High Prevalence Rates Of Crime

As a country, we should care about all of our citizens and work toward bettering them, because we are only as strong as our weakest link. When it concerns the issue of corrections it should not be a discussion of punishment or rehabilitation. Instead, it should be a balance of both that puts the spotlight on rehabilitating offenders that are capable and willing to change their lives for the better. Through rehabilitation a number of issues in the corrections field can be solved from mental health to overcrowding. More importantly, it allows offenders the chance to do and be better once released from prison. This paper analyzes what both rehabilitation and punishment are as well as how they play a part in corrections. It also discusses the current reasons that punishment as the dominant model of corrections is not as effective as rehabilitation. After explaining rehabilitation and punishment, then breaking down the issues with punishment, I will recommend a plan for balance. A plan that will lower incarceration rates and give offenders a second chance.

“The Prison and Probation Service has two main goals: To contribute to the reduction of criminality, and to work to increase safety in society. To achieve these goals we work with sentenced persons in order to improve their possibilities of living a life without committing new crimes.” (Linstrom and Leijonram)

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

At any given time, there are approximately 2 million American citizens incarcerated and nearly 700,000 inmates returning to their communities each year. (Petitt & Western, 2004; Western, 2001). Since most prisoners are eventually released, mass incarceration has in turn produced a steep rise in the number of individuals reentering society and undergoing the process of social and economic reintegration. (Travis, 2005). During the period between 1982 and 2007, the number of Americans incarcerated in jails and prisons increased by 274% (Pew Center on the States, 2009). In addition to the increase of the individuals incarcerated, there is an even larger amount of individuals under community supervision, with a recent study finding that one in every 48 American adults are either on probation or parole on any given day (Glaze & Bonczar, 2011). Recent statistics show that the percentage of parolees re-incarcerated after release currently stands at 32% (Maruschak and Parks, 2012).

Corrections are an important part of the criminal justice system and they work in concert with law enforcement and the courts. Citizens in the United States expect criminals to be monitored, with some in secured facilities, so they will not fear of becoming continual victim of crime. To illustrate this expectation further, there are 2.5 million individuals on probation or parole and 1 million individuals in jails or prisons (Morris & Tonry, 2013, p. 370). However, does every individual confined in jails and prisons still need to be there or is there a better way to deal with certain special prison populations? Due to the large number of prisoners within the correctional system, certain special populations of inmates do not receive the rehabilitation or care needed to successfully reintegrate back into society. Additionally, these special populations create an undue burden on the correctional system in terms of financial costs associated with their confinement. There are changes that can be made to the criminal justice system to accommodate special populations of inmates. This paper will explore the alternative

Many correctional education programs focus on prisoner’s way of thinking and ability to make decisions. One of the many reasons criminals keep returning to prison is because they are often times released after many years of being incarcerated and have no assistance while returning to society. Correctional education programs are designed to eliminate such way of thinking so prison re-entry rate will drop. Programs such as Preparing Inmates for Re-Entry through Assistance, Training, and Employment Skills (PIRATES) are developed to reduce offenders’ negative career thoughts and teach essential skills in order to return back to society (Musgrove, Derzis, Shippen, & Brigman, 2012). Additionally, such programs are not only beneficial to

"Approximately 1 in 51 adults in the United States was under community supervision at yearend 2013, the lowest rate observed since 1996" (Herberman & Bonczar, 2014, p.1). Probation/parole supervision also known as "community" supervision, helps individuals (ex-criminals) acclimate back in their community. Probation is used when a judge chooses to let the offender serve his sentence under officer supervision in the community, rather than in prison. It is usually given to individuals that have committed a non-violent/ minor infraction or that have a really good defense attorney. However, when someone has been sent to prison for an extended period of time but have served a certain amount of their time or has proven to the Parole Board that they have improved their behavior, will be released to a Parole officer. The probation and parole program is comprised of two approaches casework and brokerage. Casework approach deals with the offender as a flawed person that needs help; brokerage approach is when the probation/parole officer uses his influence in the community to assist the criminal in finding employment or programs. Knowing how to use these approaches along with monitoring techniques will assist in the officer and offender being successful. This paper will examine the approaches to PO work along with the types of monitoring used to keep track of offenders. The purpose of this paper is to examine the elements of community supervision (probation/parole) that will make the

