Punishment vs. Rehabilitation within the criminal justice system Essay

I. why did you pick this topic?If you were bullied in drill as a child, so the best years of your flavor may de abider felt to a greater extent wish an endless, living nightm atomic number 18. There is no shortage of mixer predators attempt to boost their self-esteem or status at otherwise flocks expense. Now imagine a school of hard knocks where the ingress of bullies is much higher than their victims. Thats what life may be like for umteen a convict dower conviction in prison house. How unsurmountable is it to non acquire hardened and detached under the constant bane of victimization? Its hard to imagine that reform is part of that equality when iodines very life is at stake. Yet that is one of the impressions that we on the outside bugger off of why crooks ar in prisons so that they allow for occur kick downstairs. But do they? In effort to muddle bon ton appear to function properly, we engage to close our eyes to legion(predicate) contradictions. Ir onic everyy, many atomic number 18 found within the umpire systems. We have all witnessed lawyers so hungry for money and advancement that they will protect venomouss from internment at the constitute of the next innocent victim. Another ara of nicety to which our eyes are closed are the prisons where convicted criminals do their reparation. Some master(prenominal) reasons why criminals are sent to prison areTo separate a bully from his next victim whether it be a robber from the jewellery store, a rapist from women, or a medicine dealer from his hook customers, etc. As penalty and strike back for the shames a bully has already committed against his victims. To reform or correct the behavior and reintegrate a bully back into our respectable society. The outset reason to separate a criminal from his/her next victim is the proper use of social seperation for property the public safe from further harm. The second, using imprisonment as a form of penalization and r co unterbalancege is a misguided use of honorableice, because revenge turns the punisher into the bully possibly even the murderer, if a death time is carried out. So basically we have a load of people within a free society biting out violently with the same emotions as those which are causing our prisons to fill up with offenders. As you preserve see, the legal expert system is hypocritical.My greatest concern, is how fundament incarcerating a criminal rehabilitate them that macrocosm locked in a cage surrounded by other criminals can somewhathow lead one to become a crack person. conceive of yourself trapped twenty four hours a day for a bilk of twoto twenty years in a prep school populated only by those who have beaten, robbed, stolen, murdered or looted others out of rage, hatred and some other psychological imbalance. To add misuse to injury, the world outside alarms and hates you, maybe even wants to kill you. You have to rick your way by means of the system by se rving sequence so that you can eventually graduate to being released among those who dismay and hate you because you are not an ex-con. Are prisons truly designed for rehabilitating criminals? How can a tense, selfish, survival- base aura promote a to a greater extent empathetic and emotionally balanced humanity? Given the constant negative reinforcement, it is al near impossible. In fact prisons so much by supportering educate beginners in crime to become even remedy criminals. Thats a poor investment for the proximo of our residential district. A huge shift must take arse if the subdivision of Corrections actually intends to correct the troubled one. We must find methods and curriculums which not only heal the wounds and troubled minds, still which helps them understand that crime begins with an strength that we take toward others.II. How has literature viewed this issue?Most people may stand for of prisons as nothing more than facilities where criminals are incarce rated and deprived of their freedoms while serving a sentence that has been assigned as penalisation for an illegal act they committed. While this is true, the concept of imprisonment is in addition intended to have a rehabilitative ready on con games. The basic creative thinker of rehabilitation with imprisonment is that a person who has been incarcerated will never want to be sent back to prison after they have been set free. It is hoped that an inmates experiences while locked up will leave much(prenominal) a lasting impression that a former prisoner will do whatever it takes to avoid a second term. Unfortunately, research has consistently shown that time spent in prison does not serve to rehabilitate near inmates, and the majority of criminals return to a life of crime almost immediately. umpteen compete that most prisoners will actually learn new and better ways to commit crimes while they are locked up with their fellow convicts. They can in like manner make connec tions and become more deeply involved in the criminal world.To rehabilitate is basically to take something or someone that has bygone bad and to bring them back to a useful and positive condition. In an effort to call better rehabilitative services to the inmates, many prisons have begunproviding psychiatrists to help deal with psychological disorders and serious issues held by the prisoners. They withal offer classroom settings in which inmates can learn to read and discover other means of legally advancing themselves. These methods are proven to have a positive effect on the prisoners. They have helped many to overcome a background with little or no education and encouraged some to straighten out their lives. Upon their release, prisoners who have stuck with these programs are offendn a better opportunity to succeed and to become law abiding citizens. Rehabilitation of prisoners is an passing difficult effort. Inmates are segregated from the general public and forced to live in a society where crime is a way of life. For many, time spent behind bars will push them farther into a life of crime, but for others, the horrors of prison life and the lessons they learn there are enough to convince them to do anything possible to never become wrapped again.III. Why rehabilitation through penalty doesnt workThe media tries to pose the new prison as a way