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In our society's criminal justice system, justice equals punishment. You do the crime, and you do the time. Once you have done the time, you have paid your debt to society and justice has been done. Because our society defines justice in this manner, the victims of crimes often seek the most severe possible punishment for their offenders. Society tells them this will bring justice, but it often leaves them feeling empty and unsatisfied after getting what they wanted. Punishment does not address the other important needs of victims.
It cannot restore their losses, answer their questions, relieve their fears, and help them make sense of their tragedy or heal their wounds. Regardless of their particular view, most people agree that crime and violence are blowing up out of control in the streets of our towns and cities. Most also agree that what we are doing about it is not working. We are fearful and we have good reason.
We know our criminal justice system is broken and we don't know how to fix it. Sometimes criminals are treated too well but at other times they are not treated well enough. The treatment of criminals is based on what they have done. If they murder someone they are going to get the death penalty. Criminals that only commit traffic crimes get away with only a ticket.
Some people believe that there should be harsher sentences for people, or other kinds of ways of dealing with punishing these bad people. Making them do community service or wearing a sign in public saying the crime they committed and embarrassing them are only some other ways of punishment for these criminals. Everyone has opinions about the issues associated with crime and the treatment of criminals. Some believe this country is becoming lawless.
It has been said that society is known by the prisoners it keeps. Children and young teenagers breaking the law and committing particularly heinous crimes is a fairly new problem that concerns many people. This is such a problem; some people believe that harsh punishments should be used for children also. Some believe that if we want to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just send them to prison.
They could be given a chance to acquire job skills; which will improve the chances that inmates will become productive citizens upon release. The programs must aim to change those who want to change. Those who are taught to produce useful goods and to be productive are likely to develop the self-esteem essential to a normal, integrated personality. This kind of program would provide skills and habits and replace the sense of hopelessness that many inmates have. A Justice Department report that in 1994, 67 percent of prisoners released from detention returned with in three years.
This report sends up red flags in my mind. It seems that the only solution our government has to the steadily increasing crime rate is to build more and more prisons. Our country has been building prisons at an every increasing rate for the last twenty-five years. The state prison population is fast approaching almost two million people in the United States of America. It follows that if this idea of imprisoning people were deterring crimes out prison population would be growing smaller, but in fat are counties current prison system is growing by leas and bounds. Most criminologists agree that prisons are not a deterrent to crime.
A recent study conducted by the justice department points out that from 1983 to 1994 the number of people behind bars doubled. And Joan Petersilia, a professor of criminology at the University of California at Irvine said, The main thing this report shows is that our experiment with building lots more prisons as a deterrent to crime has not worked. If prisons are not the answer then what is the answer to the problem of our growing population of repeat offenders. Again, most criminologists agree that rehabilitation classes are better solution then building more prisons.
James Gilligan a prison psychiatrist and former head of the State of Massachusetts Prison Mental Health Department says, Among the conditions in the prison system that prevents violent behavior (both during imprisonment and after release to the community), the most powerful is education. Doctor Gilligan goes on to say, in Massachusetts we conducted a study to see what programs had the most effect on preventing recidivism, and the only program that was 100 percent effective preventing recidivism was the one that allowed inmates to receive a college degree in prison. However, according to a Justice Department survey released on June 3, 2002, Only about 15 percent of state prison inmates are enrolled in academic or rehabilitation classes. Professor Petersilia blames state governments for the cuts to rehabilitation programs and vocational education classes so the government can be seen as tough on crime. All of these facts and bits of information beg the question; is our government heading in the right direction in building more prison instead of trying to rehabilitate these prisoners?
Across America people are being sent to prison at alarming rates and most have families. Their family members are hoping for the best treatment of their loved ones, but expect the worst from our government. Many of these people are caught between their feelings for the victims and their family members who are in prison. All Americans have some perceived form of justice that they feel should be applied towards criminals, but what happens when the criminal is a family member. Or worse their family member is a repeat offender who always ends up back in prison. Or what perspective is this to the prison guard who sees the same people return over and over again to the prison.
How does a rational human being who follows the law of the land treat these prisoners who continually cannot follow the laws of this county? How does this affect the prison guards mindset on wanting to help prisoners rehabilitate themselves while behind bars? Over time as our country continues to build more and more prison, the guards of these prisons will develop firm entrenched ideas that these guards will not easily be able to forget about when dealing with their prisoners. What is to become of the prison health care workers who must deal with these prisoners?
These same people know that the system they work in is flawed but most continue to work with in the system their government has created for them. The anger and aggression that will build up in some of these workers will be vented some where, more then likely at an inmate that has no idea what is going on and is just trying to survive in a violet landscape. These are just a few of the potential parties that would be interested on the topic of prison rehabilitation. Across the landscape of our country there are many people who have different ways of looking at the issue of prisoner rehabilitation. As this country is a democratic nation the people of this nation have the right to express their own opinions. I will identify and lay out the ideas and / or position of the three most popular held beliefs of prisons rehabilitation.
The first position that I will present you with is that of the victim. This could be, for example, a father who has just found out his daughter has been raped. This person doesnt want rehabilitation, but justice, a punishment fit for the crime. Some people in the particular position of having lost a family member to violet crime do not want an inmate to have any privileges that they themselves enjoy.
This means an inmate should not be able to attain a Pell Grant so they can pay for college while in prison. Such as drinking a soda, buying a candy bar, or having a Television to watch at night. The second position is that of a person that believes in rehabilitation of prison inmates. This person believes that there is ability for a prisoner to repay his debt to society by going to prison, but also while that individual is in prison he or she can learn a trade or earn a college degree. As stated above this is the best way seen by most criminologists to rehabilitate a prisoner. The final position is the person who does not believe in prisons at all.
They believe that these institutions are a waste of taxpayers dollars. They believe this money could be spent on other institutions that are modeled after reform schools. The reform school would be built in the same neighborhoods where the individual are currently living. This is so the prisoners would be able to have family members visit them in their own room; conjugal visits. The author of this reform school idea calls them, anti-prisons (Gilligan, 499). As an American I believe that all people should be rehabilitated.
I believe that there are no people who are not beyond help. It has been said, That conditions of a counties prison population is a sign of how civilized that country is. As a democracy that is supposed to be for the people, is it not right that we leave any one person behind for any reason. This topic is of great interest to me on several different levels.
The fact that this country spends so much money on prisons that seems to have no affect on crime in this country. A prison population who half of which seem to have life sentences, because once there are released they return with in three years for having committing another crime. All of these issues deal ultimately with people, who are human beings who make mistakes just like everybody else. Not to down play that some crimes are destructive and evil in nature, however there are many factors that lead a person to a life of crime. And ideally as a civilized society we want to lead these individuals to a respectful and constructive place in our society. Bibliography Butcher, Judith F.
Crime and Punishment in America. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 1978. Clements, John. Crime in the U. S. A.
Dallas: Political Research, Inc. 1996. Juvenile Justice: A Century of Change. PBS Online and WGBH/Frontline. < web February, 2002. Gilligan, John. Schools for Criminals.
New York: Wiley. 1999. Second Chances: Giving Criminals a Chance to Make a Better Choice. SIRS Publishing, Inc. 2001.
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Research essay sample on Criminal Justice System Deterrent To Crime
