Research Paper on "Analyzing the Discontinuation Prisons as Primary Form of Punishment"

>This meant that the officers whose handling of the prisoners was correctional and accepted, had a significant effect on recidivism. In Florida, it was shown that graduates did not commit as many new crimes as their group that was released from incarceration centers. The National Institute of Justice points out that those ISP offenders may not necessarily manifest higher recidivism, but they show it, owing to higher technical breaches and revocation rates. This means that alternative sanctions meted within the existing probation program or as separate programs may lead to higher recidivism (Gendreau et al., 1993).

Conclusion

The role of dealing with crime is a responsibility of both local authorities and the state. Over 95% of offenders are convicted in state courts. People got fed up with the levels of crime thirty years ago and decided that it was time to send offenders to prison for a longer period. Some improvement was seen in the levels of crime. However, violent crimes rose to a high again in the 90s, and reduced suddenly to the levels in the 70s. Advanced research credits the penal system for the 25% reduction in the levels of crime in the past 15 years. The co-relation between incarceration and crime is still a lot more complex. Crime has been reduced in some states without using incarceration indiscriminately (Warren, 2007). In California, Incarceration rates increased by 12% in the last ten years while the Crime rates reduced by 40 to 50% over the same period. New York presents a different picture, where incarceration reduced by 14%, while the crime rates also decreased by 60%. The incarceration rate in California exceeds that of New York by 30%, but violent crime in New York is lower by 13%. New York's property crime stands at 37%.

There is, therefore, evidence that incarceration does not necessarily benefit the society. In some minor offence cases, the cost of imprisonment exceeds what is saved by traditional crime reduction strategies. Any possible benefits of incarceration as a crime reduction measure are erased by the fact that the offenders will commit crimes after they are released. Evidence-based options are more effective ways of fighting crime. Over-reliance on incarceration has profoundly increased the number of inmates in the U.S. prisons. There are also extreme racial disparities in the application of punishment (Warren, 2007).

Overcrowding is the order of the day. State and federal budgets for prisons continue to override other more important areas such as education, health and even alternative rehabilitation services. Efforts have moved from the rehabilitative goals of the 70s to retribution. The nation has moved from the extreme of trying to rehabilitate everyone to one of rehabilitating none. Policies that are tailor made for the circumstances and the offenders are what the nation needs. The effort to make uniform standards for sentencing has led the U.S. to ignore important personal dynamics and potential for change of each individual. There are disparities where some receive longer sentences than needed, while others receive less than can be effective. Judges, prosecutors and correction officers need to be provided with laws that are more responsive to the needs of the offenders, i.e. imprisonment, community service, treatment and intermediate sanctions (Warren, 2007).

Laws that target the needs of offenders should be developed. The criminal circumstances must also be evaluated. EBP principles present a sound and effective basis for developing such policies. The principles have been noted to be effective. The past few years have seen the policies on crime and punishment shift dramatically across the U.S. The reforms started in Texas in 2007. Reformers encourage being compassionate in order to see matters in a balanced way. The prevailing systems release more dangerous criminals to the society than they went in. Reentry and prison reform are matters of public policy issues. Controlled government spending, public safety and compassion, form the basis of a conservative philosophy. In my view, politically, conservatives are more credible than liberals in matters of prison reforms. Although the U.S.A. boasts of being a leading economy in the world, it has 25% of all the prisoners in the world too (Viguerie, 2013).

The figures are worrisome as almost one in every thirty-three adult Americans is going through some version of correctional control service. The sum of control rate during Ronal Reagan's term as president of the U.S. was only one in every 77 adults. This figure captures all forms of correctional facility, service and control. Most of the states have been reviewing their prison policies with an aim of reducing the number of people who are likely to be incarcerated under older polices. Such reforms have been seen to happen in such places as Georgia, New Hampshire Vermont and Ohio. They have explored possibilities of shortening and sometimes eliminating imprisonment for some minor offences; replacing them with more evidence-based correctional and rehabilitation approaches.

South Dakota passed a progressive reform law in January. It is predicted that the law will cut down on costs. It is meant to hold nonviolent offenders to parole, drug courts, probations and programs that are cost effective. Confronting the issue has demonstrated that philosophies and principles generate practical solutions that cut down on costs in the running of government even as it makes it more effective. There is room to improve on that. Conservatives can lead the nation in this direction by convincing more of its friends and supporters, including politicians that the criminal justice system is at the heart of the conservative agenda. Consequently, reforms can move at a faster pace than what is now the case.

References

Gendreau, Paparozzi, Little, & Goddard. (1993). Does "punishing smarter" work? An assessment of the new generation of alternative sanctions in probation. Correctional Service of Canada, 5(3).

Gudrais, E. (2013). Harvard Magazine -- Your independent source for Harvard news since 1898. Harvard's Bruce Western advocates new prison, rehabilitation policies -- Harvard Magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/03/the-prison-problem

Kopel. (1994). Prison Blues: How America's Foolish Sentencing Policies Endanger Public Safety. Policy Analysis, (208). Retrieved, from http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-208.html

Pollock. (2005). Jones & Bartlett Learning. The Philosophy and History of Prisons. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://www.jblearning.com/samples/0763729043/Chapter_01.pdf

(2007). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Handbook of basic principles and promising practices on Alternatives to Imprisonment. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://www.unodc.org/pdf/criminal_justice/07-80478_ebook.pdf

Viguerie, R. (2013). The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. A Conservative… READ MORE