to rehabilitate prisoners, whether it is through education or drug rehabilitation however, this is far from the truth for most. The first purport where this fails is the prison system does not transition their prisoners back into the society. The prison system isolates offenders from their community and family. For violent offenders, yes this is what they are suppose to do but people who are needing drug rehabilitation need support from their family and community. Additionally, a person can find more drugs in prison than he or she can find out on the streets however, at a higher price but they are still t here. The second point where the rehabilitation programs fail is the prisoner has to want to change his or her life around and many have not come to that point yet. Additionally, many states offer time cuts for taking these rehabilitation programs and many prisoners take these programs solely to get the time cuts.I personally have family that has told me, Yeah, I am going to go back out on the streets get my piece of music up (hustling) because that is the only way I can make money. Which did not make any sense to me because now most prisons do have vocational schools or college courses available however, depending on a persons offense, it does not matter the education level, sometimes it is very hard to get a decent paying job once released from prison. whitethornbe a good solution for this problem is for a firsttime drug offender or a person who seems to suffer from a amiable illness, put them in a rehabilitation center instead of a jail or prison. Prison only makes people angr ier and teaches them how to be better criminals. I have seen people go into prison for white collar crimes and come out drug addicts and better criminals. The prison system is something that definitely needs to be re-worked and re-adjusted because it is definitely failing.IV. How does this affect us socially?The expectations that our society has for the criminal justice system is to punish and rehabilitate individuals who commit crime. penalty and rehabilitation are also two of the four acknowledged objectives of the criminal justice system, with disincentive and incapacitation being the others. In the United States, punishment has everlastingly been the primary goal to achieve when dealing with individuals who commit acts of crime. Many theorists passim history have argued which is more effective, punishment or rehabilitation. The effectiveness of punishment and rehabilitation has been analyzed to see the effects on victims and offenders and also the social and fiscal impact on our society. The Classical School of Criminology has proposed that punishment is employ to create warnrence and the Positive School of Criminology uses the practice of rehabilitation to overthrow recidivism.DeterrenceDeterrence is one of the primary goals in the criminal justice system and it is described as special or specific deterrence and general deterrence. The purpose of special/specific deterrence is to instill fear on the offender so that they will not commit future(a) crime. General deterrence is found on punishing offenders to instill fear in society, otherwise known as teaching society a lesson and showing the consequences of committing crime. Punishment has always been imposed based on the idea that it will deter individuals from committing crime or repeating criminal acts. Incapacitation has been the most common form of punishment, however research demonstrates that recidivism amongst convicted felons following release from prison is as high as 63% and that most prison inmates had retard records and convictions prior to their current offense. (Bureau of evaluator Statistics, 1989) Punishment through enslavement is a temporary fix to crime while theoffender is confined.The maximum sentence of life in prison and the death penalty has even been debated on whether they are deterrence to crime. There are so many inherent factors within the criminal justice system that may contribute to why punishment has not been as effective as anticipated such as the appeal act upon in death penalty cases and the continuance of time that an offender sits on death row. Others argue that rehabilitation is a more permanent fix in deterring crime. Rehabilitation through community command can have a more lasting effect on individuals and deter them from committing future crime if they learn how to adapt in society by gaining academic or trade skills. These programs can help offenders find employment and secure an important role in the community and give them a sense of being. Therapy is another form of rehabilitation postulate to help deter individuals from committing future crime. Some examples of therapy include drug therapy to those offenders accustom to drugs and psychological counseling to those offenders who grew up in an abusive household.Rehabilitation is based on creating a change in the criminals lieu or re showtimes so that crime is neither a desired nor necessary activity. When an individual is sentenced to probation, it gives them the opportunity to remain self-supporting within the community and not using the taxpayer and states money to house them in a punitory facility.dupe ImpactIn many cases, victim right ons tend to be overshadowed by the rights of the accused. The courts are obligated to give a defendant their Constitutional rights including the right to a speedy trial, the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and due process under the law. Up until recently, victims rights were never recognized as an important role in the criminal justice system. In the past, victims and their families were a good deal treated as inconveniences, ignored throughout trial proceedings, and sometimes even forced to stay out of the courtroom as the proceedings went on. These issues have caused many victims to feel neglected and even re-victimized by the courts. On October 30th, 2004, The plague Victims Rights Act was signed into law by President Bush to batten rights to victims of federal crime. These rights include, to be reasonably protected from the accused offender and to find out reasonable and timely notice of any public proceeding involving the crime or of any public proceeding.