Educating Prisoners – An Unnecessary Effort
Crime knows no bound, no race, no social status, no gender. In prisons, all criminals are criminals, whether they have committed felony, rape or assault. White-collar crimes are the same as any other crime. Still, most inmates are from the middle class and lower class of our society. However, committing crime, and what kind of crime, is still the choice of the person, whether he has attained a formal education, a higher degree of learning or not.
Still the fact remains that the scope of understanding and the extent of knowledge of white-collar crimes, being more complicated by systems and networks, require some kind of formal education, if not an extensive one. This does not mean that
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This then results to the third phase in the educational cycle of prisoners, their frustration regarding their newfound skills and knowledge. With the stunted growth of knowledge, the prisoner student has difficulty in quenching the need to further learn and understand. And with the newfound skills and knowledge, he aims to use this in a practical way. He proposes programs but when these programs become too successful that they need outside contact, it is abruptly cut again. The practical application is also stunted. What will the inmate then do with his skills when he is confined in a very limited space to use his skills? The skills are underutilized and furthermore the experience breeds more contempt and alienation.
But a more pressing factor for discontinuing prison education is the conditions inside the jail. An example is the lockdown, “used a security measure, a lockdown confines prisoner to their cells for an indefinite period” (Thomas 28). This disrupts the class, as the inmates are not permitted to go outside of their cells unless they are assigned maintenance of the institution. This can happen to just one group of detainees that the other groups get ahead of them in their tasks, the inmates in a lockdown are pressured to catch up with the work. Schedules of hearings and trials also disrupt the class schedules. Another condition is the jail staff and
In today’s society annual African American reading levels continue to be lower than other races. There are connections between literacy levels and prisons. There are beliefs that there’s a correlation between prisons beds built based off African American 3rd grade reading test scores. It’s predicted that based on 3rd grade test scores, students reading below grade level will eventually drop out of school, engage in criminal activity, and ultimately be incarcerated at some time in their lives. The concern is if this matter is not addressed, there will be continuous growth of imprisonment, increasing numbers of single parents households (low income homes), more children not growing up to maximize their full potential, and less leaders to guide
In the United States there is in extremely high rate of incarceration and mass imprisonment. Policies and ideas for change are being brought to the table on a daily basis. Is it worth it? Is the question that we always have to ask ourselves and will justice truly be served at the end of the day. Well throughout this course I have found that there is never a true solution to crime rates in general only ideas to decrease problems that have yet to stop rising. For example, the War on Drugs in the early 1980’s and the “broken window” policy in the mid 1970’s are both examples of putting water on the fire but never putting the fire completely out. These policy have
Today, it seems almost incomprehensible that so many people with serious mental illnesses reside in prisons instead of receiving treatment. Over a century and a half ago, reform advocates like Dorothea Dix campaigned for prison reform, urging lawmakers to house the mentally ill in hospitals rather than in prisons. The efforts undertaken by Dix and other like-minded reformers were successful: from around 1870 to 1970, most of the United States’ mentally ill population was housed in hospitals rather than in prisons. Considering reformers made great strides in improving this situation over a century and a half ago. Granted, mental hospitals in the late 19th and early 20th century were often badly run and critically flawed, but rather than pushing for reform of these hospitals, many politicians lobbied for them to close their doors, switching instead to a community-based system for treating the mentally ill. Although deinstitutionalization was originally understood as a humane way to offer more suitable services to the mentally ill in community-based settings, some politicians seized upon it as a way to save money by shutting down institutions without providing any meaningful treatment alternatives. This callousness has created a one-way road to prison for massive numbers of impaired individuals and the inhumane warehousing of thousands of mentally ill people. Nevertheless, there are things that can be done to lower the rate mentally ill persons are being incarcerated. Such
While in prison, education would provide a crucial key for inmate rehabilitation. Part of that rehabilitation can be in the form of education. Education in the prison system generally geared
The privatizing of the prison systems, around every country is a huge revenue source the overcrowding and use of prisoners as a profit tool and; it simply isn’t meant for rehabilitation, but as a tool for cheap labor, convicting the innocent, and monetary gain. Prison this is the place where all the lowlifes go the scum, rapist, and desperate marauder’s that stalk in the night. Prison is in the place where the bad people go away from society to serve a potential life sentence for one’s crimes or for years on end all the while trying to correct their deviant tendencies. Yes, we all see prison as a place for reform of the morally corrupt to become better through the lesson of freedom and most rights taken away. To be put into a harsh environment
White-collar crimes are just as prevalent today as ordinary street crimes. Studies show that criminal acts committed by white-collar criminals continue to increase due to unforeseen opportunities presented in the corporate world, but these crimes are often overlooked or minimally publicized in reference to criminal acts on the street. Many street crimes are viewed as unnecessary, horrendous crimes because they are committed by lower class citizens, whereas white collar crimes are illegal acts committed by seemingly respectable people whose occupational roles are considered successful and often admired by many (Piquero, 2014). These views often allow white collar crimes to “slip through the cracks” and carry lesser charges or punishment.
