This topic focuses on a man who currently was in Frederick robbing people of their goods such as wallets from women's purses to rings that were family heirlooms. The man Jared Austin Cannon was caught in the act and was sentenced to six months in jail for multiple cases of burglary and theft, his attorney said that the man was driven to this act by a drug addiction, the man was using heroin, but as a narcotic pain medicine because he had been in a car wreck three years ago, after he had stolen from several homes, citizens are afraid to leave their homes unlocked when they are home which I believe is the dumbest thing you could ever do, leaving your home unlocked while sitting in the living room. These acts of burglary happened in Yellow Springs,
Many different states have begun sending nonviolent drug offenders to various kinds of drug treatment program the state offers. By doing this, it has significantly reduced the problems with overcrowding. If an individual is arrested and charged with simple possession of a drug and no other crime is being commented, then this person is doing no harm to anyone else. They should be given the opportunity to try and make a change in their life and beat the addiction. Instead, if this person is thrown into jail, they are still going to be an addict with a criminal record now and will not be able to be a contributing member of society. (Everett 1 ).
Reiman and Leighton comprehensively begin the discussion of crime by outlining their main objectives, establishing the immediate problems surrounding crime control in America, and setting the groundwork for their premises. In recent years, the crime rate in the United States has declined. This decline is generally attributed to ‘tough on crime’ and mass incarceration policies, but the authors are quick to assert that other variables--economic, social-- are greater contributors to this decrease, with the ‘imprisonment binge’ only actually contributing a small amount to the decline. These strict crime enforcement policies might have a small impact on crime prevention, but criminologists are concerned with the potential effect such policies might have on criminal justice procedures--promoting profit rather than safety-- and endangering citizens’ rights (particularly those considered minorities).
The War on Drugs is one cause for the mass incarceration that has become apparent within the United States. This refers to a drastic amount of people being imprisoned for mainly non-violent crime (“Mass Incarceration” 2016). In addition to people who are not an immediate threat to society being locked up for a substantial duration of time, the economic consequences are costing states and taxpayers millions of dollars. Specifically, every one in five people incarcerated is in prison due to some
Tougher sentencing is not likely to reduce illegal drug use or serious crime associated with drugs (Alexander, 2010; Mauer, 2009; Whitford & Yates, 2009). Despite that, politicians and law enforcement personnel continue to advocate for stronger sentences for those who take or sell drugs of any kind. The jails and prisons across the United States are filling up with drug offenders, and some believe that there are better uses for those jail cells and that there are many crimes that are more severe and significant. These are the crimes that should be provided with tougher sentencing guidelines, but yet illegal drug use is still a serious crime and should not go unpunished. What should be done, and how should changes be made? Those are tough questions that have to be explored and that do not have any easy answers for those who make the laws and those who enforce them. Drug incarceration has been on the rise, with mixed results. According to King (2008), "overall, between 1980 and 2003, the number of drug offenders in prison or jail increased by 1100% from 41,100 in 1980 to 493,800 in 2003, with a remarkable rise in arrests concentrated in African American communities."
In 1996, Federal Legislation was put in place that banned former prisoners with drug convictions from using food stamps and allowed public housing authorities to ban drug convicts from staying in public housing (Race and the War on Drugs). This negatively impacts the former drug offenders because it provides another setback on top of the plethora of challenges that they already face when leaving prison, like finding a job where the employer accepts former criminals. Having all of these difficulties in readjusting to “regular” society, restrictions set in place by the government now make it harder for these drug users or sellers to remain out of prison. The issue with punishing drug use is that it does not attempt to end the problem permanently and turns to quick fixes instead of long term solutions like rehabilitation and in- prison drug therapy. The lack of desire to help these prisoners is evident in the dropping of in-prison drug therapy since 1991 “despite the fact that almost one in five people in state prisons on drug charges cite the need to pay for their drug habit as the reason for their offense,” (Race and the War on Drugs). The War on Drugs attempts to punish drug
Wrongdoing data report 3 congestion of jail and including more strain the administration to construct more jail offices to house prisoners that have been declared guilty criminal acts. I suggest for high criminal acts ranges that more cops are put to serve as hindrances and a show of power. I accept if more security was put in neighborhoods and business edifices it will keep a portion of the thefts. I realize that we will never have the capacity to prevent this wrongdoing from happening. I do have confidence in our criminal equity framework, that we can diminish the rate of it burglaries in our nation. Multiplying jails terms won't prevent individuals from submitting theft. Multiplied jail terms won't be cost proficient, detainees will need to be housed, food, and medicinal watch over a more drawn out time of time. It will likewise require more detainment facilities and prisons to be constructed. The council ought not to make this new
Despite the large amount of criminals in prison, the crimes: murder, rape, and others has only “accounted for 10.6 percent of the total Crime Index” (Access Integrity Unit). The vast majority of criminals locked up are held on drug addiction or petty theft charges and not more serious offenses such as murder or assault. To put it simply, the cells that were built with taxpayers’ dollars holds 89.4 percent of criminals that are of no real threat to society. While the jail cells continue to fill up with occupants that has no business being behind bars, the general public will not feel any safer until new laws are passed to insure lesser offenders can get the help they so desperately need.
