Does Prison Deter Crime
Vintean 1
Michael Vintean
Professor Dozier
English 1A
11 February 2014
Does Prison Deter Crime The debate over whether or not if prison deters crime in our society is something that many of us have often thought about for quite awhile. When you think about the punishment aspect of it, it removes the criminals off the street but does it really deter crime? Without getting to the root cause of why they become criminals and resolving that issue, we often find that the criminal becomes a repeat offender. By getting to the root cause of why our criminals become criminals in the first place, we can take this information and be proactive to those who show signs of becoming criminals of the near future and possibly eliminate future transgressions in our society. There are several ways that prison’s deter crime. One being a general deterrent and the other as being more of a specific deterrent however the system is not perfect and could stand some revisions. In the article “Prison Deters Crime”, America’s Prisons 2010, “Incarceration is a very effective method of deterring future victimization from those within our nation’s jails and prisons.” Curtis Blakeley writes that Incarceration is a very effective way of preventing future crimes from being committed against our society. What it boils down to is what one’s concept of deterrence is and recognizes its purpose. General deterrence is where crime is prevented in general to society as a whole. Knowledge of a specific law or perhaps knowing of others who have committed similar crimes and the consequences of their actions can be enough to prevent a transgression. Now in the matter of specific deterrence where the perpetrator is directly punished for the infraction against the victim is sentenced and removed from society so that they may not commit any future transgressions. This is not designed as a means of rehabilitation but simply as a punishment. It may have secondary benefits as a general
Michael Vintean
Professor Dozier
English 1A
11 February 2014
Does Prison Deter Crime The debate over whether or not if prison deters crime in our society is something that many of us have often thought about for quite awhile. When you think about the punishment aspect of it, it removes the criminals off the street but does it really deter crime? Without getting to the root cause of why they become criminals and resolving that issue, we often find that the criminal becomes a repeat offender. By getting to the root cause of why our criminals become criminals in the first place, we can take this information and be proactive to those who show signs of becoming criminals of the near future and possibly eliminate future transgressions in our society. There are several ways that prison’s deter crime. One being a general deterrent and the other as being more of a specific deterrent however the system is not perfect and could stand some revisions. In the article “Prison Deters Crime”, America’s Prisons 2010, “Incarceration is a very effective method of deterring future victimization from those within our nation’s jails and prisons.” Curtis Blakeley writes that Incarceration is a very effective way of preventing future crimes from being committed against our society. What it boils down to is what one’s concept of deterrence is and recognizes its purpose. General deterrence is where crime is prevented in general to society as a whole. Knowledge of a specific law or perhaps knowing of others who have committed similar crimes and the consequences of their actions can be enough to prevent a transgression. Now in the matter of specific deterrence where the perpetrator is directly punished for the infraction against the victim is sentenced and removed from society so that they may not commit any future transgressions. This is not designed as a means of rehabilitation but simply as a punishment. It may have secondary benefits as a general
Citations: "Prisons." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Feb. 2014 Bayley, Bruce. "Prison Deters Crime." America 's Prisons. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Custody vs. Treatment Debate: Deterrence—The Two Great Lies." CorrectionsOne. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Feb. 2014