DUE: 11/7/2016 @ 11 am est. ((one page for $5)) **please charge the whole $5. THXS! Follow up questions
What should we do about prison overcrowding?
` Prison overcrowding is associated with a broad range of issues, including inadequate room in prisons, changes to laws, fluctuating crime rates, as well as improvements to law enforcement tactics. Nevertheless, this is a problem that has been associated with many problems like dangerous and unhealthy prison conditions (Marion & Oliver, 2012). Thus, overcrowding a serious concern that needs to be addressed by redirecting nonviolent offenders from prison to some of the most successful evidence-based programs designed to mitigate victim restitution while facilitating safe reentry of offenders into society. This means that prison cells and strict penalties should only be reserved for predatory and violent offenders. This approach can help eliminate the problem of overcrowding, besides driving down the cost of running the prisons in U.S. It’s also imperative to consider implementing sentencing policies that stamp out disproportionate punishment of offenders, besides allowing more prisoners to more prisoners to reduce the length of their sentences through credit for good behavior (Pitts et al., 2014).
What role will prisons play in the future?
We need more audacious policies to transform modern day prisons into the prisons of the future. The prisons of the future will be more like college campuses that will offer complete courses to prisoners, thus, playing the role of making prisoners realize the career goals they would’ve achieved. Although many prisons already provide inmates with classes, such as GED prep courses, limiting it to an hour or two isn’t enough. Therefore, the prison will play the role of offering education to a vast majority of inmates who exhibit good behavior, thus, motivating others to change their behavior. Education in a typical prison will benefit detainees in the sense that they will be equipped with employment skills and knowledge to earn a healthy living after leaving the prison system (Aman & Greenhouse, 2015)
Will the focus be punishment or treatment?
The prison of the future will focus on treatment rather than punishment.
Does the state have a responsibility to train inmates with employment skills?
Life after prison is the toughest time for any offender, especially if he/she exits the system without skills or knowledge. This increases the likelihood of recidivism. Therefore, the state has a responsibility to train inmates with employment competencies, especially through creation and implementation of educational programs. This explains why Pitts et al. (2014) accentuate that the role of prisons should be to prepare incarcerated men and women to go back out in the community prepared to confront new realities of life. Several studies have shown most offenders are more likely end up back in prison when they can’t find employment, hence contributing to the biting problem of overpopulation.
Should we allow inmate labor (prison industries) as a for-profit industry?
No. The focus of our prison system should be on effective treatment of offenders. More so, a study by Aman and Greenhouse (2015) demonstrated that allowing inmate labor (prison industries) as a for-profit industry is more likely to encourage mass incarceration instead of redirecting nonviolent offenders to treatment programs.
References
Aman, A. C., & Greenhouse, C. (2015). Prison Privatization and Inmate Labor in the Global Economy: Reframing the Debate over Private Prisons. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 42.
Marion, N. E., & Oliver, W. M. (2012). The public policy of crime and criminal justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Pitts, J. M., Griffin III, O. H., & Johnson, W. W. (2014). Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem. Contemporary Justice Review, 17(1), 124-139.