It was a few years back when the reality hit that heroin was present and there was little anyone could do, then people began dying everywhere and though many believe that it cannot happen to them, that is an unrealistic belief. Here we live in the upper middle class city of Folsom, we see many individuals suffering from substance abuse disorders with any of the following being the substance of choice: marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines and alcohol. Though in this community many do not speak of the problem and often blame the homeless for the crime and dysfunction that takes place (Folsom watch Facebook). But it is here and it shows in the rooms of 12 step meetings, local low income housing projects and throughout the city streets that run throughout
With the major outbreak in the recent years there has been a rise in abandoned homes, and buildings being damaged. The abusers seem to find refuge in these places to do or store their drugs. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the housing vacancy rate in Madison County was 12.1 percent at the time the data was collected. Also, with drug abuse becoming a major problem it is posing risks of crime, a large amount of crime can be attributed to substance addictions. Half of all the individuals arrested for a serious crime, such as, murder, robbery, and assault, were under the influence of an addictive, and usually illegal substance.
When someone decides to steal, they are causing the police to take time out of their day to deal with minor issues. While this happens, there are other important issues occurring where people’s lives could be at risk and police resources are needed. Shoplifters need to think about how they are affecting their community’s safety, not just theirs. Petty crimes like larceny are a burden on police and it is a citizen’s moral duty to understand who they are hurting when they steal. Along with the police being misused, court systems are also using their time and effort for petty things. Millions of people volunteer or are paid to bring justice to those who break the law. Although stealing is extremely wrong and it is an important issue to be addressed, a court’s time and effort would be better spent on dealing with bigger issues. Once again, when someone shoplifts they don’t understand who they are hurting and the burden they are placing on a community. These issues need to be more focused on, and the harms they cause people and the community need to be highlighted.
Although some people argue for the legalization of drugs, addiction to these substances has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in the home, at school, and on the street. Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to create compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. This is a false and uneducated belief. Drug abuse may start as a social problem or social escape but one the addiction has taken ahold of a person
One of the most profound problems that plagues our society is drug addiction. With drug addiction comes those who offend and have run-ins with the law. Our country deals with these drug-addicted offenders by placing them in jails for a year or longer, only to have them come back out to society when their sentence is over. They are still drug-addicts and so they return to the street only to commit yet another crime. From here the cycle of crime, arrest, jail, and return to society continues, solving absolutely nothing. Therefore, placing drug-addicted offenders in jails fails to confront the major problem at hand which is that of the drug abuse. If drug-addicted offenders were placed in drug treatment centers instead of being incarcerated,
Imagine that instead of spending more money on locksmiths, locks, keys and security systems to protect our cars and houses, we will spend little money to create an alternative for those how deal with drug dealing and
The house I live in is about the war on drugs and the harsh penalties that addicts get. People from all walks of life use drugs, rich, poor, college grads, women, men, and all races. Drug addicts have no face. Since 1971, the war on drugs has been responsible for 45 million arrests and over one trillion dollars. There is such a demand for drugs, that it will never end. The United States imprisons people more than China, Saudi Arabia, but that hasn’t deterred this crime. A lot of these people are dealing with poverty, joblessness, crime and drugs. Drug abuse leads to major crimes in order to get the drugs to feed their addiction. Non-violent drug offenders are getting sentences just as long as violent
In a study that was done back in 1970 by Sutherland and Cressey, they pointed out that in the U.S. alone, “felons are overrepresented in the addict population, [and] crime rates are increased considerably by drug addiction” (1970, p. 164). Despite having proposed several hypotheses attempting to explain the correlation between drug abuse and crime, they could not reach a conclusion. A decade later, the knowledge about the drug/crime relationship had steadily increased due to numerous studies of the incarcerated or addicted population. However, the information didn’t reveal any viewpoints that made sense aside from heroin. This view was