...Alternatives to Incarceration Nicole Kimble Professor White CRJ 180 December 4, 2015 In examining the underlying historical and economic reasons behind the quest for alternatives to incarcerating offenders in jails and prisons, “between 1972 and 2010, the United States prison population increased exponentially from fewer than 200,000 prisoners to more than 1.6 million. Including, jails, the United States now incarcerates approximately 2.3 million people on any given day. By 2012, one in 108 American adults had been incarcerated. During these decades, the contours of American exceptionalism expanded as the United States acquired the distinction of leading incarcerator of the world.” (Eaglin, J pp.1845) I would also like to add that the “Model Penal Code takes an important stride toward fundamental thinking as it refocuses economic sanctions around the goal of successful reintegration into society. There is reason to believe that the broader public and political has not similarly reoriented itself around this framework, despite the apparent shift towards rehabilitative reforms. Neorehabilitaive reforms maintain the dame framework of exclusion that created policies that increased prison populations even though the rhetoric of reform has changed. So to speak, “unless and until the public politicians develop the will to fund a reintegrative system, economic sanctions may be another alternative to incarceration implemented in the wrong way despite the ally’s efforts to the...
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...Ever since the first prison opened in the United States in 1790, incarceration has been the center of the nation's criminal justice system. Over this 200 year period many creative alternatives to incarceration have been tried, and many at a much lower cost than imprisonment. It wasn't until the late 1980's when our criminal justice systems across the country began experiencing a problem with overcrowding of facilities. This problem forced lawmakers to develop new options for sentencing criminal offenders. Unlike jail or prisons, which create an expensive cycle of violence and crime, these alternatives actually prevent violence and strengthen communities. Community corrections programs provide many communities with local punishment options as an alternative to prison or jail. These sanction programs are lower cost alternatives to the increased prison and jail constructions, based on the cost per offender. These programs provide local courts, state departments of corrections, and state parole boards with a broad range of correctional options for offenders under their jurisdiction. The overall goals of these programs are to fit the appropriate punishment with the crime, the offender is punished and held accountable, and the public safety is protected. There are several programs available as an alternative to incarceration, the earliest being probation. Probation is still widely used for first time offenders. This program allows the offender a sort of second chance in the community...
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...Alternatives to Incarceration Community based correction is a program which is supervised to deal with people who have been convicted or are facing conviction. It is a non-incarcerated system of corrections. Late eighties and early nineties have brought a new revolution in the justice system. Parole and probation have always been a way of community correction, but with technological advancement and considering the psychology of convicted people, correction programs have widened to accommodate work releases, day fine programs, electronic monitoring, home confinement, community service, half way houses, boot camp prisons, restitution, check-in programs, mediation, curfews, restorative justice centers, drug checks, alcohol checks and other methods where there is a certain level of trust between the offenders and the people involved. The objective of this essay is to compare and contrast characteristics and goals of halfway houses, day reporting centers, and drug courts. Their similarities and difference in regards to incarceration will also be discussed. Halfway houses, also called “community correction centers” or “residential reentry centers” are used mostly as an intermediate housing option to help a person return from prison to the community after he has served a prison sentence (Bayens & Smykla, 2013). Sometimes, though, halfway houses can be used instead of prison or jail, usually when a person’s sentence is very short. For example, halfway houses may be a good choice...
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...Juvenile Sentencing Alternatives to Incarceration David Schuster Oakland Community College Abstract There are many different ways to punish a juvenile for a crime that they have committed. The most common is incarceration, otherwise known as jail or prison. This option has many disadvantages. I will explore the different aspects of incarceration: how it affects the juveniles, and if, over all, it is an effective way to punish young criminals. I will then present several alternatives to incarceration, now being used, such as: community diversion, counseling, education, behavior management, probation, as well as other methods that not only punish the juvenile, but also provide an opportunity for rehabilitation. For this paper, when talking about incarceration and community alternatives as sentencing options, I intend for them to be applied to the not as serious juvenile crimes. Status offenses, minor in possession, breaking and entering, and minor burglary charges would fall into this category. However, I think for more serious, violent crimes there is less discretion as to punishment options, and therefore most community alternatives may not apply to them. Keywords: Incarceration, community alternatives, juvenile delinquents Juvenile Sentencing Alternatives to Incarceration Incarceration for juveniles in this country is largely based upon our criminal justice system for adults. As Jeffery Fagen (2010) states in his article, there are many similarities between...
