How Effective our Prisons are
In a period of rising crime rates, our correctional facilities serve as a key beacon in the lines of justice. America only has 4% of the total global population, but over 25% of the world’s prisoner population. This put into literal terms means that if America had 20% of the population of the world, then it’ll have over 120%of worlds entire prison population, including its own.with such high imprisonment rates, we are forced to ask ourselves then, what is the purpose of putting someone behind bars and how beneficial is it to society as a whole and also important to the individual?
Our modern prison system is often criticized but, at the same time, remain the major institutions used to punish criminals. In reality, the community at large views prisons as places where the dangerous culprits of the society are isolated from the community. The society also expects that it is in the same place that the incarcerated victims are expected to turn a new leaf, that is a change for the better. However, there are a lot of skeptics who argue that they are largely ineffective and that to some extremes deteriorate the personality of a prisoner hence undermining their social position. Looking at both perspectives,the analysis of the work of prisons will be put to light to show which point of view is more correct.
Here are some of the reasons why criminals are sent to prison. Rehabilitation and the concept rest on the assumption that criminal behavior is caused by some factor. The concept does not deny that people make choices to break the law, but it does assert that these choices are not necessarily a matter of pure” free will”.people are not all the same and thus free to express their will but rather differently. These individual differences shape how people behave, including whether they are likely to break the law. The aim of this practice is to reform you as a person over a certain duration of time. Another reason is that of incapacitation, which refers to the restriction of an individual’s freedom and liberty that they would normally have with the aim of punishing an offense. y incapacitating an offender we prevent the victim from Bcommiting crimes in future because he is removed from the society and restrained.basically, imprisoning those who have a track record of endangering others prevents them from harming anyone further
Criminals are also sent to prison for the purposes of retribution, which is responding to criminal behavior that indulges in the punishment of lawbreakers and compensation to the victims; generally,the severity of the punishment is proportional to the seriousness of the crime. The idea that someone who wronged you is locked away somewhere and is paying for it gives us a sense of comfort they are also sent to prison for deterrence, which is the threat and severance for certain criminal acts should, in theory, should discourage or deter people from committing those acts. An approach aimed to dissuade others from following the offender’s example
First of all, it is necessary to highlight that the modern system of criminal justice doesn’t have alternatives that could be effectively used to prevent criminals from their misdeeds.it is considered that prisons isolate dangerous criminals for the period in which according to norms, is sufficient to straighten his/her behavior.it should be noted that such an approach to prison and criminals proves the fact of domination of the idea of punishment over the idea of correction and improvement of the criminals leading to a change in lifestyle, for the better.
One major consideration is whether prisons are effective or not in achieving their objective of keeping society safe. In most countries, the statistics show that they are not. In the US, two in three 68% of people released from prison are rearrested within three years of release, and such is the projection in most countries as well. However, a handful of countries are bucking this trend. Norway is a perfect example; only one in five 20% of adults are reconvicted within two years of release. What is causing the difference?
In most countries, prisons prioritize punishment: they limit access to families, education and employment.prisoners can be locked in their cells for most parts of the day.most of them are overcrowded with exposure to drugs, riots, and gangs while amenities like food and access to healthcare are basic and par in most cases.But reoffending rates are lowest in prison facilities that minimize focus on punishment.In these facilities, prisoners can wear their own clothes, cook, live in decent rooms with private showers, access paid work, receive conjugal visits with the purpose of mirroring the outside world.These prisons prioritize relationships and decency,focusing on rehabilitating prisoners through therapeutic interventions, employment, and education.They are far from being viewed as centers of punishment.
By the time incarceration rates begun to grow in the early 1970s, the US had passed through a confusing period of social and political change.times of rising crime accompanied by a period of political turmoil and a profound transformation of US race relations.in the 1960s and 1970s, a changing political climate provided the context for a series of policy choices.across all levels of government, criminal sentencing expanded the use of incarceration in a number of ways: prison time was increasingly required for lesser offenses; time served was increased for violent crimes and offenders;and drug crimes became more policed and punished.The number of arrests and court caseload increased in the 1970s.prosecutors and judges also became harsher in their charging and sentencing.consequently, convicted defendants became more likely to serving prison time.arrest rates for drug offenses climbed up in the 1970s, and mandatory prison time became more common in the 1980s.
