Sampling the Parolee Population

I think the researchers did an excellent job with the questionnaire on racial profiling. When it concerns validity, my primary concern would be if the respondents are truthful. With a topic such as this, the officers would have to be entirely confident that the information that they submitted would be classified. Racial profiling is a very sensitive subject, and that would explain why there were only one hundred and sixty-seven surveys returned out of four hundred fourteen sent out. The law enforcement community is very close with relationships built on trust. No one wants to be known as the officer that no one can trust. Once you reassure the individuals participating that their identities will be secure, then some will be completely honest

A part of the results of the survey stated that, the majority of the officers in the study have experienced racial profiling, almost half of respondents said that it has happened within the last 5 years, half of those reported being racially profiled in the past year (Barlow & Barlow, 2002).

It is well-known that former inmates face significant challenges upon being released. Some of these challenges include

The bias in the American criminal justice system is first reported in the first stages of the system, which includes the (act of asking questions and trying to find the truth about something) and arrest of the suspected people by police personnel (American Civil Liberties Union, 2013). These police personnel discriminately target the minorities as criminal suspects, which eventually skews the racial population of the people arrested, charged, put in jail or convicted (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2013). One of the key problems suffering (from sickness) the U.S. criminal justice system is (assuming certain races of people are more likely to commit crimes) (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2013). This involves the identification of criminal suspects on the basis race or (special way of speaking/mark that shows emphasis). According to Cole, Smith, & DeJong (2013), (assuming certain races of people are more likely to commit crimes) is widespread because the police agents enjoy a large amount of (ability to make wise decisions) as to who they think about/believe as a suspect. For example, in Baltimore, African-American car/truck drivers are discriminately stopped for minor traffic offenses because they are believed to be more likely tobe start/work at more serious criminal activity than whites (Saad, 2011). This results in a large percentage of innocent African-Americans and other minority drivers such as Puerto Ricans, Colombians and Cubans to be illegally subjected to the embarrassment (in

Just as the number of people in prison grows, so too does the number of people leaving prison. Research shows that 95 percent of all prisoners in the United States are released at some point (Katel 2009). The Department of Justice reports that more than 600,000 prisoners are released each year (John Oliver 2015). This means that hundreds of thousands of people reenter society and are expected to have learned from their time behind bars. Unfortunately, most of these people released back into society are not properly prepared. As a result, they end up back in prison.

In August 1994, the California Department of Corrections released its annual five-year facilities master plan for new prison construction. This plan, usually submitted to the Legislature earlier in the calendar year, was delayed so that the additional need for new prison beds resulting from the recently enacted Three Strikes and You're Out legislation could be incorporated into the plan. The facilities plan is based on the department's spring 1994 population estimate that estimated a total of 246,000 inmates by June 1999. This projection was recently revised to 211,000, 35,000 fewer inmates. There are several reasons for this reduction, as shown in Figure 1 and discussed below.

It is without a doubt that the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world, the United States Prison systems house around 1.6million prisoners to date and the numbers are continuing to rise (Tsai, Scommegna, 2016). The alarming statistics of the rising prisoner population for the United States is an epidemic and cause for concern because it is unsustainable both spatially and financially. Every year states are spending billions upon billions of dollars on our prison systems and we are putting hundreds of thousands of people behind bars every single year. This has led to an overcrowding of our prison systems which can lead to many other problems such as an increase in aggression, and an increase in risk to infections

(Vandiver, 2008). In my opinion, the research goal was explained pretty vaguely which could be the reason only nine respondents volunteered to participate in the interviews. “The cover letter for a mailed questionnaire and the introductory statement read by interviewers in telephone or in- person interviews are critical to the survey’s success”. (Bachman & Schutt, 2004 p.213). The mailed letter in this case lacked the characteristics of credibility, personalization, interest, and responsibility. After experiencing much negative stigma from their offenses, the respondent most likely would not have agreed to take part in the research without being informed of some sense of confidentiality they would receive. Personalization of the letter to each offender and credibility of the researcher would have possibly struck interest in the respondent and in return they may be inclined to participate. The reason for research could have been a bit more detailed and could have focused on the fact that the researcher wants to know the effects on the offender after being registered, putting the offenders best interest at hand may have persuaded them to take part in the research. ‘Without a personalized approach, the rate of response will be lower, and answers will be less thoughtful and potentially less valid’.

The researches conducted face-to-face interviews with 41 people, 16 of whom were inmates. The first round of interviews was in 2012. The researcher asked participants for their views about the program more specifically, what their thoughts were on the strengths and weakness of the program. The second round of research began in 2013 but had a different approach, more of a narrative approach. Several months after the first rounds of evaluation, the staff decided that the institution should be closed and that only inmates deemed ready for the experience should be invited to participate. After deciding this they ran screening interviews with potential participants, many of whom had attended the initial group. Based on the interviews the staff chose a group of inmates who were read to accept responsibility for what they had done and to learn more about the effects of their crimes. All of the participants chosen were by

First, these studies show that they are procedures made and practiced by those who are working for the legal system more than the criminal justice system that preceded them. For example, they helped break down some misconstrued ideas and flaws, such as not controlling one particular independent variable to control the situation or the person 's criminal history.. Second, contemporary studies deny any racial disadvantages or bias against minorities. Instead of this perspective, current research attempts to ask: “If racial bias exist for minorities under law enforcement and in any criminal sentencing process, when has it been clear?”

The film 13th gives way to issues that continue to plague our nation. This idea that the worlds prison population is disproportional to that of the overall world population. According to this film, “ Five percent of the worlds population makes up twenty-five percent of the prison population” (DuVernay, 2016). This statistic is astounding and due in part to, according to the film, the exclusion of criminals from the thirteenth amendments abolishment of slavery. The disproportionality in prison population, not only of people but also of the race make up of people, compared to their world population numbers is something that was started many years ago and still to this day, 2016, is an issue worth addressing.

Question3: Do you think inmates in federal prisons should retain their democratic rights while incarcerated? Explain your position.

The article that I am summarizing is about programs that address over-incarceration by diverting low-level drug offenders from imprisonment to treatment-oriented alternatives. The article refers to social workers being an integral part of criminal justice system and being stakeholders in the reform initiative in how drug –relates offenses are processed. This initiative involves the 145,000 members in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) who believes that clinical intervention can be tool for reducing drug offender’s rate of incarceration in the United States.

received only traditional parole supervision. Researchers tracked each parolee for one year following his initial parole date. The research showed that the members of the traditional group committed new crimes and had their parole revoked more often than did parolees in the GPS group. If that wasn’t enough,

In regards to Case Study B, the facts of the case, are noted through the textbook that the female offender is on parole, after serving her two years for aggravated assault. She was on your parole watch, for the last five months and only has seven more months. She has been reporting regularly but has recently missed her appointment with the parole officer, and the parole officer, recently found that she had quit her job, and still needs to finish up court ordered conditions. It was found through the text that Ms. York “quit coming to work, three weeks ago, and has now been replaced at her job” with missing work for three months, and not reporting to the parole officer, it does raise some red flags in regards to having to deal with Ms. York.