The Role Of Drugs In The Criminal Justice System

Not only do the eligibility requirements of drug courts vary across the board, but the way the programs operate and their outcomes vary considerably, especially when it comes down to how they choose to operationalize the ten key components (Carey & Waller, 2011; Mackin et. al, 2009). In 1997, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals published these key components. The first key component is that drug courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing (NADCP, 1997). Being that the mission of drug courts is to combat the abuse of drugs and alcohol it is imperative for them to promote recovery through coordinated responses. The second key component states that drug courts should use a

[Additionally, an enormous change to the system is the increase in crime. Evidence shows that between 1982 and 1992 the number of people behind bars in America doubled to one million, and arrest rates continue to soar (Moyers, 1992). There are several schools of thought on the increase of crime, some attribute the influx of “crack” cocaine, and other

After viewing the documentary: America's War on Drugs - The Prison Industrial Complex, it is clear that the Criminal Justice System is in desperate need of reconstruction and repair with policies such as the mandatory minimum sentencing act which has proven to be unsuccessful and unjust in its efforts to deter 'criminals from committing illegal acts' as seen with the increase of incarcerations of the American people and the devastating effect it has had on those in prison and the family members of those incarcerated.

One of the largest factors that has contributed to the high numbers of the prison populations and the racial disparities of the criminal justice system has been the “war on drugs”.

The United States Criminal Justice System has been what most citizens ask for a reform, but we’ve seen little to no change through the years. Currently, our country has less than 5 percent of the world’s population but almost 25 percent of the total prison population, meaning that we have the highest incarceration rates in the world and it’s been increasing through the past years. The United States of America in 1974 had 100 out of every 100,000 people incarcerated; today, roughly 700 out of the 100,000 people are prison (Madden, 2015, p,14). Mass incarceration has been one of the biggest problems in our Criminal Justice System and one of the biggest issues to be solved. American citizens have has several

The incarceration rate in America is high. In fact, the highest in the world (Zuckerman, 2014). But should it be? According to Bibas (2015), “Though America is home to only about one-twentieth of the world’s population, we house almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.” (para. 1). America, it seems, in its ‘War on Drugs’, has been incarcerating criminals, even non-violent drug offenders, at a high rate. As more offenders are being incarcerated, more stories are being written, including horror stories about what goes on behind prison walls. Considering the nature of some of the crimes committed by inmates, and being mixed in with the violent criminals, non-violent offenders have no place in this hell. Because of overcrowding, abuse of the inmates, and the lack

As of today, more than two million people are incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails, placing the United States with the highest incarcerated population in the world (Williams). A development of, approximately, the last forty years, this increase in prison population occurred when lawmakers abandoned rehabilitation and encouraged mandatory prison sentences, succeeding Nixon’s declaration of war on drugs (Western).

The United States is five percent of the world’s population and has twenty five percent of the world’s people incarcerated. This is the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Mass incarceration has been a problem in this country for decades. The war on drugs has increased the odds of incarceration and the length of sentences for non-violent offenders. Ninety five percent of prisoners have plead guilty and one out of five are serving sentences for drug related charges (REF).

In the U.S, five percent of the population is behind bars (Collier). State spending on corrections is estimated at $52 billion a year with most spent on prisons (“The Potential of Community Corrections to Improve Safety and Reduce Incarceration”). The reason for the U.S. prison population increase is because we are sending people to prison for more time and also because of drugs and we have focused on drug dealing and drug possession (Neyfakh). The U.S. Justice System imprisons a lot of people who could have been held accountable in the community like people with addictions or mental illnesses that don’t have access to treatment in their community (“For Immediate Release: How to…”) Although changing the prison system may be controversial

We can date the United States criminal justice policies all the way back to the 17th Century. Although it is nothing compared to what we have today, there have been improvements along the way. One of the major reform needed in our corrections system are the war on drugs and overcrowded prison. The history of corrections in the U.S. has been seen through four major eras known as the Penitentiary, Reformatory, Reintegration, and Retributive Era. Each era has tried to explore the best way to deal with people who have broken the law. Based on the ideas of each era, we’ll explore which reform needs to be implemented.

The criminal justice system is a group of institutions that work together to protect a society, prevent and control crime, and maintain justice; enforcing the laws regulated by society. As the years have gone by and society has evolved; so have the criminal justice system and its methods to accomplish its role in society. This short analysis will evaluate the main facts that have been affecting the criminal justice system for decades and have influenced the evolution the justice system is enduring in a changing society (Muraski, 2009). Amongst the changes in the system, we will discuss the effect the changes have had on the citizens and how their perceptions have evolved as well.

Drug abuse is a nation-wide epidemic that, like I previously mentioned, is seen as immoral. Society in the United States has a habit of trying to ‘fix’ behaviors and ideas that violate the social norms. Therefore, drug abuse, although a victimless crime, threatens our society more than that of white-collar crimes, which victimizes the general public. The court system pays closer attention to drug abuse cases than to white-collar cases because society has grown accustomed to viewing drug abuse as an embarrassing situation. As a proud country, we don’t like the idea of being

The United States has the world's highest incarceration rate. With five percent of the world's population, our country houses nearly twenty-five percent of the world's reported prisoners. Currently there are approximately two million people in American prisons or jails. Since 1984 the prison population for drug offenders has risen from ten percent to now over thirty percent of the total prison population. Federal prisons were estimated to hold 179,204 sentenced inmates in 2007; 95,446 for drug offenses. State prisons held a total of 1,296,700 inmates in 2005; 253,300 for drug offenses. Sixty percent of the drug offenders in prisons are nonviolent and were purely in prison because of drug offenses (Drug War Facts). The question then arises,

The United States Correctional System is often challenged as to whether it wants to rehabilitate drug offenders or punish them, and because of this it mostly does neither. Even though drug abuse and drug trafficking are widely spread national issues, the mental, social, and economic costs of "healing" through incarceration are only making the "disease" worse. Never before have more prisoners been locked up on drug offenses than today. Mixed with the extremely high risks of today's prison environment, the concept of incarceration as punishment for drug offenders cannot be successful. Without the correct form of rehabilitation through treatment within Michigan's Correctional System, drug

In my opinion, I believe Van Nguyen should have been given clemency. While he was convicted of drug trafficking, Singaporean police should have not carried out the execution for reasons such as: inhumanity and contradiction. In today's world we all want to move towards a violence free society, and I can't see how dishing out capitol punishment helps our move. It is contradicting and makes our plea for violence free seem meaningless. I believe no-one deserves to die, and that we all make mistakes, some worse than others but we should all be given a second chance. Furthermore, I don't believe that executing Van Nguyen will deter future drug traffickers from this type of behavior. Instead, what should have happened was, the Singaporean government should have still sentenced Van Nguyen to a penalty, but one that will allow people to rectify their mistakes, and reflect on their choices and understand the consequences that are involved and what the effects are on others. Finally, I can understand Tony Abbot's statement, about "people do need to understand that drug trafficking is a very serious offence", it is clear that while traveling overseas you are out of the Australian governments control, you leave our democracy and enter another, and it is important to familiarise yourself with other laws, but in the end, the decision made on Van Nguyen's life was unreasonable.