(feinstein senate.gov/booklets, n.d) The majority of society, including victims of crime prefers swift punishment to rehabilitation through community supervision. According to the BJS Sourcebook of Criminal arbiter Statistics, more than three-quarters of the public see punishment as the primary justification for sentencing. They also report that more than 70 percent believe that incapacitation is the only trusted way to prevent future crimes, and more than three-quarters believe that the courts are alike easy on criminals.Public opinion supports the increased use of prisons to give criminals just desserts. When a victim or the victims family feels that their offender does not sustain the appropriate sentence, it causes emotional stress and also financial strain when replication is not implemented. Community supervision can also benefit victims in certain ways. When an offender is sentenced to intense supervision through probation, they have the might to pay restitution through employment. Other forms of rehabilitation through community supervision may also benefit a victim or their families such as programs such as one that was introduced in my county. The program is a group of victims called the Victim Impact Panel who talk to offenders that are convicted of drunk driving. These i ndividuals are brought verbal expression to face with victims and their family members of drunk driving. These programs have high hopes of deterring individuals from committing such acts.Offender ImpactPunishment through incarceration has many effects on convicted criminals. Incarceration has many effects on the offender psychological well-being. When an offender is separated from their family, it causes severe depression. Supporters of rehabilitation versus punishment argue that sentencing offenders to incarceration hurt the family structure by contributing to single parenting. They also argue that punishment causes social disorientation, alienation, and also increases the risk of recidivism. When an offender is released from incarceration, they face social isolation, stigmatism, economic and employment challenges. Rehabilitation through community supervision eliminates many of these issues, such as the economic & employment factor. Probation allows offenders to remain with their families, await working or find employment under close supervision. medicate CourtsThere are certain crimes that would benefit from rehabilitation more so than punishment, such as non-violent drug related. Criminals who commit acts of crimes to support their drug employment need treatment more than punishment. In many states, such as New York, Drug courts have been established. Drug courts represent the coordinated efforts of the judiciary, prosecution, denial bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities to actively and forcefully interact and break the cycle of substance abuse, addiction, and crime. Drug courts quickly identify substance-abusing offenders and place them under strict court monitoring and community supervision, coupled with effective, long-term treatment services. The National Drug Court Institute describes the process that a participant as an intense regimen of substance abuse and mental health treatment, case manage ment, drug testing, and probation supervision while reporting to regularly scheduled status hearings before a judge. In addition, drug courts may provide job skill training, family/group counseling, and many other life-skill enhancement services. Data consistently show that treatment, when completed is effective and loss more cost effective.Social Impact upon orderlinessThe social impact of punishment and rehabilitation varies from the increasing costs of correctional facilities to the disruption of families to the fear of criminals released into community. Societys view plays a major role in the criminal justice system. Societys beliefs in the just desserts theory has played a role in the courts. The push for authorization sentencing has even entered political campaigns in response to the public. Getting tough on crime was the basis behind different mandatory sentencing practices. The increase of correctional facilities is also related to societys impact on punishment versus re habilitation. Fiscal ImpactThe fiscal impact that punishment has on our solid ground is phenomenal. It has been reported that it costs an average of $30,000 per year to house, feed, clothe, and supervise a prisoner. This come across does not include the costs of construction and other factors. Many rehabilitation programs have been introduced to not only help deter crime, but also to reduce the rising costof punishment. Privatization of corrections has been also looked at as an effort to reduce the costs of punishment. Many states have also instituted alternatives to incarceration such as boot camps or shock camps. These programs are proven to be less costly than incarceration. The cost of shock incarceration in New York State has been estimated to be $10,000 less per year per prisoner than the cost of traditional incarceration (Punishment vs. rehabilitation A Proposal for revising Sentencing Practices, kinfolk 1991) The use of intensive parole programs has been estimated to save taxpayers an estimated ten to thirteen meter dollars per year compared to the cost of incarceration.Overview of Punishment and RehabilitationPunishment and rehabilitation are a major part of the criminal justice system and will be effective in controlling crime if there is a way to incorporate the two factors to work together. Punishing and following up with rehabilitation through community supervision can be the source of helping deter crime. Punishment and community supervision should be based on the type of crime. If the appropriate sentence is issued upon an offender, it can help deter them from future criminal activity. Punishment vs. Rehabilitation in the Criminal Justice SystemWorks CitedCadigan, Brian. Correcting Our Flawed Criminal Justice System, One snobby Prison at a Time. The Bottom Line UCSB. N.p., 11 whitethorn 2011. Web. 09 May 2013.Dutta, Sunil. How to Fix Americas Broken Criminal Justice System. The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 30 De c. 2010. Web. 07 May 2013. Vedantam, Shankar. When hatred Pays Prison Can Teach Some To Be Better Criminals. NPR. NPR, 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 May 2013.