend. This was however less than the average increase of 2.4% annually for the years 2000 to 2007. (1) These numbers show the growth of the United States inmate population which leads to problems with overcrowding. Within the next year the Federal Bureau of Prisons will open three federal correctional institutions which can hold an approximate 10,500 federal inmates at maximum capacity. (2) According to a national study in 2003 showed...
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...3/4/13 Juvenile Reentry System "I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act", Bill Gates. Recidivism is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior. It is a term that is predominantly used when referring to criminal behavior. According to a study done by the Connecticut Department of Corrections in 2012, Out of 14,398 male inmates released from prison in 2005, 79% were re-arrested. These numbers begin to describe the continuing issue that the United States faces in regards to repeat offenders. In the article "Stopping The Madness: A New Reentry System For Juvenile Corrections." Author's Scott Sells, Irene Sullivan and Donald DeVore focus on some of the reasons that contribute to youth recidivism and programs that can help minimize this issue. Without first determining the causes of the issue we can not begin to address resolutions. This article focuses on an interview as well as studies and evidence based theories tto combat this issue that we are faced with. The artilce discusses issues that contribute to failing reentry programs which ultimately result in high recidivism in young offenders. Although they provide a strong logical argument, and sufficient evidence the authors do not go into detail the effects of implementing such facilities will have on those who do not have family....
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...Site Visit to the Travis County Adult Probation SMART Program Tony Lee Merriwether HSCS/311 June 23, 2014 Sheri Meyer Site Visit to the Travis County Adult Probation SMART Program This paper is an overview of adult probation program designed to provide an alternative to incarceration. The Texas Criminal Justice Program designed the program as a diversionary mechanism to provide comprehensive treatment to offenders that require treatment for substance abuse and chemical dependency. The offenders must meet certain criteria to gain entrance into the program. The program is resident in nature to assist the offenders with re-socialization process. The counseling and intervention sessions are conducted by Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors, (LCDC) which use cognitive behavioral therapies as a treatment tool. The SMART program is very structured in regard to the structure, its mission, and goals. There are strict eligibility requirements that offenders must meet to attend the 20-week program. The program is not gender specific and is available for male and female offenders. There are three levels of treatment provided at the treatment facility. Therapy is provided in the form of individual and group sessions. The writer visited the site while accompanied by LCDC Ms. Vicki Clark Merriwether; Ms. Merriwether gained her experience working with active duty Soldiers as an Alcohol and Drug counselor at several military locations in the United States and Europe. Ms. Merriwether...
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...Introduction to Criminal Justice Electronic Monitoring and House Arrest Katelyn Fritz November 24, 2013 Introduction Electronic Monitoring (EM) and house arrest (HA) is a system that has been met with both trepidation and acceptance since its integration in the 1980’s. Though it goes by many names, including Community Sentencing and Intermediate sanctions, it still maintains a single identity. It is a form of punishment for offenders as an alternative to incarceration. This program applies to offenders chosen at the judge’s discretion and is based upon the offenders compliance, the nature of the infraction, and the burden on the system. Involved is a period of time where the offender is confined to his home under the supervision of a probation officer and some form of electronic monitoring. These monitoring options include the random call method (RC), an ankle monitor using radio frequency (RF) or GPS technology, or a combination thereof (Burell & Gable, 2008). Electronic monitoring is touted as an ideal means of reducing overcrowding in jails and prisons, but how effect is electronic monitoring and house arrest really? More than 30 years after its integration, there are several issues that have developed, or that have yet to be resolved. To demonstrate this lets us look at one example that occurred in the year 2000. Gerald A. Jones, a young, 18 year old man, was convicted of a robbery after sticking a gun into a woman’s face and stealing her watch. As a...
