...as retribution to society rather than to an individual, a system of incarceration has been formed and implemented. Involved in this system are the removal of criminals from public society and the admittance of criminals into a place of enclosure and limited freedoms. The determination of duration, as well as, where and when such processes should take place are set out in a court by judge and jury. Whether or not the victim of a crime approves is of no consequence to the outcome of this trial. The purpose of incarceration in a prison system has been to rehabilitate and resocialize the criminals so that they can eventually fit into public society. The goal is to make and remold the...
Words: 580 - Pages: 3
...Rationales of Incarceration as Punishment and Alternative Methods The Government has several theories to support the use of incarceration as punishment. Which can be divided into two main categories: utilitarian and retributive. The utilitarian theory seeks to discourage “deter” future crimes by punishing the offender. The retributive theory seeks to punish offenders because they deserve to be punished. If one looks future into the reasons we punish criminals, one can find a number of justifications for using punishment. "Most criminal justice scholars agree [though] that there are four primary justifications for criminal punishment; retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.” (The drug trade, 2004-2005, p. 206) The first rationale is deterrence which is let’s use this person as an example so they and others will not commit a crime. I feel the main reason we use incarceration is to punish the offender and to maintain order in society. Some believe that when you punish an offender it will deter them from a lifetime of future crime as well as others in society. You have to ask yourself does incarceration deter crime. The short answer is both yes and no. Some will learn from their mistakes and not do it again and others will not care. Some believe that deterrence is useful in deterring convicted offenders from committing other crimes and will deter others in society from committing crimes. If a person knows that they will be punished if caught committing...
Words: 826 - Pages: 4
...Alternatives to Incarceration For the country to save money, they have adopted other alternatives to deal with juveniles that are found on the wrong side of the law. These methods are meant to ensure that the juveniles are rehabilitated into better members of society while at the same time using a cost effective method (Lankford, 2012). For several years the United States has sought to have other methods that serve the same purpose as incarceration that are just as effective. These are methods that have been used and tested over the years that will work to the advantage of the government. There are different underlying historical and economic reasons behind the quest for alternatives to incarcerating offenders in jails and prisons. The main historical reason that has led to seeking...
Words: 655 - Pages: 3
...Competing Theories of Corrections Ruth Cushman American Intercontinental University March 11, 2012 Competing Theories of Corrections Correctional theories are series of interrelated propositions or assertions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and define criminal behavior. There are many different theories that have been created over the years to help explain the relationships between criminal behavior and punishment. The theories of corrections have no doubt changed and shifted over the years, the more people began to understand the rationale behind criminal behavior. Several centuries ago, criminal behavior was once thought to sin guided by the devil or evil spirits, and most often was punished by hanging, beheading, or burning the offender. Then, around the time of the American and French revolutions offenders began to be seen more as highly rational beings who intentionally chose their own courses of action (Schmalleger, 2012). Contemporary sentencing stems mainly from the Classical School theory. This theory stated that criminality, rather than being caused by evil or some higher beings, was actually the result of the bad choices people make of their own free will. The other competing theories of corrections besides the Classical School, prevalent in today’s prison system are retribution, deterrence, restorative justice, and rehabilitation. According to the Classical School theory, the punishment should...
Words: 1428 - Pages: 6
...Prospective Claims: Michelle Alexander discusses how mass incarceration has ruined and dismantled many lives of young African Americans. The problem she discusses so passionately in her book is a relevant problem in our society today. Ever since Ronald Reagan’s presidency and forward, campaigns have been targeting crime and especially rug related crimes. While it is clear that many of these young African Americans are going to prison due to drug related crimes, stopping the war on drugs altogether is not the solution. Although stopping the drug war may seem efficient for stopping the incarceration of young blacks in the present, it does not guarantee that these same people will not commit other crimes. The cost for stopping the drug war is allowing drug usage and distribution to run rampant which can cause the society and the neighborhoods around the areas to become unsafe. Alexander discusses how there is no way around this issue and dismantling the system of mass incarceration is the only resolution; however if these poor neighborhoods were funded with government money, drug abuse can potentially become lower or even be stopped. Alexander is also discussing how a handful of reforms cannot be a solution to the problem. She argues that all the financial grants that are given to police departments for drug arrests and racial profiling should be halted. She believes that by halting the funding and supplies of mass incarceration are only scratching the surface of social reform. She...
