The Pros And Cons Of Recidivism

The purpose of this paper is to examine recidivism and public perception. Every year thousands of ex-offenders are returned to prison for a variety of reasons. Many jurisdictions lack the resources for ex-offenders to have a successful return to society (James, 2011). The disadvantages of recidivism effects not only the lives of felons, but also their families and surrounding communities. Recidivism occurs when a person has been previously incarcerated, and later released, reoffends, and returns to the correctional system.

This is an important concept because it explains that officers should not follow society and pressure from the public and media but follow the laws that our country. This a good thing to have when dealing with persuasive criminals and individuals. Both officers and civilians benefit from this principle because it protects both parties. Officers also need to know the laws, so they can stay away form trouble and not be deceived by public persuasion. This is a good thing to have in America today, because many criminals will say anything to get out of punishment.

The death penalty is essntial to protect our towns and loved ones lifes from the dangers of other people. The

However, research shows that mandatory minimum sentences and three strikes laws have little or no effect on reducing crime rates. But there is substantial evidence that they made sentences much longer, prison populations much larger, and incarceration rates much higher (4). For example, in

Although, this tactic does not always work, it can cause some problems. Officers are supposed to use the tactic when there is a suspected criminal, but if it turns out there is no criminal it can cause many problems. Officers do not need to persuade the innocent because then the cops are just creating crime witch is the opposite of what they are supposed to do. The main point of this article is that it wants to make the structure and the frame work of the entrapment system clearer and more precise. The article identifies ways to make entrapment more stable and clearer.

According to Time it said, “25% of prisoners (364,000 people), almost all non-violent, lower level offenders would be better served by alternatives to incarceration such as treatment, community service or probation.” Yes, it is true that they would be better off somewhere else because jail won’t be any help. Those who believes that the prisoners should not be released might claim that releasing prisoners is a very dangerous idea. Some prisoners might just end up repeating their actions, and this time someone could get hurt. They are in prison for a reason.

However, crimes are committed whilst in prison, such as drugs and assaults. Some critics say the ‘three strikes and you are out’ law where repeat offenders get a longer sentence are wrong, as the third strike could be a lesser crime such as public disorder. Nevertheless, if just incapacitation and no rehabilitation some critics say will be costlier to society as they will go out and reoffend and, they are not employed and pay taxes. Rehabilitation is also a punishment which should improve the offender's behaviour and stop them committing crimes. Advocates of rehabilitation state prison does not work; however, critics of rehabilitation state prison does work as the criminal cannot commit a crime against the public while incarcerated (Cavadino, 2007 p 36/56).

After reading both articles about incarceration, I am in more support of the article The Greatest Correctional Myth: Winning the War on Crime Through Incarceration. There are many reasons as to why I chose to support the claims made in this article. Firstly, almost everyone who has been previously incarcerated or is currently incarcerated will eventually be released back into society. With that being said, the way our correctional system is set up is not beneficial for those released convicts.

Capital punishment is often justified by saying that by executing the murders birth of new murders would be prevented. Executions especially when they are more painful and public create a sense of horror and halts those tempted towards criminality to violate laws. In countries such as Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Nigeria and New York crime rates are exceptionally high and this affects the population there. The police also works inefficiently in these countries and the criminals easily escape from punishments. Punishments in public especially capital punishment highly controls the crime rate in most of the countries with low crime rate.

In regards to ethical and moral decisions for those who commit crimes, there are multiple factors that can determine what the most appropriate verdict should be. In scenario three, a man has been convicted of armed robbery to serve time in prison, and admits guilt for the deed. The man pleas that he will not commit any crimes again, and is not a danger to society. He claims that he and his wife are expecting a child, and that going to jail would be detrimental to the future of his wife and children. Based on the information given, it is evident that there will be difficulties in making a final decision that will determine this man’s fate.

The United States criminal justice system is riddled with cases of many varieties. Some have obvious outcomes while others warrant more detailed analysis. However, some cases go beyond the court into other courts, where they are decided, such as Jackson versus Hobbs in 2012. The courts try to lighten the load of cases they have by offering plea bargaining, an agreement among a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to a charge that is less severe than what he or she is initially charged for in the hopes that clemency will be administered. Sometimes, however, people accused of a crime are completely innocent, and it is not until technology is released, such as DNA testing, decades later that these people are proved to

Criminals that are apprehended are punished with jail time. Some go to state run jails, federal prison, boot camps, or maximum security prisons. I theory that criminal sanctions should scare criminals straight, and convinced them that they never want to commit a crime again because of jail time. You would think that the loss of freedom, privilege to vote, and ability to enjoy life would scare someone straight. Well it does not, Research has found that prisoner’s in max security prisons has a higher return rate, than prisoner’s in state ran jails.

It is believed that letting a criminal free from incarceration puts society at risk. Before the reform recidivism rates were high, scaring the public with the idea that criminals can reenter society. When comparing individuals who were sentenced to prison to those in diversion programs, those in diversion programs were more likely to stay out of jail while those who went to jail were more likely to have re-arrests. It was reported that 64% of the treatment sample were arrest-free over a two-year follow up period. Those in the diversion program had recidivism rates as low as 36%; this compares to the group who were given jail time with a recidivism rate of 54% (Parsons, Wei, Henrichson, Drucker, & Trone, 2015).

With millions of criminal convictions a year, more than two million people may end up behind bars(Gross). According to Samuel Gross reporter for The Washington Post, writes that also “even one percent amounts to tens of thousands of tragic [wrongful conviction] errors”(Gross). Citizens who are wrongfully convicted are incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Many police officers, prosecutors, and judges are responsible for the verdict that puts innocents into prison. To be able to get exonerated many wait over a decade just to get there case looked at, not many are able to have the opportunity of getting out.

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world (Walmsley, 2013). One of the greatest known factors that indicate the potential for an individual to be incarcerated is a previous incarceration. Rates of recidivism are as high as 78% can occur within five years of release from prison (Jonson, 2010). Many programs have been reported such as drug courts, electronic monitoring and treatment programs to lower recidivism rates; however many do not include statistics over a two-year period (Jonson, 2010). As costs of incarceration inhibit another public spending, focusing on reducing recidivism would lessen the burden to taxpayers while providing offenders with the ability not to offend.