In today’s society the behavior of inmates continues to get worse. Many inmates in prisons have violent behavior because they feel they have nothing to live for anymore especially when they get life in prison without parole. To many inmates they feel like it does not matter what they do because they are never going to leave prison anyway. Many prisons have gangs and when one first gets to prison they are told of all the rules that other inmates have made. The price for breaking these rules can be anywhere from having to beat up the biggest bad guy in jail to show ones dominance to having things taken from them. Many inmates will give up their food, money and even personal items just to be accepted or to not get hurt.…
Ideally starting with a pre-release program to prepare inmates for reentry into normal life would be the best preventative measure. A social worker could use a genogram with the inmate to establish positive and negative relationships to draw support from, either for housing, transportation, or moral support. The genogram would allow a visual for the social worker and inmate to discuss ways to contact these positive supports, and ways to steer clear of the negative supports. The genogram would also allow the social worker to assess the risks and needs of the inmate. Within this pre-release program the social worker would need permission to view all known medical history and suggest that the inmate asks for copies to either bring with him upon release or to mail to a trusted support on the outside. Having these medical documents will help identify what medical needs are going to need to be established once outside of prison and right away to prevent any lapse between medication and treatment.…
Should prisoners serving life sentences for first degree murder be eligible for a parole hearing after 15 years? They shouldn’t. Criminals who hold life sentences for murder, rape, and kidnapping should stay in a jail cell. Without even the slightest chance of getting out. To many factors fall into play and the subject can only run deeper and deeper. These convicts were brutal in the outside world, and after taking their first step in a penitentiary it only gets worse. Their mental state crumbles, eventually leaving them hard wired to live in a dangerous environment. Being prosecuted for such terrible crimes, doesn’t happen just once for these people, and American citizens do not want these fist degree murderers set free in their communities.…
In society today, it is commonly known that crime rate has increased dramatically by the years. This is where many of us look for ways to solve such issue. It is the last place anybody would want to be in. but unfortunately we have hundreds of thousands of them, if not millions around the world. Thousands in just the United States, Those are prisons. Just hearing that word makes us think bad things right away. Murder, theft, violence, and everything bad that happens in this world. We live in a world where prisons and jail are very important and almost every country, state, county, or city must have at least one. Prisons now are much more crowded than they were 20 years ago. The number of inmates in just the United States has doubled between the years of 1992 and 2011. The question many of us should ask ourselves is why do we need prisons? Are prisons effective in any way? Are prisons causing economic issues? Are prisoners getting proper treatment while incarcerated?…
“rehabilitation has taken a back seat to a ‘get tough on crime’ approach that sees punishment as prison's main function, says Haney. The approach has created explosive growth in the prison population, while having at most a modest effect on crime rates… many of the mentally ill who had left mental institutions in the previous two decades began entering the criminal justice system.” (Benson) As a country, we can learn from the past six decades in regards to treatment of the incarcerated. We have seen the incarcerated population skyrocket without a significant decrease on crime, yet the United States still insists on employing a strategy that has clearly…
The inmate prison population of the BOP increased over the past few years due to federal sentencing of drug offenses and immigration. Changes in sentencing policies have increased the mandatory minimum sentencing as well as changes in the federal criminal code in which it increased the amount of crimes seen as federal offenses, also the repeal of parole. Since these changes certain crimes are now deemed as federal offenses, which require a longer period of prison time. War on drugs has cause an increase in the prison populations due to high level of harsh prison sentencing’s. Although the attempts at the three strikes system was an effort in decreasing the prison population it did not work. Focus needs to be placed on rehabilitation of inmates…
Have you heard the phrase "prisons are over populated!"? Statistics show 21.2% of low level drug offenders, that are incarcerated, do not have any current or prior violence in their records, no involvement in sophisticated criminal activity and no prior commitment. (USDOJ) Could this be the problem of prisons being over populated? There are many factors that need to be considered when looking for other possible methods of dealing with non-violent drug offenders. Some lawmakers believe the only way to deal with these offenders is to lock them up for long periods of time, while other feel the solution lies within treatment facilities and expanded social programs. With both sides having valid points we must then evaluate what is the cost of correcting this problem is and if fixing these non-violent offenders are worth it.…
