Reinforcement In Corrections

Corrections have existed throughout society for many years and continued to change and evolve in the United States reflecting society’s values and ideals throughout the centuries. In the criminal justice system, corrections exist in more than one form. Not only do corrections refer to jails and prison systems but they also pertain to community-based programs, such as probation, parole, halfway houses, and treatment facilities. Past, present, and future trends in regard to the development and operation of institutional and community-based corrections vary between states but corrections have grown immensely since the early 1800s and have continued to expand

The past quarter century has seen an enormous growth in the American incarceration rate. Importantly, some scholars have suggested that the rate of prison growth has little to do with the theme of crime itself, but it is the end result of particular U.S. policy choices. Clear (2007) posits that "these policy choices have had well-defined implications for the way prison populations have come to replicate a concentrated occurrence among specified subgroups in the United States population in particular young black men from deprived communities" (p. 49).

Law enforcement officers are authorized by federal, state, and local lawmakers to arrest and confine persons suspected of crimes. The judicial system is authorized to confine persons convicted of crimes. This confinement, whether before or after a criminal conviction, is called incarceration.

Over the past forty years the increased of mass incarceration within the Federal Bureau of Prisons has increased more than 700 percent since the 1970’s, between the different type of ethnicity. Billions of dollars have spent to house offenders and to maintain their everyday life from rehabilitation programs, academic education, vocational training, substance abuse programs and medical care. The cost of incarceration climbs according to the level of security based on violent and non-violent crimes. Fewer staff is required in minimum and medium-security prisons that house low-level offenders. Incarceration is likely to serves as one indicator of other co-occurring risks and vulnerabilities that makes families particularly fragile. Mass incarceration is likely to increase if awareness is not implicated to reduce the rate of imprisonment and broken families to take back their communities and reclaim their hope for the future.

From 1980 to 2008, the number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled-from roughly 500,000 to 2.3 million people.For decades, the United States had a relatively stable prison population. That changed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some factors included a rise in crime from the 1960s to 1980s; rising concerns over crack cocaine and other drugs, resulting in huge increases in drug penalties; a move to mandatory minimum sentences; and the implementation of other tough-on-crime policies, such as "three-strikes" laws and policies to ensure prisoners served at least 85 percent of their sentences. What's more, the movement toward broad, punitive crime control and prison policies wasn't based on any scientific rationale, says Haney, who studies

“Crime control view: Inmates are criminals who have harmed others and must be made to pay for their misdeeds. Convicted criminals have, by definition, forfeited their right to freedom and liberty. The suffering they endure in confinement serves to deter future criminal behaviors. The fewer rights inmates have, the greater the deterrent effect of punishment.” (Siegal & Bartollas, 2010, pg. 209)

What would prisons be like without correctional officers? Imagine what life would be in prisons around a bunch of inmates, not having any protection from anyone, being around people who you know have killed, or have done other crimes. Correctional officers are not just helpful in prisons but also when transporting inmates from one place to another. With Correctional officers now in days they are a big help for our society. Without them we would not have any security when being in prison. Correctional officers are people just like us, they have families and other things just like anyone else would. It is a very risky job that many would never think of becoming an officers. Correctional officers are responsible for enforcing the law and

Gregg Barak (2007) pointed how American’s failing mental health care system has attributed the overrepresentation of the mentally ill in U.S jails “Because of the large-scale denationalization of mental health facilities in the 1970s and 1980s, the number of people struggling with mental illness on their own has risen over the past three decades, and social institutions have been less than responsive to their needs.” (Barak, 2007: 587) Steven Raphael and Michael Stoll (2013) drew attention to the overrepresentation of mentally ill offenders in U.S jails and prisons. “Approximately half of state and federal prison inmates and over 60 percent of jail inmates report having mental health problems or symptoms indicative of mental illness. The

According to Frank Schmalleger “On January 1, 2013, the nation’s state and federal prisons held 1,571,013 inmates, of which 1,512,391 were serving sentences of a year or more. Slightly more than 7% (or 108,866) of those imprisoned were women” (Schmalleger, p. 429). After further examination of prison statistics based on race a huge disparity was evident between blacks and whites in prison. “ Whereas only and estimated 1,001 white men are imprisoned in the United States for every 100,000 white men in their late 20s, figures show and incarcerations rate of 6,927 black men for every 100,000 black men of the same age—seven times greater than the figure for whites” (Schmallager, p. 430).