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...lights are flashing red and blue, the cries ring out, and women are ripped from their homes at alarming rates, leaving children motherless. The statistics are staggering; the Institute on Women & Criminal Justice reports that the past three decades has seen an explosion in female incarceration rates, growing 832% from 1977 to 2007 with an astounding 4% of women in state prisons and 3% of women in federal prisons pregnant at the time of admittance (Women’s Prison Association 4). Lives are at stake. Every court decision, every judgment cast, effects more than just the individual involved. The future is dependent on how society treats the present. In order to combat the crisis, it is vital to understand its origins and its impact; from this understanding, alternatives that consider the health and well being of all involved can be formulated and delivered. The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population, but boasts the overwhelming figure of almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners (Liptak 1). With nearly 2.3 million bars, one in 100 American adults is locked up. “Criminologists and legal experts here and abroad point to a tangle of factors to explain America's extraordinary incarceration rate: higher levels of violent crime, harsher sentencing laws, a legacy of racial turmoil, a special fervor in combating illegal drugs, the American temperament, and the lack of a social safety net” (Liptak 1). Another crucial point is that U.S. sentences are longer and more harsh...
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...Does Employment Reduce Recidivism? Elliott Markson Do individuals who obtain employment upon release likely to stay crime-free or are they going to commit another crime? The main purpose of this research is explanatory. It is explanatory because researching the issues surrounding employment and recidivism should be able to explain behavioral changes, a change in social status, and the effects that employment has on the individuals released from prison. The main independent variable of this research question is whether or not the released inmate will be employed or not upon release. The main dependent variable is whether or not the individual will return to their criminal behavior or not. The unit of analysis we will be studying is individual ex-offenders. Our goal will be to learn something about the population that we are studying and to gather information to identify certain common traits. Observations will be made using the longitudinal study method. Observations will be stretched over an extended period of time, and made twice a year for five years. The notion that having a job reduces the probability of recidivism is suitably confirmed throughout criminological literature. Employment offers the essential earnings for survival, increases self-esteem, advances the connection to a community, and progresses the impression of belonging to a group. Consequently, even if locating employment is strenuous for ex-offenders, a policy that aids these individuals in gaining...
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...Personal Leadership Plan HSM/230 Personal Leadership Plan Throughout life one will encounter many experiences and there is a lesson in each experience. I have embraced the experiences, learned from them and will use them to show others that there is life after drug abuse and incarceration. I currently volunteer with an organization that provides a safe and sober living environment for women in recovery. My goal is to assist women transitioning back into society after incarceration. The United States has become the world leader in incarcerating its people with over 2.3 billion being locked up and then being released back into society without skills needed to become a productive member of society. While ethics are of great importance in any human service field, the need for an ethical leader is crucial in this area. There will be a number of challenges working with this population. The worker will have a commitment to providing the resources that will assist the women rebuild their lives but there is a moral obligation to the community as well. I am a firm believer that we all have to be held responsible for our actions and there are consequences to the choices one makes, however there has to become a time when it can be said that one has paid for his or her choices and be allowed to move forward. It is my belief that all people must be treated with respect and dignity. The stigma placed on those who have a conviction does not allow that and places many barriers...
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...Recidivism Introduction Recidivism is defined by USlegal.com is a tendency to lapse into a previous pattern of behavior, especially a pattern of criminal habits. This research it will focus on the pattern of criminal behavior/habits. The topic of recidivism will be focused on the re-arrest, reconviction, or re-incarceration of former inmates. Recidivism is recognized as a serious variable outcome in corrections and a very complicated measurement problem. Recidivism occurs because of a new conviction or a violation of post-prison supervision on probation or parole. Statistical research studies have shown that recidivism occurs normally within a three year period from a prisoners release date and his/her return to prison or jail. Juveniles have the highest recidivism rate and it has been suggested from research to be caused due lower education and alcohol and or drug use. A current trend with court systems throughout the country is to use drug and alcohol treatment programs to reduce recidivism rates of offenders who commit drug and or alcohol related crimes. Higher education is strongly emphasized as well as programs to help prisoners to deal with and cope with the issues of being released back into regular society (Infoplease.com, 2007). The questions is does this work? The realistic and proven answer is that it does for some and for others it does not. Recidivism is an important issue with those concerned with public safety and the cost effectiveness of putting convicted...
