Alternatives to Imprisonment

Alternatives to Imprisonment

Introduction

Imprisonment is currently facing several challenges to meet its purpose alongside the economic status of a nation. The prison services in different countries, for example, Trinidad and Tobago, have not had enough infrastructure and staff to provide for necessary services (31). Tobago, as a case example, has had 77% overcrowding coming second after Spain prisons, as shown in Appendix I (33). Such a state makes it impossible for the prison staff to provide training and monitoring needed to ensure rehabilitation of the inmates leading to recidivism. Furthermore, the high rate of prisoners is a burden to the economic state of the country and the contributing factor to poor services, for example, in Trinidad and Tobago. Due to such challenges in imprisonment, different countries have adopted community corrections as an alternative to incarceration. Community correction is a non-institutional approach where the offenders operate within the community throughout or partially with supervision with the aim of rehabilitation and correction to the harm caused (slide 3). The system of community correction achieves imprisonment goals better, including rehabilitation, repair, and integration, while providing safety of the offenders and saving the economy of a country. This paper uses probation and substance abuse treatment of offenders to show the value of community correction over imprisonment.

Substance Abuse Treatment

Drug treatment is an alternative approach to correction specifically to illegal drug users alongside those who commit other crimes due to drug addiction and influence. The goal is to help nonviolent drug offenders to overcome addiction and violent drug addicts to stop crimes such as rape and assault (slide 8). Similar to probation, the court discharges those who complete their treatment and imprison those who fail. The court, attorneys, and prosecutors link offenders to social and health care providers who can address the root cause of offense, which is drug dependency. The Trinidad and Tobago is a case example which employs drug treatment alternatives. By 2017, Trinidad and Tobago had 18 graduates after starting the drug treatment court (Slide 6). Victims can operate in prison, although with more freedom since it is not imprisonment or within the community.

The use of drug treatment provides better opportunities to reduce recidivism and saves prison resources more compared to imprisonment. The postponed prosecution serves as an incentive to make victims take responsibility for their addiction (5). Such an incentive is absent during imprisonment because offenders are already suffering. The approach also allows victims to get more support from the court and the community compared to the ones they would get during imprisonment. Prisons have weak links with external social and healthcare service providers, which would allow adequate support (6. However, the support in prisons is usually low even in other areas apart from treatment, as shown in Appendix II. Such raised support increases recovery and changed behaviors leading to lower chances of recidivism compared to imprisonment (Slide 8). The government, on the other hand, spends fewer resources in the drug treatment alternative to correction. There is only a small budge on treatment and supervision as the victims take care of their essential needs. The provision of basic needs is the highest budget in prisons, for example, in Trinidad and Tobago (15). Community support, including friends and relatives, on the other hand, makes the monitoring and treatment costs cheaper for the government. Drug treatment alternatives, as a result, archives the correction goal of reduced recidivism effectively and at a lower cost.

Limitation of the Drug Treatment Court

Despite the value of drug treatment alternatives to correction, the approach is weak in providing for justice and risks the community. One of the duties of the court is to ensure fairness by punishing and ordering restitution. However, allowing drug addicts who had committed a crime due to substance dependence does not provide for the punishment or compensation (67). The victims, on the other hand, have significant chances of committing a crime due to drug dependence immediately they start treatment outside the prison. Most of the addicts are a threat to their families and friends due to the previous addiction until the therapy starts impacting recovery. However, there is an alternative to imprisoning such victims for some time before the treatment develops an impact.

Probation

Probation is one of the frequent alternative correction means to imprisonment. In criminal law, probation is a supervised period on offenders, which the court orders as a substitute for serving a sentence in prison (Slide 7). The period which is under supervision by the probation officer accompanies several rules which the victims must follow. However, in case they fail to follow the rules within the period, the court can order their arrest and imprisonment to serve a sentence. The purpose of monitoring the victim is to ensure that there is no risk to the community following the previous offices in addition to administering rehabilitation services (Slide 8). However, not everyone has chances of getting a probation alternative but only those who are less risky to the community and able to receive rehabilitation treatment while outside the prison. Victims who succeed the probation get discharged, and in case of any other offense, they will have new charges.

The issuance of probation increases efficiency in administering rehabilitation and reducing recidivism while saving prison resources. The condition of re-arrest and sentencing in case of failed rules is a positive threat that makes victims get used to good behaviors leading to permanent change (12). Such change is not likely while in prison since offenders get used to an environment making them less sensitive to their behaviors after the sentience. Furthermore, offenders can access better rehabilitation services such as a drug addiction center, mental health facility, and counselors, unlike the case in prions (11). Improved rehabilitation service is one way through which offenders become less likely to repeat the offense. There is usually one probation officer serving multiple victims. The victims feed themselves and live in their homes, an approach that makes probation cheaper compared to imprisonment. Probation also serves justice better than prison because it allows the victims to work for the community of people they offended. The offended people experience joy as they see the offenders operating in the community leading to experienced justice. Probation, therefore, provides effective goals of imprisonment as opposed to when offenders are in prison.