The minimum security is federal prison camps adjacent to other federal prisons near military bases. Male prisoners who need only minimum security are set up in camps and those who will be transitioned [Passive voice] back into society and served their sentence will be set-up in a halfway house.
In this world we live in many feel that prisons exist to punish, not counsel, offenders. That may be true that Prisons exist for punishment, but they also have an important contribution to make to reducing re-offending by engaging prisoners in rehabilitation programs and purposeful work. Society is flawed in its thinking that by putting criminals in a place away from society we would be better off. To make it worse I am sure that more that 60 percent of Americans are against social reform because they have made up their mind that once a crook, always a crook. This is flawed mainly because it seems to assume that showing people that what they've done is wrong will always accomplish something, that punishing those who commit crimes
Given the number of inmates in the prison system and the high level of recidivism, it is important to seek out possible solutions to this growing problem. By implementing more educationally and vocationally oriented programs it is possible that current recidivism rates can be reduced, thereby offering some relief for existing overcrowding conditions.
In America, crime rates are going up and prisoners are being released from prison with a wrong sense of direction resulting in their finding themselves back behind bars within a short period of time after being released for an action that could have been prevented if the proper precautions had been taken. Prisons need to put forth the effort to resolve these issues and make America’s streets secure again. The criminal justice system in prisons is a rising concern in this country that is affecting many and it is time it was improved by reforming the inside of prisons, providing prisoners with more when released, and keeping them under surveillance after release to help ensure they will not return to prison, thus keeping crime at a lower rate.
This paper explores the benefits provided by educational programs in jails and prisons. Included are the reasons inmates need education in order to successfully reenter society once they are released and use the knowledge and skills they have learned to obtain a job in order to support themselves and their families. Also examined in the paper are the financial benefits of incorporating educational programs instead of cutting them, as well as the effect these programs play on the recidivism rate. Lastly is a focus on understanding the importance of education and job training, even though the recipients are criminals.
Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means
In prisons today, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution are all elements that provide a justice to society. Prisons effectively do their part in seeing that one if not more of these elements are met and successfully done. If it were not for these elements, than what would a prison be good for? It is highly debated upon whether or not these elements are done properly. It is a fact that these are and a fact that throughout the remainder of time these will be a successful part of prison life.
The prison is a system that is a touchy subject. Half of people think it is fine and the other half see a need for major change. The system has been mostly the same for years now and people think that it is about time to change something due to reincarceration rates and how prisoners are treated. Gang creation among races is a large problem for inmates when they are released and head back into society. I chose this topic because I have noticed that criminals who go into the prison system are never really a better person but likely will end up back in the pen.
Quinney (1964), “Because the validity of white collar crime as a form of crime has been a subject of severe controversy, the question of conceptual clarity has largely been ignored. Today, as a result, the meaning of the concept is not always clear” (p208).