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...Running head: ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO INCARCERATION Alternative Solutions to Incarceration Meral Daniel Southern New Hampshire University Alternative Solutions to Incarceration Incarceration is the result after a crime is committed by an individual and has a number of objectives. Primarily, it is intended to keep persons who have committed a crime under secure control and to punish them by depriving them of their liberty. Imprisonment keeps them from committing further crimes while they are incarcerated “and, in theory, allows them to be rehabilitated during their period of imprisonment. The goal of rehabilitation is to address the underlying factors that led to criminal behavior and by so doing, reducing the likelihood of re-offending. However, it is precisely this objective that is generally not being met by imprisonment. On the contrary, evidence shows that prisons not only rarely rehabilitate, but they tend to further criminalize individuals, leading to re-offending and a cycle of release and imprisonment, which does nothing to reduce overcrowding in prisons or to build safer communities.” (United Nations, 2006) One effective alternative to incarceration is the use of GPS monitoring and it is becoming an increasingly important topic of consideration by state rehabilitation and correction agencies. Location tracking systems, such as GPS, have customarily been used solely to track higher-risk offenders. However...
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...Introduction For offenders reentering the community the transition can be very difficult. Offenders face hardships in securing employment and housing to receiving adequate treatment for mental and physical illnesses and substance abuse. The number of offenders reentering society from prison and jail is steadily increasing yearly. States are diligently working to identify methods to help offenders successfully reintegrate into society. Some initiatives available in Harris County, TX include prison education programs, life and job skills training and counseling services. This paper focuses on the educational opportunities available for offenders in Harris County, TX. The education opportunities are structured to assist offenders with incarceration related factors and attempts to help offenders with successful reintegration with family, the community and society as a whole. I will discuss several educational initiatives available to offenders and how these initiatives correlate to our text. Harris County, TX . On March 12, 2004 the CEA unanimously voted to grant accreditation to Harris County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Education Program. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office became the first county jail in the U.S. to receive the Correctional Education Association (CEA) accreditation for its Inmate Education Program (Albers, 2006:15). This recognition sets Harris County Sheriff’s Office to a high standard to be compared with. The educational facility is located on Crites Street in...
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...Do Prisons Work? Can Individuals be Reformed or Rehabilitated through Incarceration and Treatment Programs. Critically examine the Current Treatment Programs offered and Subsequent Impact on Recidivism upon Individuals being released globally and WA specifically. This study will examine the effectiveness of current prison treatment programs in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, United States of America in rehabilitating or reforming an individual and coinciding recidivism rates upon a prisoners release. Prison based treatment programs for sex offenders in Western Australia, New South Wales and New Zealand are examined and recidivism rates compared. Treatment programs for offenders with drug and alcohol issues and the various strategies within the criminal justice system such as diversion, education and drug court programs are examined and differences explained. Rehabilitation programs such as education, life skills, employment and cognitive behavioural treatment are explained and research discussed. Conclusions will be drawn outlining programs with the highest level of recidivism both in Western Australia and globally. The “nothing works” mantra (Martinson) 1974, is seen to be refuted and treatment is seen to be successful when it is matched to the criminogenic needs of the offender (MacKenzie, 2006). Future recommendations are made in regards to the need for correctional staff to assess each offender as an individual with different needs, and to therefore...
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...and the support system to help them qualify to get a job and find housing. Incarceration is very expensive. Released inmates receive almost no support in cash and counseling upon release. Many do not have the means to feed themselves. Long-term incarceration increases the crime rate because it devastates communities and families. The US is the world leader in jailing people. About 69% of black males, high school dropouts that were born on the 1970s have served time rather than families, communities, and economic interests. Inmates are not able to participate in society after their release. They are not training, educated or rehabilitated. The reforms...
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... Topic: Overcrowded prisons are a problem for many different reasons. Most people are already aware of this problem, either they read it in a newspaper or saw it somewhere on the television. This is not just a local problem, it is almost everywhere. Are there reasons why this continues to happen, and has this situation improved through out the years? Are there things us as a society can do to change overcrowding in prisons? These are questions we should ask ourselves considering tax payers are the people that pay the most for food, shelter, and medical care for all the prisoners that are incarcerated. In the United States prisons the recidivism rate is amazingly high. In 1994, the biggest study of prisoner recidivism that has been ever been completed in the United States proved that, of nearly 300,000 adult prisoners who were released in 15 different states, 67.5 percent were arrested again within three years. (Meditating Behind Bars: How Yoga in Prisons Could Cut Overcrowding) There are many different outlooks on this issue. Some people think it can be fixed, others do not. Some people think over crowding is caused by the prisoner’s environment and other people do not. Just like any other subject, this particular subject can be debated all day. Body:...
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