Initially, I thought the only alternatives were changing the laws, expanding mental healthcare and rehabilitation. My research showed that while these were a good start to the problem, there are other options available as well. It was a real eye opener for me to learn the tremendous impact that mandatory sentencing guidelines has on defendants. Prosecutors determine how a person is going to be charged, and if convicted the judge is bound by mandatory sentencing guidelines. My research opened my eyes to the benefits of criminal corporal punishment and the positive effects it could have on deterring crime. I learned that the prisoner on prisoner violence that plagues most prisons is attributed to the overcrowding problem. Overcrowded prison cells and a lack of rehabilitation services are fueling the violence in…
Our country is already spending around 80 billion dollars per year on prisoners and yet, somehow, failing to supply a good education program and rehabilitation system. Our prison system is so fixated on punishing inmates that it fails to apply methods that can help lower the crime rate. Rehabilitation techniques differ according to the nature of the criminal and the type of crime committed. However, if applied, both education programs and rehab techniques have a positive effect on prisoners instead of punishment. Some deserve a second chance, and with education, it can be achieved. If the purpose of prison is punishment alone, prisoners are going to build up so much anger and negativity that they will become only more dangerous to our society when they are…
By placing drug offenders in a treatment program, prisons would see some relief from overcrowding. As a result of the war on drugs, arrests for drug-related offenses account for the single largest category of police…
Prison cells are far beyond just grimey, but often completely unsanitary: covered in urine, feces, and even vomit. Prison food often leads to nutrient deficiencies and is often described as utterly foul. Inmates on bad behavior are put on nutraloaf, a cruelly disgusting food used as punishment for days or months at a time. Prison life is also difficult because the guards are very rarely rebuked for being hostile to the inmates and incomprehensive to their needs or complaints. This negligence is made even more dangerous because of the threat of some potentially dangerous inmates. Prisons and jails, inevitably is a place where people have violent backgrounds and tendencies. In jail there are a spectrum of people there, from people who have done unforgivable actions to those who may have committed crimes out of necessity, to those who may have been incorrectly convicted. The negligence of guards coupled with this spectrum of people, in such unpleasant living conditions create a powerfully terrible and dangerous situation to be in. People have been stabbed, beaten, raped, and even learn how to become better crime, in a facility with the purpose of preventing people from evil actions. The United States has a recidivism rate of nearly 77%. The current dangerous and unwelcoming state of United States prisons have very evidently failed as correctional…
Inmates being released from prison are vulnerable to serious relapse by the effects of drugs and alcohol. Even if we try to help them to the best of our ability then they need to depend on themselves to make sure they don’t fall again. Depending on the person they will learn from their experience in prison or just fall into a cycle so it happens over and over again. This paper has given insight and knowledge about incarcerations around our nation and how we handle inmates by either drugs or holding them within solitary…
In an overpopulated prison inmates obtain a higher level of stress and elevate blood pressure. This leads to physical and psychological impairment and in an increase in medical complaints. Errors in social judgmentsand interpersonal mistakes are made. The resources for prisoners deplete rapidly due to availability. The screenings for inmates are overlooked and the management for possible problematic prisoners is skipped causing an uneasy environment when mentally ill prisoners interact with the general population. Systems that grow at this lightening speed are at risk for losing their organizational stability and unable to maintain the grounds they guard with authority in place. There are a few simple solutions to help the population from increasing without costing the California taxpayers more money to build new construction prisons that appear to be…
It can be agreed, prisons could benefit from proper rehabilitation for inmates, so they can transition into society, without becoming a reoccurring offender. There are different measures that could be taken. If the United States would adopt more of the policies overpopulation and reoccurring offenders could be an issue in the past. If more prisons in the United States could adopt the policies, prisoners would not carry such a burden of a stigma, and begin to be treated as actual members of the…
Beyond life-preserving and preventative measures, there's a simple need for general checkups and simple health solutions. Due to the enclosed environment that they're a part of basic amenities that inmates are a part of they lack basic necessities that most citizens utilize such as over-the-counter medication. General healthcare accessibility is a key requirement for inmates, without them things like migraines or the flu can progress into more serious problems. That migraine can lead to irritability which may lead the inmate to act in a manner that's disruptive effectively stalling his rate of rehabilitation, the man who wasn't able to see a healthcare professional for his flu could develop pneumonia and either require costly emergency treatments to preserve his life or worse, the inmate may lose his life when a simple low-cost appointment could have prevented…