Research shows that fewer than 8 percent of the sex offenders completing the Sexual Offender Treatment Program return to prison.
There are different types of sex offenders which make recidivism complex to handle. Unfortunately, recidivism remains a difficult concept to measure, especially in the context of sex offenders. The surreptitious nature of sex crimes, the fact that few sexual offenses are reported to authorities, and variation in the ways researchers calculate recidivism rates all contribute to the problem.
America's prisons are overpopulated and the population is growing each year with increased drug activities. Low level drug offenders, comprised of 39 percent of the overall prison population. In the article " Department of Justice low-level drug offenders: a defense perspective" defines low-level drug offender as one who has been convicted drug trafficking offense but has no prior commitment, history of violence, known involvement of sophisticated criminal activity, significant "public risk factor," and pending detainer (Katz 28) . This group isn't hardened criminals and don't live a life of crime; rather they are motivated by profit. They are less likely to return to prison when compared to hardened criminals. The length of drug sentences
The term "sex offender" means an individual who was convicted of a sex offense. Research has shown that Sex offenders that commit a crime against a person has not previously been convicted of a violent offence before. They do these crimes unders a masks of a normal relationship. Most Sexual offences committed against the person are mostly perpetrated by family members and acquaintances, and the big majority of them are unreported. Not all crimes are the same because there is such a wide spectrum of sex crimes. The punishments vary widely, between states, from fines and counseling to life in prison. Sex Offenders can be categorized into three tiers according to federal law. A Tier is a level in which a Sex Offender is categorized based on his/her sex offense.
The purpose of this literature review is to prove that drug court programs are an effective alternative to incarceration for people struggling with substance abuse issues. According to the Bureau of Justice statistics seventeen percent of prisoners at the state level were incarcerated due to drug related crimes. Eighteen percent of federal cases were related to drugs (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004). According to Lutze and Van Wormer the drug court model was formulated in response to the revolving cycle involved with substance addiction and crime. This model incorporated many different aspects of the judicial system such as judges, lawyers, probation officers, and social workers as well as traditional substance abuse treatment concepts.
Many drug offenders are often forced into the drug business because of economic reasons, resulting from the increased difficulty of finding jobs after prison, due to the felony that is attached to their name. Employers are often discouraged from hiring a person that has committed a felony, because of the uncertainty in their behavior. A study done by the Urban Institute, found that only 45% of all Americans that had been to prison, had a job within a year of being released. It was even lower for drug offenders, as only 25% of all drug offenders in the United States were able to find a job once released (McVay). It’s hard enough finding a well paying job because of the current state of the economy in the United States. Drug offenders often spend most of their life in prison, and once they are released, they have no knowledge or skills pertaining to the real world.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a federally funded, executive agency consisting of 39,683 employees and housing 193,070 inmates via 122 different institutional locations currently maintaining a thirty-four percent rate of recidivism (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2016, About tab). The Bureau is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and performs duties of care and custody, rehabilitation program and services, and provides services for the prevention of future crimes. The Bureau is also responsible for carrying out all legally mandated federal executions, with Terre Haute, Indiana being home for the lethal injection center. Facilities are broken down into different classifications based on security concerns, and house inmates accordingly by
As a nation proud of the philosophies revolving around freedom, equality, etc. it is far-fetched and unseemingly to good to be true. In the “Deaf in Prison” documentary, “there are more than two people incarcerated” (Deaf in Prison, 2013). We shift our attention to issues that should not be started as an issue, mass incarceration for little crimes such as an individual sentenced ten years for holding very little marijuana, primarily targeting those who are a person of color, screams a lot about the system as a whole. There is a whole lot of fragments that need fixing within our unjust judicial system, and that is why we need to curb the efforts of providing the best resources possible for those convicted wrongfully and those who want a second
Chapter Eight of the book Flawed Criminal Justice Policies, authors take the closer look at the laws and faulty policy regarding the sex offenders. According to the book policy makers started the myriad laws to protect the public from the sex offenders with increased prison sentences, and restricting the residences to the violators. Today we have very similar situation when it comes to treatment of sexual offenders. The process starts with the sex offender being committed to the prison sentence, and lastly to being registered as a sex offender on many public websites, so that the people could distinguish who the sex offender is and where he/she lives.
Lees, M., & Tewksbury, R. (2006, February). Understanding Policy and Progmmatic Issues Regarding Sex Offender Registries. Trade Journals , 68(1), 54,56-57.
The Parole division will monitor sex offenders using the following policy. The goal of this policy will help improvise the system administration of sex offenders in the State of California owning sex offenders liable for the damage created by sexual abuse crimes with the conclusive objective of spotting potential harm to victims. In this structure to provide best of class safety to the community, offenders shall be closely monitored and comply with these restrictions. The offender shall be restraining to follow three purposes, which are no contact what so ever with children, unnoticed visits to home and work and GPS monitoring. The main purpose will oversee the offender behavior and restrain the offender within prefer barrier set by the parole officer and enhance public security.
According to the article called” Psychopathy traits and parental dysfunction in sexual offending and general delinquent adolescent males” by Jason D. Netland and Michael H. Miner, Netland and Miner stated that therapists have to understand the behavior of sex offenders in order to create an effective prevention and treatment services. Young sex offenders and non-sex offenders have many psychological similarities. One of the similarities is anxiety. Another psychological similarity is attention problems. Sex offenders and non-sex offenders also have psychological similarities in poor relationships with their peers and families. It was also discovered that young sex offenders and non sex offenders have poor academic performances( Netland
The drug problem in any country continues to proliferate despite efforts of the government in preventing these drugs from further destructing the lives of the people. Clandestine laboratories sprout on different parts of the world and find ways on how it can reach vulnerable individuals. What makes it more alarming is how drug addiction has affected children as young as 12 years old.
Substance abuse is a form of substance-related disorder. It refers to the harmful or hazardous use of substances that affects almost every community, including alcohol, tobacco and legal or illegal drugs. Drug abuse is one of the most commonly substance abuse in teenagers. It is a disease that is defined as a destructive pattern of using drugs that can cause significant problems or distress. The most commonly abused drugs among them are marijuana, cocaine, heroin and hallucinogens. Drug abuse is caused by psychological, genetic as well as environmental factors and can have significant damaging effects on health.
When a person takes a drug the chemicals affect the brain by interfering with how the neurons send messages. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the structure of Marijuana and Heroin mimic a natural neurotransmitter which tricks the receptors into allowing the drug to activate neurons inside the brain which interferes with messages and leads to abnormalities of behavior. With other drugs such as cocaine there is an abnormally large amount of neurotransmitters released which disrupts communication channels. Drug abuse can rewire brain connections, decrease synapse activity and cause addiction. The American Psychiatric Association says that addiction is a complex condition, and a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequence. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 21.5 million American adults (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in 2014. Addiction to drugs has been a growing issue in America, and is causing jails to become overcrowded. The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that more than half of federal prisoners were incarcerated for drug crimes in 2010. This leads to the question of whether the justice system is doing an adequate job of dealing with drug addiction. Instead of incarcerating people for drug abuse, an alternative is treating victims by rehab and treatment. This paper will exam why treatment is the superior option for