Limitations of Probation

Despite the various advantages, probation is weak in that there are chances of repeated offense and ineffective rehabilitation due to inconsistent monitoring. Probation officers have limited time to monitor the victims since the law only allows visits and not continued supervised life, as shown in appendix III. Such inadequate monitoring is a temptation for the victims to violate the rules because the courts in probation do not express the seriousness of the case (67). However, prisons have accurate monitoring strategies because they restrict movements in one place.  Another limitation probation is community stigma, which impairs integration. There are high chances of failed acceptance as the community members perceive the victim as a threat or claim injustice in deciding the sentence. The danger of stigmatization might impact recidivism and even suicide leading to failed correction. Probation, therefore, has a share of limitations, which might impair some goals of sentencing.

Conclusion

Through analysis of probation and drug treatment courts, alternative correction approaches are more effective, efficient, and cheaper and cost-effective compared to imprisonment. Both probation and drug treatment court allow offenders to get more support from the court, and the community compared to prison reveal that offenders. Through the deferred sentence, offenders are more likely to adopt good behavior, which sticks even after closure of the charges. However, the prison environment provides instant punishment, which makes the offenders only hold criminal practices for some time. The victims attend actual rehabilitation centers compared to the invitation of staff in prison, an approach that makes the rehabilitation process efficient and effective. The process of community correction is cheaper since the victims take care of their essential needs, unlike in prison. Despite the advantages, the alternative corrections approaches are weak in that limited monitoring can read to ineffective rehabilitation and, therefore, recidivism. However, the chances are low due to the fear of a suspended sentence.

Recommendations

This study recommends the application of alternative correction approaches as opposed to imprisonment due to their efficiency and effectiveness in addressing recidivism and cost-effective advantages. The various alternatives serve different purposes, and as a result, no one is better than others and requires the court to decide on a case to case basis. For example, drug treatment alternative applies to drug addicts and mental health victims. A study on the provision of treatment and services in Trinidad and Tobago shows that most inmates receive scant medical attention, which might not support rehabilitation such as drug addiction and mental health, as shown in appendix II. Although there are various weaknesses in each of the alternatives, the court can adjust the conditions to reduce the limitation. Another recommendation is to have the judicial system improve conditions of every option to ensure that it also serves justice in addition to reduced recidivism and correction. Drug treatment, for example, does not provide justice to victims of violent behaviors from the offenders. The court should incorporate compensation in case of some alternatives like drug treatment, which does not give punishment to offenders.

Bibliography

Seepersad, Randy. “SOCI 3030 – Penal Practice. ” in Fighting crime by treating substance abuse by Belenko, Steven, and Jordon Peugh.” Lecture, The University of the West Indies Trinidad and Tobago, n.d. Slide 1-18.

Seepersad, Randy and Williams Dianne, “Retribution vs. Reintegration; The Trinidad and Tobago Reality,” in Prisons in the Americas in the twenty-first century: A human dumping ground. Lexington Books, 2015.

Seepersad, Randy & Williams Dianne, “Retribution vs. Reintegration; The Trinidad and Tobago Reality,” in Prisons in the Americas in the twenty-first century: A human dumping ground (Lexington Books, 2015)

Seepersad, Randy. “SOCI 3030 Lecture 10-Community Corrections.” Lecture, Lecture, The University of the West Indies Trinidad and Tobago, n.d. Slide 1-45.

Holdip, Malcolm “Drugs policy and criminal justice reform: Alternatives to prison for drug related offences; Re-engineering justice in Trinidad and Tobago.” Lecture, First Bi-Regional Meeting for the Exchange of Best Practices /Copolad II. June 27, 2017.

Seepersad, Randy. “Needs Assessment of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service.” The University of the West Indies Trinidad and Tobago. July 18 (2019).

Frase, Richard S. “Suspended Sentences and Freestanding Probation Orders in US Guideline Systems: A Survey and Assessment.” Law & Contemp. Probs. 82, (2019): 51.

Appendix I: Prison Capacity and related Overcrowding

Appendix II: Trinidad and Tobago Prison services scores on Treatment and Services

Key: Scores increase with increase is support which inmates receive

Source:

Special diets are also prepared for persons with specific dietary requirements, for example diabetic inmates.

[Score = 1]

When asked to indicate how offenders obtain food, respondents indicated that food is provided by the prisons.

