Harsher Penalties On The Crime Rate

Defining the crime problem is a vital step in controlling crime. Crime is undoubtedly a significant and pricey societal problem but we cannot target the problem without first defining it. There is no one identical solution to crime, instead it is based on a piece by piece basis. Strategies to target crimes need to target larger geographical areas, sometimes entire states. In addition, for a strategy to be successful in controlling a crime it cannot be too vague or extremely specific to an index crime. An example of a crime a law should target is: drug sales in a problem neighborhood or rapes at a city park. –Chapter 1 Page

Some of these positive results of after-school programs include, less juvenile crimes are being committed and children are less likely to become victims of violent crimes. This means that the assumptions made that after-school programs will reduce the number of crimes children commit is true. When children have somewhere to go, they will not be out running around on the streets potentially committing crimes or being victim to crimes. Also, the amount of school vandalism has decreased, children are learning how to better deal with anger, and the are developing better social skills. When children are enrolled in after-school programs, they are not only furthering their education beyond the school hours, but they are also building more meaningful relationships with their peers by spending more time with them. They are interacting with their peers outside of the school environment which allows them to

The starting point of violence takes place in communities and at home--not at school. Youth take what they hear and see at home and in their communities to school. The environment in some communities and households are positive and the presences of protective factors outweigh the high risk factors. However, there are communities and households where there is a lack of informal social control and high risk factors exist more than protective factors--, which affect youth in a negative manner.

There have been theories made by people in government position on the crime epidemic and how to lower crime the crime rate. Many believe that the tougher the consequences, the better it would help people deter away from a life of crime. Unfortunately, this is not true for countries like the United States. We have very strict consequences for people that commit crime, yet we also have one of the

In this period of mass incarceration and tough on crime era policies, harsh prison and jail conditions are being utilized as a form of deterrent to reduce crime and improve public safety. Accordingly, well over “2.3 million people are in prison or jail, and 700,000 former offenders are returned into society each year and 77 percent were sent back to prison costing taxpayers massive amounts of revenue.” (Mears & Cochran, 2015) As a result of this the United States possesses the “highest incarceration rate in the world” due to this faulty theory. (Mears & Cochran, 2015) For many politicians and the general public, they believe the idea that stringent and austere prison conditions will create a milieu in which an offender will want to reform to avoid these intolerable living environments. This situation is exacerbated by the lack of studies, and politicians not heeding the existing research. According to Listwan et al., limited number of studies that has paid systematic attention to how exposure to the deprivations or pains of imprisonment might foster reoffending. This omission is somewhat perplexing, given that the pains of imprisonment have long been documented and that policymakers have explicitly celebrated the painfulness of prisons as a way of teaching offenders that “crime does not pay.” (Listwan et al., 2013)

In the last few decades, there has been an increase in the number of individuals who have been incarcerated in both federal and state prisons. Indeed, research has shown that harsher sentencing policies and more punitive laws have resulted in the incarceration of more than 2.3 million people in the varied jails and prisons; thereby making the United States the leader as far as incarceration is concerned. Incarceration and sentencing systems have conventionally been aimed at having varying goals including rehabilitation, incapacitation, punishment and deterrence. Recent decades have seen the enactment of sentencing policy initiatives with the aim of enhancing the criminal justice systems deterrent effect.

Some people today feel that they are isolated from their own community. In Oak Park, Illinois, third through eighth graders took a survey. Roughly 42% of them said they felt excluded or embarrassed socially by their classmates. Another 32% stated that they were bullied by their piers. With all these emotions going through them at such a young and developing age, it can cause serious damage with the way the kids and young teens look at life. With them feeling removed from their school community and friend groups, they may act out in violent ways against those who have made them feel this way. For example, there have been many stories in the news regarding students who bring weapons to school with the intent of harming others. Another result

School violence can be prevented by parents, communities, teachers, and even classmates can help reduce violence and improve the overall school environment, Also, education and consequences must occur in the home by parents and educators to effectively help reduce school and youth violence. This strategy stands in contrast to use prevention strategies, such as metal detectors and other security measures to help determine benefits and evidence that may offer knowledge and experience in preventing school violence that can enhance approaches to end school

The findings of this paper have raised several issues based on the linkage between scale of incarceration and crime rates in a given jurisdiction. First, results indicate that the effectiveness of incarceration in instances of increased crime may rely on a given jurisdiction. This means that this policy of crime reduction may not be universally effective. Generally, jurisdictions whose incarceration policy implementation are at advanced stages may face lesser challenges in crime reduction that their less developed peers. This is an obvious finding because it is expected that

Mandatory sentencing refers to those sentences which a judicial officer is required to impose no matter what the circumstances of the offence. In other words, the judicial officer has no discretion to impose a higher or lower sentence depending upon the nature of the crime. In the case of one punch laws, the mandatory sentence is a minimum so a judicial officer is able to impose a higher sentence if he or she thinks it’s appropriate. For example, a person who king hits someone will automatically get an eight-year mandatory minimum sentence. If someone else does the same thing one month later in a different place and is heard by a different judge he will get that same mandatory minimum sentence of eight years in prison and possibly longer if the judge thinks it’s suitable.

Based on my interpretation of the reading, higher crime rate themselves has lowered crime rates. Base on many studies conducted and funded by the U.S. department of justice there has been a relationship between the incarceration and crime. Research has founded that reduced crime rates are associated with increase imprisonment rates. On the other hand, increase in crime rate are associated with a decrease in imprisonment rates. Based on this, I would have to say that higher incarceration rates had reduce crime rates.

Mandatory Sentencing, defined by definitions.uslegal.com, are those sentences which a judicial officer is required to impose regardless of the circumstances of the offense. This means, the judicial officer has no discretion to impose a higher or lower sentence depending upon the nature of crime. In my way of thinking, there is something wrong with the way people are being convicted, and how easily people get off compared to others - and it needs to be changed.

A strong relationship between the police and any member of the community is essential in helping to deter criminal activity. Without it not much will get done to improve the community’s problems, or solve any crimes committed. In the Anonymous Community the coming together of police officers and community members has assisted in bringing down sense of worry and brought about a sense of security that things will get better for them. In regards to schools, after school programs can help juveniles that have nowhere to go, or no family to go home to right away. According to Miller, Hess, and Orthmann (2014), “data has consistently shown that on school days, juvenile crime and delinquency peaks in the hours immediately after school” (p.372). So,

Lastly, a more punitive justice system would cause overcrowding within our justice system, making a more detrimental environment for the offenders to live in. The purpose of prisons should be to rehabilitate offenders and prepare them to reenter society. Rather, what prions are doing is locking inmates away in atrocious environments, making them live with less resources and less space to function. This is not a suitable environment for any human being. Cook & Roesh (2012) contend that, “double-bunking inmates increased because of overcrowding, and there are more segregation-like units which have limited offenders’ access to rehabilitation programs” (p. 220). By limiting offenders rehabilitation programs, prisons are not offering their inmates a chance at improving themselves, when the inmates are released, there is still a chance of recidivism. Furthermore, overcrowding showed signs of poor mental and physical health (Cook & Roesh, 2012, p. 220). If a more punitive justice system were to come into place, mass incarceration would develop putting prisons at a higher risk of overcrowding. Through overcrowding there are health issues pertaining to the inmates and leaves them with a higher risk of recidivism when leaving prison. The job of prisons should be to turn offenders into productive members of society, not subject them to inhumane living conditions. Although offenders are incarcerated as a punishment to their crimes, it does not show progressive results when the

Part 1: Nature, Extent, Impact of Crime Policy on Crime & the Administration of Justice in the U.S.