Essay On Diversion Programs

Probation it a sentence handed down by a judge that gives an offender freedom based on terms that are set by a judge (Schmalleger). These set roles the offender may face are things such as random drug testing and some form of rehabilitation. This gives offenders a second chance to rehabilitate them self and fallow the law.

     “It is not a surprise to see that prisoners all have a low education level. I guess a more educated person has enough sense not to be involved with crime…the relationship between crime and education is easy to see when viewing these facts” (Cordes 1). This is the view of most people when asked why people are in prison. People simply say that criminals were ill educated. As hard as we may try, we cannot do a lot about what happens before they enter prison, but there are many programs inside prisons to help rehabilitate them for when they leave the prison.

By the lack of rehabilitation programs in the state and federal prison systems, the chances of convicts releasing and returning back to prison increases rapidly. The lack of rehabilitation is one of the most leading causes to an offenders relapse or to a new crime that will be committed within 3 years from the offender’s release. A rehabilitation program

The correctional system has three main goals: punish, protect the community and rehabilitate the offender. However, it is unclear how well the modern U.S correctional system achieves these goals and whether the money invested in the correctional system might be better spent. These are some of the points I will cover regarding what I think about the correctional system.

The School-to-Prison Pipeline is a “national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems” (“School-to-Prison Pipeline”). This phenomenon brings children into the juvenile justice system at a very young age. An article published in the journal Urban Education explains that, “The school-to-prison pipeline contributes to the atmosphere of increased surveillance of schools including police presence in schools, zero-tolerance policies, physical restraint tactics, and automatic consequence policies, resulting in suspensions from school” (Martin, Beese 2015). By increasing police presence in schools, children are more likely to be searched, questioned, or targeted by police than they would be without police present. And as a result, “children are far more likely to be subject to school-based arrests—the majority of which are for nonviolent offenses, such as disruptive behavior—than they were a generation ago” (“School-to-Prison Pipeline”). For example, if a child was misbehaving in class in a school that had a police presence, they could possibly get arrested and sent to prison. But if a child was acting the same way in a school that did not have any police presence, they would not be arrested. Police would most likely be present in a school in an urban environment or poor neighborhood because more crime occurs in urban and poor places, so in theory, by placing police in schools, they would be preventing any crimes

The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program was aimed to follow a rehabilitative justice perspective. This rehabilitative justice perspective is a “concept intended to meet the needs of the victims/offenders with the intent of having the community involved” (McCold, 1995). LEAD carries out this concept in three ways: it aids the police/ social services by creating a resource base, removes the offenders from society, and provides aid to the offender.

The jail program I believe is most beneficial to an inmate is educational and training programs. Most jails and prison offer inmates the GED programs to help them further their education more. Most of the inmates that receive education program are most likely not to return back to prison and more likely to find a job as well. This program gives the inmates hope for a better life and future. The ones with no education will stay on the street and make their living.

Jail diversion is a mental health platform explicitly premeditated to isolate and divert individuals with mental health, substance abuse disorders or both from the criminal justice system into a need-specific treatment in the mental health system. Specifically, the program provides linkages to community-based treatment and support services to assist the individual in reducing deviant behavior. For this reason, the individuals avoid arrests and spend a lesser period in jail. The effectiveness of the diversion program relies on various activities that involve the identification of the target group and a proper integration of the victim into the program. While there are many different types of jail diversion programs the accessibility to jail diversion programs are limited, due to the strict qualification guidelines set. In addition, the availability of appropriate mental health professionals is paramount to the efficiency of the program. It is a common belief that linking mentally ill offenders to Community-Based Services decrease their chances of recidivism and contact with security officers (Sirotich, 2009).

These programs hold the said offenders liable for their actions in a way hold them responsible for their actions and prevents future participation in criminal activities. Diversion treatment plans offer a variety of services, including methodological services to mentally unstable drug abusers and offenders. This is essential to society to prevent the appearance of drugs on public streets when these mentally unstable offenders are released. Diversion programs can greatly help those with a dual-diagnosis rehabilitate, not just spend time in jail. Diversion programs are aslo time and cost effective. They take less time and money to process a case than a regular court case does. According to a website that provides information on youth and adult diversion programs (youthservicesinc.org), in these programs, offenders are expected to acknowledge their responsibility for breaking the law, they must also be willing to make amends. Attendance at diversion board hearing is required to explain the violating behavior and to see if your case will be accepted by the board. If accepted, the offender will complete a contract within the specified length of time. Successful completion of a diversion program results in the dismissal of the charges against the offender. This helps participants of these programs continue working and going to school. It even helps them remain functioning members of society

Drug Courts came about as a result of a backlogged court system and a steady, rapidly increasing prison population. Drug courts are a form of diversion that helps the offender through rehabilitation and the community through an increased sense of protection, which serves the best interest of everyone. Drug Courts are community based intermediate sanctions that incorporate treatment principles into the Criminal Justice System and divert drug offenders from traditional punishments of probation and prison. The objective of drug courts programs is to treat the underlying problems of addiction among drug offenders and eliminate participants’ future drug use and crime.

The ever-growing problem that is occurring in public schools around the country is the school to prison pipeline epidemic. The school to prison pipeline is a term used to describe how students are being pushed out of public school and into the criminal justice system. This epidemic is a result of the education system’s zero tolerance policy that enforces harsh punishments for misbehaving students. Although its goal was to eliminate misbehavior, studies have shown that the increased disciplinary actions have resulted in a modified school environment, police in school

The law had defined a line between juvenile and adult offenders. In the United States, if you are under the age of 18 and get into trouble with the law then you will have to face the Juvenile Justice System. Although the age requirement varies amongst states juvenile institutions and programs were created to help treat those who are in trouble with the law. There are several types of Juvenile Institutions and programs. Some provide harsh punishment for young offenders while others focal point emphasizes on treatment and prevention. There are several juvenile correctional facilities such as, training schools which are long term facilities for housing juveniles and serve as a function analogous to adult prisons (Thompson, 2013); Group homes, which resemble a dormitory type of living for juveniles while allowing them to engage in the society with limited participation, and even Detention centers. Juvenile detention centers detain young offenders sentenced by a juvenile court. They are reserved for the most dangerous offenders.

The idea of sympathetic release of ill and elderly prisoners is not new. In 1994, Professor Russell published consideration of medical parole and compassionate release programs of district and fifty states of Columbia. Only three

In Chapter 4, we are given an in depth break down of Diversion and Probation. Also, we learn the meaning of the two and can understand how they work, and how they differ. What sets them apart? Based on our text (Schmalleger & Smykia, 2015, p.  90), “diversion is defined as the halting or suspension, before conviction, of formal criminal proceedings against a person (often) conditioned on some form of counterperformance by the defendant” and “probation is the conditional release of a convicted offender into the community, under the supervision of a probation officer; it is conditional because it can be revoked if certain conditions are met.”

Some people may not have a psychological disorder that put them in prison and others may never recover from their illness. This program is a good idea if combined with other forms of punishment as well.