Jails And Prisons

Parole and probation function through their operation programs such as their case classification system (Burrell, 2003). This system allows the parole board to classify which cases should be considered for early release and which ones should not. Once a case is determined to be eligible for parole, then probation uses the case classification system to decide if the case is high risk or low risk (manhattan-institute.org, 2000). Community corrections becomes a part of the parole and probation services once the inmate is released into the community by “operating residential and secure custodial facilities and provide free labor to local organizations through community service programs, probation and parole are best known for their role in the supervision of offenders in the community” (Burrell, 2003, p. 1).

Community corrections is continually changing and has been for the past one hundred years. From the early to mid-twentieth century onward it has used three major models, the medical model, community model, and the crime control model. The major turning point for the American community corrections system that led to corrections as we know it today was in 1974 when What Works? - Questions and Answers About Prison Reform by Martinson was published. The system changed practically overnight across the nation. The notion of rehabilitating offenders was dismissed and a more punitive “lock them up and throw away the key” mentality took over. Presently the corrections system is still working in the crime control model, but professionals are trying to restructure how we deal with criminal offenders during and after incarceration. The difficulty in the restructuring is finding the balance between punishing criminal offenders proportionate to their crime, but also rehabilitating them to be productive members of society once they are released so that they do not recidivate.

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

Jails and prisons help the forge and concept of rehabilitation. Jails and prisons have changed over time and now, they reflect current methods of housing for persons who need to be rehabilitated or punished. Even though jails and prisons have differences and similarities, they both help to maintain the world safe. In this paper I will discuss similarities and differences about jails and prisons. I will also discuss statistics about jails and prison that may affect the United States, and the mission of prisons. In the Ancient times, prisons would be traced back to the rise of the state as a form of social organization. In early periods jails prisons were mean to detain and remove personal freedom. Jails and prisons were constantly used before

prisons. One you are arrested, jail is usually the first place that law enforcement officers

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.

The United States prison population has expanded at an increasingly rapid rate over that past several decades. Each day, more and more criminal offenders are sent to prisons; most of which were designed to house fewer inmates but are now packed to their limits. This “mass- incarceration era” as many scholars and commentators of the Criminal Justice System call it, is a result of several key issues that have created an environment within the correctional system that forces many inmates to serve longer prison sentences while increasing recidivism rates. Current federal and state sentencing policies have resulted in historically high rates of offender recidivism and the highest incarceration rates in the world (Warren, 2007). As a result, prison population and overcrowding has rapidly increased and has become a serious issue across the country however, a reform in sentencing policies, more early-release incentives, and reintegration back into society through rehabilitation will help reduce recidivism and prevent the continuing rise of prison populations. (change once paper is complete)

The article talks about how a man named, Rodney Roberts was incarcerated for kidnapping and rape, which he said that he didn't commit. Roberts states, “Seventeen years I was gone. I had to understand and process the changes to society, the technology, the cultural changes, the geographical changes” (Roberts). Once you are free from jail, you have to realize that things in the community are not going to be the same anymore. You are going to come across things that you are not use to anymore, but think about if this would happen while in jail.

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

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.

According to Alexander, so many black men are missing because they are under the criminal justice system. In today’s society, there has been a mass incarceration of black men due to the federal program called the war on drugs. Because of this mass incarceration, a lot of black men are far from home without being able to raise their children. “Hundreds of thousands of black men are unable to be good fathers for their children, not because of a lack of commitment or desire but because they are warehoused in prisons, locked in cages” (Alexander 738). African Americans were victims of slavery in the past; however, in today’s society the number of black men in prison is even bigger than the black men enslaved in the past. “More black men are imprisoned today than at any other moment in our nation’s history” (Alexander 740). The war on drugs makes this possible because

GED while incarcerated, but such opportunities depend on the availability of education programs and inmate eligibility for those programs” (Visher, Travis).

The American prison finds its origin in Europe. Like most things American we have adopted and adapted many of our beliefs and customs from our mother land. The punishment of confinement was rare and unheard of in America before Eighteenth century. The English concept of prison and incarceration did not even take root until the late Eighteenth Century (Hirsch, 1992). Now, American’s cannot claim that they invented prisons or the concept of confining criminal offenders within facilities that keep them separate from society. However, they can accredit themselves with championing the concept of prison reformation. Much like its English counterpart the early American prison system, which would one day grow to be an integral part of the expansive American Criminal Justice System, had an ugly and brutal start. Confinement conditions for Prisoners were harsh and unrelenting. Most Facilities designed to house criminal offenders were over populated, under staffed, and lacked necessary resources to support their growing population of inmates (Clear & Cole, 2003). However, over the years, America has made many strives to correct the errors of their predecessors. This paper will detail the early American Prison System and its journey through reformation to become the modern Prison system that we know today.

Every year the amount of individuals that are being incarcerated continue to escalate. Unfortunately, there are various reasons as to why this is. Our prison system is being exploited. Every building has its max capacity—its limits, and our federal and state penitentiaries are at their maximum limit. The prisons are starting to become so over crowded that it is becoming a serious hazard to not only the individuals that are being incarcerated, but also to the friends and families that are affected because of the prison system. That is why I have decided to help. However, in order to help alleviate this particular issue, I need to focus on the one concept that is the most influential when it comes to preventing

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