Incarceration And Prison Overpopulation
The United States is faced with a major issue of mass incarceration and prison overpopulation. With the largest prison population in the world and the second highest incarceration rate per-capita (1 in 100 citizens is behind bars), the United States’ corrections system needs to be reformed now, through both policy and administrative changes. While I am certain you are familiar with these statistics, I would like to emphasize that using incarceration as the primary response to social problems as is happening today in the United States not only impacts those individuals incarcerated and their families, but also costs tax payers billions of dollars. I would encourage you to consider ways to downscale the prison population. One of them would …show more content…
The War on Drugs in the 1980s has been the main contributing factor of prison overcrowding. As the number of individuals convicted of drug offenses has increased, so has the federal prison population. Today, there are over half a million drug offenders in prisons, representing over one-half of the federal inmate population in the United States, an increase of 790 percent since 1980. And what is the drug most often used leading to these incarcerations? Marijuana. Not only has it cost tax payers billions of dollars, and has resulted in the defunding of other important services, the War on Drugs …show more content…
Traditionally, crime has been viewed as a violation against the state. Still too little attention is given to the fact that criminal acts are also violations of the victims and the communities. Punishing and correcting offenders’ criminal behaviors should not only be conducted using the concepts of retribution, incapacitation, and deterrence, it should also be designed to repair the damages done to the victims and the communities. Many benefits are associated with shifting to the restorative justice model, for the victim, the offender, and the community. Restorative justice benefits the victims by giving them a voice regarding the accountability of the offender. It gives them a chance of expressing the impact of the crime, and the harms and losses the offender has caused them. Finally, it can help victims by asking questions and receiving information that will help them find closure and
Compare And Contrast Circle Justice Vs Us Criminal Justice System
256 Words | 2 PagesSome benefits reduce crime victims’ post-traumatic stress systems and it reduces crime victims’ desire for violent rage against their offenders. It also reduces repeat offending for some offenders although not all. Circle Justice has many benefits but It also has lots of weaknesses such as how its inability to prevent potential for uneven or discriminating outcomes for sentencing and restitution, it encourages perpetrators of crimes to restore the harm they created. In US Criminal
Restorative Justice Case Study
895 Words | 4 PagesRestorative justice is a sentencing model that builds on restitution and community participation in an attempt to make a victim “whole again” (Schmalleger, 2010). Restorative justice can be explained as a form of punishment, which everyone involved or affected by a crime gets a feeling of peace after all if finalized. Both the victim and the offender have to agree to participate in restorative justice. There are needs that have to be met through restorative justice, which are the victim must be
Mass Incarceration In Jails
1120 Words | 5 PagesThis creates problems because it adds to the eminence amount of tax dollars spent every year. In the article “The high price of incarceration in America” by Aimee shows that the average American taxpayer spends about $260 a year that is almost 80 billion dollars a year for incarceration (1). There have been many voters who have been trying to reduce the amount of mass incarcerations that have been going on since the 1980’s. The majority of prisoners who were released between 2014-2015 returned to crime but the rate that they were committing the crime and returning was dropped at an astonishing degree. In the article “Prosecutors Fight to Plan to Lower Drug Sentencing “ by Sari, Horwitz (1) shows how government officials are trying to cut back on the amount of long term sentencing for first time offenders.
Drug Reform In Prisons
409 Words | 2 PagesAs of September 26, 2015, there is a total of 93,821 inmates in prison for drug offenses, which is equivalent to 48.4 percent of the prison population. The use of illegal narcotics has been an issue within the country for decades; however, is incarceration the way to solve this problem? I think not. During the late 1960’s, poverty was a substantial issue within urban cities and secluded rural areas. On the other hand, recreational drug usage promoted by fashionable young, white Americans as a symbol of social upheaval and youthful rebellion coincided with the deprivation within many of these areas.
Victim Offender Mediation
681 Words | 3 PagesFirst, offenders are to take responsibility and accountability for their actions and responds to the damage they’ve caused the victim(s). The offender must then act to ‘repair the damage’ this may include letters of apology, restitution, or community service. Next, victim-offender mediation programs involve the competency of the offender. This means the offender’s ability to function as a dynamic and fully capable citizen – this is related to inducing empathy in offenders, teaching them both communication and conflict resolution skills. Lastly, public safety includes having new relationships between the community, offender, and the victim.