During the 1980s,most state legistlatures enacted laws mandating lengthy prison sentences.these changes in sentencing reflected a consensus that viewed incarceration as a key instrument for crime control.the best single proximate explanation of the rise in incarcerations is not rising crime rates but the policy choices made by legistlators to greatly increase the use of prisons and imprisonments as a rensponse to crime.compulsory prison sentences,intensified enforcement of drug laws and long sentences contributed not only to overall high rates of incarceration,but also especially to extraordinary rates of incarceration of black and latino communities.intensified enforcement of drug laws subjected them to new mandatory minimum sentences.as a consequence,the the absolute disparities in incarceration increased and imprisonment became common for young minority men.
This therefore means the unprecedented rise in incarceration rates can be attributed to an increasingly disciplinary political climate surrounding criminal justice formed in a period of rising crime and social change.the change in penal policy over the past four decades may have a wide range of unwanted social costs,and the magnitude of crime reduction highly uncertain.In this respect,it is important to emphasize that the major goal of the criminal justice system and the prison system is not only for purposes of punishment of an individual for a crime but rather to correct the individuals behavior hence stopping the antisocial habits.prisons are supposed to serve to such a transformation of a criminal due to which he/she can be integrated into the society.on the contrary,the actual results of prisons work are quite disappointing.in simpler terms,most criminals who serve prison terms produce a profound and negative impact on their further social life.in fact,instead of the intergration to the normal social life and changing of ones behavior for the better,prison terms actually lead to the isolation of an individual even after release.this way,it is very obvious that prisons do not fulfill one of its major objectives as defined by the modern criminal l justice system which generally entails the correction and preparation of an individual to the normal social life.
In the same light,its important to state that prisons have a duious negative effect in the sense that firstly,prisons oftenly change the attitude and perception of the society toward s an individual.traditionally,the society is biased against people who have served terms in prison make it harder to even integrate in the same society one is meant to.in other words,people are naturally anxious that released persons are a threat to them and their well being as a result of the public image of prisons and attitude of the mass audience to them.such an attitude of the public to former convincts is a clear evidence of the ineffectiveness of prisons work in the eye of the public .the society does not feel safe even when a person has already served their term.
To a small extent,our prison system has been successful .there are numerous cases of people who have served prison sentences turning over a new leaf all thanks to the system.there are also good reasons to think that prisons prevent crime.the experience of imprisonment could and has deterred others from doing similar offenses.it has also successfully provided opportunities for rehabilitation,such as drug and alcohol treatment,education,or counseling.and at the very least,someone who is in prison cannot commit a crime in the community.
However,the apprehensions of society are,to a certain extent,justified since prisons really produce a negative impact on an individual.in this respect,it should be said that an individual,being sentenced to a prison term,serves it in the environment of other criminals.such environments often impact negatively on their personality,especially young criminals.it is more likely that prisons often turn to be places where people acquire new criminal experience as opposed to changing their lifestyle for the better.
When criminals are put in prison,we expect them to learn their lesson and not reoffend.research and evidence indicate that those who are surrounded by violence,even in prison,are more likely to duplicate what they see.undoubtedly,it seems that prison is potentially more dangerous for those who are there for petty crimes such as theft when sentenced for a month or so,they could learn enough to commit a more violent crime.prison violence is not only unsafe for staff but also for other inmates who share a confined space with more dangerous inmates than themselves making it an unsuitable setting.
Thus it is possible to conclude that our prisons are not effective.at any rate,they do not work effectively and instead of the expected correction of a crimiminal through punishment and assistance to his or her integration to the social life,they contribute to growing isolation of an individual from the rest of the society.our prisons and the way we approach punishment should be at the top of the list for an overhaul.through updating our global approach to tackling crime,we have an opportunity to make our world a better place for all of us.like a smoke alarm that goes off after the entire neighbourhood has been reduced to ashes,lawmakers are finally becoming aware of this,but there is a lot of work ahead of us yet.why not adapt the system from other countries that have the most effective concept of punishment?it will not only keep the crime rate down but also encourage prisoners to keep out of prison after serving their time.for good.we must change the perception of prisons not being effective and look to better forms of rehabilitations which are effective.