[Score = 1]

Respondents were also asked to indicate whether the prisons provide clothes and bedding. All convicted offenders are issued clothing with numbers for identification by the Prison Service, while remanded inmates utilize their own clothing, which is provided by relatives. The Prison Service, however, supports destitute persons on remand by providing clothing. Bedding is the responsibility of the Prison Service and is provided for both convicted and remanded inmates.

[Score = 2]

Medical services are provided by the Prison Service for both convicted and remanded inmates. While this is so, the 2019 IDB survey of inmates in Trinidad and Tobago found that 22.6% of inmates said that the health care which they received was poor while 18.4% said that it was very poor. It was also found that the average wait time to see a doctor or nurse was 2.3 days, with the highest average wait times occurring at the Women’s Prison (3.7 days), MSP (3 days) and ECRC (2.8 days).

[Score = 1]

Inmates have access to Emergency Care, periodic check-ups, Infirmary Officers and the Prisons Medical Officer. Psychiatric care and Specialist care is supported by the General Health Facilities. Dental, Skin Care (Queens Park Counselling Centre), HIV and STD testing and care (Medical Research Foundation) and Psychiatric Clinics are operated at the Maximum Security Prison only, in collaboration with relevant Medical Health Facilities. Inmates from other prisons who require these services are brought to the Maximum Security Prison.

[Score = 10]

The Prison Service was asked to indicate whether there are policies and procedures that regulate the frequency and type of medical services which are delivered. The procedure which guides this is that all inmates are afforded medical care at the same level that the General Medical Facilities afford to the public. In cases where offenders’ medical needs cannot be satisfied at the Medical Facilities within prison, family members have the opportunity to finance treatment at private institutions.

[Score = 1]

With respect to the provision of medication the prison provides medication through the State Medical Facilities. If the state does not have specific medications, the family of the inmate can fill the prescription for the medication. As such, the majority of medications are provided by the prisons.

[Score = 1]

Respondents also indicated that the prisons provide laundry services. Inmates generally launder their own clothing with prison issued supplies. At the Remand and Maximum Security Facilities clothing is laundered at the Laundry Services.

[Score = 2]

With respect to purchasing additional goods, the canteen facilities at each prison provide this service.

[Score = 1]

Cash only systems are allowed at the canteens.

[Score = 0]

The Prison Service further indicated that offenders are allowed to have visitors. A Letter and Visitor Entitlement System exists at each prison except Carrera. At Carrera, inmates are brought to the Port of Spain Prison for visits. A remand prisoner is entitled to write two (2) letters and allowed to receive two (2) visits per week. The duration of the visit is fifteen (15) minutes. At the discretion of the officer-in-charge of the station these entitlements may be increased or adjusted. Convicted inmates are allowed letter and visit privileges which differ from prison to prison.27 All letters are screened for content which may be offensive or which may pose a security threat. Officers are assigned to write letters for inmates who are illiterate. The 36th Annual Report of the Office of the Ombudsman concurs that inmates have adequate access to visitation and written communication privileges.

 [Score = 1]

There are also clear policies which apply to visitations. Offenders, however, are not allowed conjugal visits.

[Score = 0]

When asked about the intake and classification system, respondents indicated that such systems exist and are operative.

[Score = 1]

The classification and allocation of inmates is carried out centrally by the Allocation, Reception and Warrants Departments.

[Score = 3]

The Prison Service was asked whether the intake and classification systems have clear and auditable policies and procedures. Responses indicated that such procedures exist and are followed but audits are not conducted.

[Score = 1]

Respondents were also asked to indicate whether a specific programme for the inmate is developed based on his/her risk classification. Responses indicated that this is taken into account in developing a programme. The Level of Service Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) is a diagnostic instrument which is applied to inmates upon entry to the prison. The findings are used to guide which rehabilitation programs are applied to each offender.

[Score = 2]

The Service was also asked to indicate whether inmates are separated into different living areas/housing based on the assigned risk classification. Responses indicated that this was done at all facilities, though at the main Remand facility this is difficult to achieve due to limited space. Current Attorney General, Faris Al-Rawi argued that mixing prisoners who have committed serious crimes with prisoners who were detained for petty offences can create breeding grounds for criminogenic behaviour.28

[Score = 2]

Respondents were asked to indicate whether the following components were included in the programmes which are offered: basic education (1 point), medical treatment (1 point), psychological support (2 points), drug treatment (2 points), higher education (3 points), life skills development (3 points), and work skills development (3 points). The following were available: basic education (ALTA and School Leaving29), medical treatment (inmates may be housed at the infirmary depending on the severity of their ailments), higher education (CSEC/CAPE), life skills development and work skills development.

Appendix III: Trinidad and Tobago’s Probation of Offenders Act, Duties of the Probation Officer.