One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections by the PEW Center offers interesting insight into the system beyond the containment of offenders inside prison walls. For quite a long time, especially after reading Punished by Victor Rios in Professor Morton’s seminar course, my views on probation and parole systems were of a negative light. I read stories of the young boys constantly targeted by police, picked up for small offenses and then immediately on probation and looped directly into the cycle; there was also no respect for the authority, by the boys, of the probation or parole system because of it’s lack of timely response to offenses and control. As a fresh perspective, the article altered my point of a view – it cited specific examples of states that have launched programs to go with community corrections over prison as a first choice and the results are seemingly positive, both in terms of crime reduction and cost benefit. Overall, I really liked this article – and I agreed with the argument which they backed up with cost and population numbers displaying the benefits of community correction versus prison, if implemented correctly. With a focus on helping those on probation and parole, and doling out money for those branches and not just prisons we are putting ourselves on the path to success – one of safety and better budgets.

Lets take a minute to delve into the demographics of incarcerated prisoners today. According to Schmalleger, in 2012, 93% of all prisoners were male, with females picking up the remaining 7%; this is a 3% increase from 1980. 35% of all prisoners are white, 38% are black, and 21% are Hispanic (Schmalleger, 2015). Approximately two-thirds of prison inmates are between the ages of 25 and 44 years old. Why are women and minorities being incarcerated? Well, to be perfectly blunt, they broke the law. The last time I took a gander at old Lady Justice, she was wearing a blindfold; she doesn't care about your color, sex. or religion, she cares about justice. But since I am sure that is not the answer anybody is looking for on here, I'll play along.

What comes to mind when thinking of women in a correctional facility? Maybe crime, sexual abuse, mental illness, or drugs? When contemplating a typical female prisoner these are valid areas to take into consideration. However, has anyone ever stopped to think about the quality of care they receive during their incarceration or the lack thereof? Using an experimental approach, this group aims to create a film that will shed light onto the inhumane treatment of women in prison.

With my last name starting with a W I had the option of choosing between four different chapters. Chapter 5 the Court System, Chapter 6 Jails and Prisons, Chapter 7 Probation and Parole, and Chapter 8 the Juvenile Justices System. This being a hard choice to narrow these four topics down to one I have decided to discuss Chapter 6 Jails and Prisons.

Prisons have become asylums. There are ten times as many prisoners receiving help than there are patients in psychiatrist. It has become a simpler or only way for some to obtain help; to self-medicate and land in prison. Getting help in communities around the nation is becoming difficult Therefore, a large portion of inmates are being left untreated and have found their ways onto the prison system. Because Prisons are unequipped many are left with no psychiatry help or with only medication to hand out. Prison officials are mostly untrained for these individuals and treat them alike others unknowingly inflicting more damage to the individuals, others try their best to provide treatment but understand that the prison cycle is difficult to get

When it came to prisoners it would have been less costly to have alternative punishments or other treatments that could be involved in the community, but if you incarcerate the inmate then it makes them more likely to reoffend, and by this process it is creating more cost in the future. When it comes to women “Incarcerating women, in particular, increases the social cost of prisons because someone has to pay to take care of the children, and furthermore, when mothers do not care for their children personally, the kids are more likely to become offenders in the future” (Pryce, Vicky 2013 Prisonomics: Behind Bars in Britain's Failing Prisons. London: Biteback , 336 pp). But if we were to invest money into other ideas that would give better