Bonieta 123 ONLY!! Written Assignment
mimidixon
issues_and_trends.docxRunning head: ISSUES AND TRENDS 1
ISSUES AND TRENDS 8
ISUES AND TRENDS 7
ISSUES AND TRENDS
Andrea Dixon
Saint Leo University
Abstract
The criminal justice system is the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws. There is no single criminal justice system in the United States however similar, individual systems. How the criminal justice system works in each area depends on the jurisdiction in charge be that of city, state, county, federal or tribal government or military installation. Various jurisdictions have different laws, agencies, and ways of managing criminal justice processes. In the criminal justice system there are corrections institutions which are housing facilities for those individuals who have violated the law (The Criminal Justice System, 2015). Currently, there is a great deal of money being spent in the United States on those who are incarcerated. For example, over 2.3 million Americans which is about one percent of the population are incarcerated, the cost is about twenty three thousand dollars per year to house and feed each prisoner (Muraskin, 2010). In addition, the criminal justice system is faced with a plethora of issues in terms of punishments imposed, deterrence and in the correctional institutions, issues that involve the care and treatment of offenders. In this paper I will discuss punishment, forecasted issues and trends and whether or not there is a danger to the community.
The government has spent millions of dollars in attempting to find ways to deter crime. They have implemented various programs both educational and community –based. I believe that the concept is to reduce recidivism, deter crime and at the same time prepare offenders while incarcerated, to return to society and become productive members. In American prisons the two most widely used modes of treatment are education and work programs. The occurrence of these programs reflects the permanent belief that educational, work skills and good habits learned in acquiring such skills plays an integral role for offenders securing employment and becoming productive citizens.
Although the results are not clear, the existing research generally suggests that the programs do have an impact in reducing post release recidivism, especially when targeted particularly at inmates who possess low skills and when part of a broader strategy –a multi-model approach which is behavior therapy in psychotherapy to rehabilitating offenders (Rehabilitation- Corrections in The United States, 2015). I think that there are some people in society who would argue that spending millions on criminals is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars because they are a lost cause. I would have to disagree because they have to start somewhere. Sadly, for some the starting point is while incarcerated. I believe that by acquiring an education coupled with learning skills and participation in behavioral programs will work toward the goal of deterring crime. With a lack of or nonexistence of education and skills in the correctional system offenders have no recourse other than repeat their behaviors of criminality. I am firmly committed to the idea that criminals should be punished but, in a way that will change such behavior.
According to the author, there is no leniency toward crime, but rather that the punishment should fit the crime. Prison is not the only answer for nonviolent crime. Only a minority of Americans believe that punishment or deterrence is the main role of the prison and courts. In defining punishment, it can be described as an authorized imposition of deprivation such as freedom or privacy or other goods to which a person otherwise has a right, or the imposition of special burdens because the person has been found guilty of some criminal violation involving harm to the innocent. During an early time in history all punishments were held in public view. How it worked was; crowds taunted the condemned as the executioner or sheriff conducted beatings, burnings, pilloryings, and hangings on the give orders of the king or court. Punishment as-a-spectacle was used to control crime and to exhibit the free power. Jails were the means of detaining and punishing individuals up until the nineteenth century (Muraskin, 2010).
Today, this form of punishment would be considered inhumane. Granted, all offenders should be punished based on the crime but to what extent? There are many ways to punish an individual as to prevent criminal acts. If not, then we would live in a society that had no rules and criminals would wreak havoc in the communities and others without taking responsibility for their actions. I can equate this with a child doing something they have no business doing and the parent(s) punishes them because of their actions. Most often times, the child will not repeat the act because they have learned from the punishment. Some forms of punishment would be to take the things that matters to them the most away from them such as; no television, video games, talking on the phone or hanging out with friends. The same goes with punishing criminals. They are stripped of their freedoms as a reminder of what they are missing in hopes of instilling correct behavior in society.
The question of how do we punish is at the forefront. Some of the possible answers to the question of why offenders should be punished may conflict with each other. This is because some answers are based on reasons having to do with preventing crime whereas others are concerned with punishment being deserved by an offender. When a court imposes punishment on an offender, it often tries to balance the sorts of reasons for punishment but sometimes certain purposes of punishment dominate other purposes. Over time there have been shifts in penal theory, and therefore in the purpose of punishment due to a complex set of reasons including politics, society and social change (Sage Publications, 2004).There are many forms of punishment in which the criminal justice system imposes. While working in the corrections field, I have come to the realization that most of the forms of punishment are not as effective for violent criminals opposed to non-violent criminals. According to the author, there ae three reasons for punishment: deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. Deterrence, in which the objective is to punish a person guilty of a crime that is sufficient enough to deter the person and others from committing the crime again (Muraskin, 2010).
So, when I speak of what I feel works best as punishment for the offender, I would have to elaborate on both as I feel that different punishments and sentencing should match the crime in itself. For the violent offender, I would say that incarceration works best depending on the severity of the crime. Some violent offenses that are committed are; rape, murder, robbery and the use of a weapon in commission of a felony offense. It is imperative that these individuals are punished to the full extent of the law as not to be a menace to society. A determinate sentence which is a fixed period of incarceration imposed by a court; associated with the idea of retribution or deserved punishment (Muraskin, 2010). The punishment in which a person receives is the punishment so deserved according to the court of law. The offender will be able to reflect on their behavior and know that here will be consequences for their actions. As for the non-violent offender, particularly for the younger offender boot camp which is a rigorous, military-style regimen designed to accelerate punishment while instilling discipline, often with an educational component. The older non-violent offender, I find house arrest and electronic monitoring used in conjunction with intensive supervision and restricts offender to home except when at work, school or treatment of any sort (Muraskin, 2010 ).
References:
Muraskin, R. (2010). Key Correctional Issues. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall
Rehabilitation-Correctional Programs in the United States. (2015). Retrieved from
www.jrank.org/pages/1935/Rehabilitation-Correctional-Programs-in-United-States-
The Purpose of Criminal Punishment. (2004). Sage Publications. Retrieved from
Wall, A., (2008). The Criminal Justice System: Trends and Issues in Corrections. Retrieved from
.
.
