The Pros And Cons Of Being Incarcerated

Most people do not know what it is like to be incarcerated. Perhaps, there are those few that go out of their way to do some research and get an idea of what it is like to be incarcerated, but it is still not the same. Other ways people get an idea of what prison or getting incarcerated is like is from tv, or movies. Someone does a crime, the cops come, they get handcuffed, placed inside the cop car and then you see them behind bars and the scene ends. If they decide to go more into detail, they show them being fingerprinted and taken their mug shot. As a matter of fact, according to Bierie (as cited in West, 2010) on any given day, there are more than 2 million U.S. citizens incarcerated (2011, p. 341). So what better way to experience first-hand
According to Mbuba (2012) after a person has been released, and they are labeled as a criminal, they are left with limited choices that results in them reoffending (p.232). Inmates need to learn once again what it is like to be social, they need to learn how to be in an environment where they could go as the please if they are not under parole. This does not mean that incarceration should not be used. In my opinion, incarceration should still be used. For the most violent offenders, they should be placed in maximum security, for other offenders, they can be placed in medium-security or minimum security depending on their charge. The changes that need to be made in the current system is allowing offenders the opportunity to have effective correctional intervention. There should be reentry programs that focus of the three core principles of offenders such as risk, needs, and responsivity. Which is why Listwan, Cullen and Latessa (as cited in Latessa and Holsinger, 2016) report that programs that fail to develop clear goals, plan for relapse, and use effective classification will fail ( 2006, p.