Words: 2303 - Pages: 10
...of people who commit crimes (incarceration/accountability and punishment), and altering people’s fundamental values (psychological manipulations and presentment)—including nurturing positive values in young children—to minimize the likelihood of future criminal behavior in its system Technological advances will also have a great influence on crime fighting. future strategies reported that they are deploying a wide variety of technological advances to improve services, and in some cases to save money. innovative strategies for incorporating technology into crime fighting strategies, the most common responses were through social media, cameras connected to Traffic, Bus, Rail, Toll booths, Public works Housing authorities, Schools, Private business districts, Private businesses, Private security, mapping and hotspots, and license plate readers. Developments in surveillance, biometrics, DNA analysis, and radio frequency identification microchips will enhance crime prevention and crime solving. Increasingly sophisticated intelligence databases will likely be used not only by police officers and analysts, but by the general public—as is now common with sex offender registries. Many public safety agencies are working to establish Next Generation 911 (NG 911) capabilities that will better serve today’s wireless society. 911 systems that are capable of receiving text messages, photographs, and videos will be more useful for public safety purposes. The future will also bring...
Words: 1155 - Pages: 5
...want honesty, loyalty, and change for the next four years, that’s why during this election numerous people are turning out to vote so that they can have a powerful influence in who their next national leader will be. Throughout each election every candidate is evaluated on who proposes better ideas on how the future of this country should run. Both Democratic candidates Clinton and Sanders have similar issues that they say they want to focus on, however they both have different approaches in addressing a corrupt economic system, mass incarceration, and educational opportunities. Some people believe that Clinton will do more to take down a corrupt economy, because she has went to lower income communities and talked to the...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...States there are other programs that utilize research-based programs to educate, train and motivate offenders. Gone are the days of haphazard implementation of programs that sounded good, but often just occupied time for the offenders. The past evolution occurred for many reasons (Corrections Today, 2010). One of our biggest wake-up calls was the claim made about 30 years ago that, nothing works in corrections, in terms of rehabilitation. Although this widely publicized statement was removed from its context for some less-than-honorable purposes, it did in fact bring some attention to the conundrum that many prisons were not effective as change agents for offenders, but rather seemed only to serve the purpose of separating problems from society (Corrections Today, 2010). 7,225,800 adults were under correctional supervision (probation, parole, jail, or prison) in 2009 (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010). While this singular purpose was acceptable to many citizens, the more visionary leaders, both inside and outside of corrections, understood that the only good thing that could ever result from the perpetuation of criminal behaviors was job security for those of us in the criminal justice field. Early efforts to increase the effectiveness of programs were creative, not always successful. However, the fact that was beginning to gauge success was in and of itself extremely significant. It led to other important milestones. Empirical-based evidence was sought for programs...
Words: 1314 - Pages: 6
...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...
Words: 6548 - Pages: 27
...The United States of Incarceration Introduction As we near the end of 2015, racial discrimination remains an issue that can quickly create controversy and heated debate. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has become a common topic for families, which many believing that minorities are treated more harshly than whites in similar incidents. However, this movement should widen the scoop of its focus to include the discrimination not just of law enforcement officials, but also of the criminal justice system itself. Disparities in sentencing have skyrocketed since the 1980s and this increase is pushed by the war on drugs. Despite the clear evidence showing that sentencing reform must become a priority for policymakers due to both the social and economic aspects of this issue, things remain the same. The purpose of this essay is to inform the debate on sentencing reform, race, and education....
Words: 1647 - Pages: 7
...Introduction The prison system in America has been a constant issue of mass-incarceration, a lack of rehabilitation, and a rate of reentry that far exceeds that of any other nation, yet this problem’s escalation has done little to bring it to the platform of reformation. The prison system has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, and a majority of these citizens are completely unaware of the needlessness of the costs with which they are burdened. With 2.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S., Americans cannot afford to continue to turn a blind eye to the economic issues presented by the current prison system (Council of Economic Advisors 3). Due to prison growth, an increasing incarceration rate, and a lack of rehabilitation and...