Restorative Justice Model Analysis
735 Words | 3 PagesAn Evaluation of the Restorative Justice Model In Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology, Karmen (2015) outlines the restorative justice model of confronting perpetrators of criminal acts. Restorative justice is an alternative to the more traditional legal system of retributive justice; this model strives to increase communication between victim and offender and moves the focus away from offender punishment or other state-centered actions (Karmen, 2015). The restorative justice model has several benefits, including a greater level of focus on crime victims and an emphasis on making peace after a criminal event, such that an offender may reintegrate into society at large (Karmen, 2015). Restorative justice also allows for crime victims
Restorative Justice Empowers Victims
353 Words | 2 PagesOffenders have the opportunity to take responsibility, acknowledge the impact of their actions and to make reparation if that is what the victim wishes. Understanding Restorative Justice Restorative Justice empowers victims by listening to what they have to say, giving them a voice
Issues In Prison Overcrowding
1053 Words | 5 PagesThis plan consists of 10 unique and “effective” ways to decrease prison size. The 10 steps are “1. Collect and use data to inform a rational, humane and cost-effective use of prison, 2. Review and reform the criminal justice process as a whole from arrest to release and invest in crime prevention and reduction, 3.Divert minor cases out of the criminal justice system, 4. Improve access to justice and case management during pre-trial detention, 5.Develop and implement constructive non-custodial measures and sentences, 6.
Restorative Justice Essay
763 Words | 4 PagesFania Davis, an author, and leader in restorative justice once said, “It is clear that the way to heal society of its violence… and lack of love Is to replace the pyramid of domination with the circle of love and respect.” For this reason, restorative justice is more effective than retributive justice at reducing recidivism in The Youth Criminal Justice System. Restorative justice is superior because it allows for accountability in the offender, as well as healing for the victim. Whereas retributive justice simply focuses on the punishment of the offender and does not focus on rehabilitation.
Pros And Cons Of Retributive Justice
1479 Words | 6 PagesToday our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30).
History Of Prison Overcrowding
696 Words | 3 PagesPrison population exploded until the 1980s all due to the war on drugs. Drug offenders constituted more than half of the prisons population and the majority were American citizen white males. The Sentencing Reform Act was another major factor that contributed to the prison overcrowding. The Sentencing Reform Act gave offenders determinate sentencing which was a period of incarceration that the convicted had to serve and it was ordered by the court. Another thing that the Sentencing Reform Act did was abolish parole which
The Benefits Of Prison Overcrowding
1080 Words | 5 PagesOvercrowding Prisons In 1980, almost 200 years after prisons were first used as a criminal sanction, there were only 316,000 sentenced prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction. In only thirty years, from 1980 to 2010, the number of prisoners increased by almost 500 percent, to more than 1.6 million inmates. (Seiter, 2014, p. 130) Most of our prisons are filled with offenders that have not actually committed violent crimes.
The Role Of Recidivism In Prisons
1730 Words | 7 PagesMillions of people go through the United States prison system each year, and once you go to prison, no matter how long ago or how trivial the offense, it follows you around for the rest of your life. Many do not expect much from prisoners after their release and presume they will fall back into the same patterns and are bound to go back to prison. The likelihood of reoffending is referred to as recidivism. “Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in rearrests, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner's release” (“Recidivism”, 2014). It is a key topics of incapacitation, specific deterrence and rehabilitation for criminals and their success after release.
Persuasive Essay About Drug War
630 Words | 3 PagesThe drug war in the United States has been waged on all civil fronts for over four decades. 1971 marked the beginning of the infamous “war on drugs” that was first signed into law by President Nixon, and then further escalated by president Ragen. The drug war has led to a massive increase in the country’s prison population. The United States currently has less than 5% of the world’s total population and nearly 25% of the world’s total prison population. That is a shocking number that is unnecessarily increased due to the drug war propaganda.
Overcrowding In Prisons
268 Words | 2 PagesNew data based on the Bureau of Justice Statistic states that number of inmates in America has exceeded 2 million. The current rate is if 702 persons per 100,000 population. Some of the issues are Federal Prison Growth, Federal Sentencing Policy and population Trends Affected by Large States like Texas and California. It is estimated that there has been a significant drop in size of their prison system. Texas and California have shift the parole policies this has help with overcrowding in their correction system.
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