Both jail and prison offer some type of early released programs, in this case probation and parole will briefly be discussed. Probation is a prison sentence that is suspended on the condition that the offender follow certain prescribed rules and commit no further crime (Seiter, 2008). Parole is similar to probation except that it is after a period of incarceration, which involved determinate and indeterminate sentencing (Seiter, 2008). The other types of prison sentencing include mandatory minimums, three-strike laws, and truth-in-sentencing (Wilson, 2001). The only difference is that a parole board allows convicts to serve the remainder of their term in society under supervision and strict limitations (Wilson, 2001). In summary both jails and prisons should strive to provide as much educational, health, and counseling opportunities as possible to reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Second, funding for the jail and prison systems will be briefly discussed.

Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased

Community aftercare is a significant component to further the success of prison-based treatment. Prison-based treatment starts the recovery process, but a continuum of care is a necessity to maximize the effectiveness of treatment (Olson & Lurigio, 2014). Continued substance abuse treatment along with educational and employment training will be emphasized at the IDOC reentry center. A lack of a high school diploma or GED has been correlated with a high number of offenders who are probation violators (Linhorst, Dirks-Linhorst, & Groom, 2012). Employment training will be provided as many offenders have poor work histories. However once an offender obtains employment, research has shown the chances of them remaining a productive member of society increases. (Webster,

In the Criminal Justice system, there are many arguments for areas of improvement, but the focus of this paper is on the revitalization of prisoners and the way our system can assist. Numerous studies have shown that criminals tend to come out of prison worse than how they were when they came in, they may get involved in illegal activities or gangs inside the prison and they will likely be back in jail within the next three years as statistics show in Langan and Levin’s (2002) article on criminal relapse stated. The goal of this paper is to inform the reader of the benefits of helping to incorporate programs into prisons and create jobs inside and outside of prisons for released and current convicts. Those in the field of criminal justice are there to make society a better place and make people feel safe.

The system needs to reevaluate the way they deal with juvenile drug offenders in regards to drug treatment, because there is an abundance of underling factors suggested by researchers to have been disregarded, while they play a vital role in recidivism. Drug court treatment is necessary in reducing the risk of youth and for improvement of their overall lifestyle. It is more effective than traditional prisons and focuses more on the individual’s health and needs. This is imperative because the length of time that youth spend detained will impact them for the rest of their life, since they are missing out on growth opportunities and a positive

The use of parole has been around as early as the 1600s. Parole has grown into a program where offenders are released into the community with resources to help the offender reduce their chance of recidivating. Barton – Bellessa and Hanser said, “The true purpose of community correction [was] to reform those offenders who showed sufficient motivation and likelihood of being reformed (pgs. 441 and 443)”. Instead, in the past ten years, parole has been used to reduce overcrowding in prison instead of reintegrating the offender back into the community. For three decades parole has had a dreadful reputation for releasing prisoners into the community without being reformed. In order for a parole program to be successful, there are various elements that need to take place; a need for careful selection of offenders that deserve at chance at parole, communication between multiple departments need to be precise and often, community – based services need to be available and participate with the offender, and most important, the relationship between offender and case worker needs to be frequent and honest.

Alongside humanity and dignity, there needs to be an inclination to participate in prison programs. A study was done at Leiden University and Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement to compare readiness for job or social training and ability to complete training in correctional institutions. This study was done to make sure resources were not wasted, as the training may be expensive depending on the program (Bosma 1103). Readiness was measured by interviewing prisoners and ranking their willingness and disposition towards the program (Bosma 1105). Through pre and post testing, it was found that if the prisoner was more willing to participate in the training, they were more likely to participate and complete the rehabilitation program (Bosma 1113). Keeping this in mind, when rehabilitation programs are introduced to American prisons, there needs to be a willingness to change and participate in these programs for them to be effective, otherwise there

The purpose of this research paper is to discuss about Parole and Probation in America. The paper is going to focus on the past, present and future of parole and probation. This paper includes discussion of Parole and Probation Officers, as well as why some states so longer utilize parole, including Florida. This paper will also include personal input about the topic.