Words: 1323 - Pages: 6
...of incarceration on a juvinile, how little the corrections facilities actually rehabilitate the youth, the issues concerning juvenile corrections and how these and other factors contribute to the youth’s mindset both during and after prison. Part 2 * Haney, Craig. “Prisoners Once Removed.” http://www.prisonexp.org/pdf/haney.pdf, The Urban Institute Press, n.d. Web. 24 November 2014 This source is a scholarly article converted to PDF, and is thoroughly cited from other articles. It talks about imprisonment on individual and state levels, describing the impact of the United States prison system psychologically on prisoners. Other articles I have found on the internet have cited this article frequently, many who seek to reform the prison system have used this article against the consequences of the prison system, especially on youth. * Matsuda, Kristy. “Impact of Incarceration on Young Offenders”, https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/227403.pdf, U.S Department of Justice, 27 April 2009, Web. 24 November 2014. Matsuda discusses the impact of incarceration on youth, basically what my article is about, in a research paper for The U.S department of Justice. The paper utilizes Californian inmates, age 16-25 males, released between 1998 and 99, based on information obtained from the California department of corrections. * Fagan, Jeffery; Kupchik, Aaron. “Juvenile Incarceration and...
Words: 1063 - Pages: 5
...Abstract The purpose of this research is to provide a glimpse into the rate of women's incarceration in the United States and the contributing factors leading to an increase in such incarcerations. Statistical review alludes to an increase in the rate of incarceration among women. The aim of this research was to establish the connection between diverse behaviors and imprisonment rates among women. Findings indicate that women’s rearrests, may be the contributing factor for the recorded increase in the growth of women in prison in the United States. One can thus deduce that the incarceration policies and environments in female prisons are disconnected with the social discourse, thereby ill-equipping incarcerated women with proper skills to reintegrate...
Words: 1536 - Pages: 7
...and Incarceration HOMELESS AND INCARCERATION Homelessness is the problem that influences the life of the whole society. It is critical for the United States and as almost half a million of citizens do not have their own houses. They do not have the opportunities that the representatives of the general public have and cannot afford even some basic needs. Homeless individuals have to break the law and commit crimes, such as stealing food, even though they do not intend to do so, which leads to mass incarceration. This influences their behavior and increases the chances of becoming drug or alcohol addicts, which makes homeless individuals even more likely to become incarcerated. People who are imprisoned, often have no or underpaid job that does not provide these people with money enough to have a decent residence, which makes them a vulnerable population (Johnson 2015). It is important to consider what makes homeless people commit crimes that result in imprisonment. The information from various articles received during the literature review, I will reveal the connection between homelessness and incarceration, emphasizing the history that lead to their occurrence as well as the main causes of both problems. I will point out and explain the correlations between homelessness and crime rates, as well as its connections to the mental disorders, substance abuse, and chronic health condition in the context of how homeless lifestyle can be related to the incarceration. Also...
Words: 3503 - Pages: 15
...Paternal incarceration creates a temporary single-parenting system, in which the mother acts as sole guardian, but imprisonment tends to produce far worse effects on children than do other causes of parent-child separation (Lowenstein, 1986). Separation due to death or similar causes disrupt the family, yet these happen to provide a “focal concern around which the remaining members can rally and mitigate the impact of their loss”; quite to the contrary, separation due to imprisonment rarely elicits any such response because of the stigma with which it is associated (Fritsch & Burkhead, 1981, p. 84). Typically, a child faced with the social stigma of paternal incarceration will often also encounter embarrassment and shame, which may in turn further inhibit the ability of the child to adequately adjust to the anxieties resulting from the separation through incarceration (Hannon et al., 1984; Lowenstein, 1986). The deleterious effects on child behavior, of course, are that prolonged periods of shame and embarrassment may promote depression or behavior typical of withdrawal, such as an unwillingness to engage in social interactions. Unlike other causes for paternal separation, paternal absence due to imprisonment is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, which takes on different meaning depending on the manner in which the particular cause for the incarceration is perceived—either as being “normatively approved” or as “bearing a stigma” (Lowenstein, 1984). While there is a correlation...
Words: 1622 - Pages: 7