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...Alternatives to Incarceration For the country to save money, they have adopted other alternatives to deal with juveniles that are found on the wrong side of the law. These methods are meant to ensure that the juveniles are rehabilitated into better members of society while at the same time using a cost effective method (Lankford, 2012). For several years the United States has sought to have other methods that serve the same purpose as incarceration that are just as effective. These are methods that have been used and tested over the years that will work to the advantage of the government. There are different underlying historical and economic reasons behind the quest for alternatives to incarcerating offenders in jails and prisons. The main historical reason that has led to seeking...
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...Alternatives to Incarceration Abstract Our country continues to search alternatives to the overcrowded prisons bulging at the seams. Citizens are crying for a relief on taxation in funding these prisons. The criminal justice system has searched for years for ideas to limit incarceration. Some alternative programs have withstood the test of time, some continue to build a name for themselves, and others have just come onto the scene. This paper will focus on three alternative programs to placing adults in prisons. These programs include military services, intensive supervision programs (ISP’s), and Restorative Justice programs. Each provides some type of benefit to criminals, corrections department, and society. Alternatives to Incarceration Our country seems to have gone in various directions trying to find a successful justice system to work in punishing crimes. We went from a rehabilitation system, to no tolerance policies in the 1980’s. Overcrowded prisons forced officials to let prisoners out early in the 90’s. Taxpayers wanted something done with crime in their communities, but didn’t know which way to turn. A faulty criminal justice system has been blamed in such that it had, “Inadequate or ineffective rehabilitation programs, lack of drug treatment, insufficient funding for resettlement after prison, and other . . . policies. . . .”, (Sherman & Strang, 2007, p. 12). Crimes continue to be a major concern within American society, yet our only response...
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...Running head: ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO INCARCERATION Alternative Solutions to Incarceration Meral Daniel Southern New Hampshire University Alternative Solutions to Incarceration Incarceration is the result after a crime is committed by an individual and has a number of objectives. Primarily, it is intended to keep persons who have committed a crime under secure control and to punish them by depriving them of their liberty. Imprisonment keeps them from committing further crimes while they are incarcerated “and, in theory, allows them to be rehabilitated during their period of imprisonment. The goal of rehabilitation is to address the underlying factors that led to criminal behavior and by so doing, reducing the likelihood of re-offending. However, it is precisely this objective that is generally not being met by imprisonment. On the contrary, evidence shows that prisons not only rarely rehabilitate, but they tend to further criminalize individuals, leading to re-offending and a cycle of release and imprisonment, which does nothing to reduce overcrowding in prisons or to build safer communities.” (United Nations, 2006) One effective alternative to incarceration is the use of GPS monitoring and it is becoming an increasingly important topic of consideration by state rehabilitation and correction agencies. Location tracking systems, such as GPS, have customarily been used solely to track higher-risk offenders. However...
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...individual, a system of incarceration has been formed and implemented. Involved in this system are the removal of criminals from public society and the admittance of criminals into a place of enclosure and limited freedoms. The determination of duration, as well as, where and when such processes should take place are set out in a court by judge and jury. Whether or not the victim of a crime approves is of no consequence to the outcome of this trial. The purpose of incarceration in a prison system has been to rehabilitate and resocialize the criminals so that they can eventually fit into public society. The goal is to make and remold the...
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...summary, the cost of housing an incarcerated inmate does affect the budget of the United States. Whether, the inmate is sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. The facts in this research paper leans heavily in favor of life imprisonment as a cheaper form of punishment verses an inmate being sentenced to death row. The judicial system and politicians have formed several alternatives to assist our country with the ability to lower the cost of housing an inmate in our prison system. For example, the United States detaining systems are concentrating more on issuing a fair sentence to nonviolent offenders, such as, substance abusers and prostitutes. They realize that the majority of the inmates are in need of drug rehabilitation and have a mental illness. Also, the research shows that women offenders are the most affected with drug addiction and substance abuse. They also have the greater risk of recidivism and mental illness, due to, the drug addiction and substance abuse. The judicial system formed an alternative called “sex courts” to address the situation with female prostitutes. The alternative addressed the need of therapeutic rehabilitation (drug treatment and mental health counseling), instead of, incarcerating the...
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...Differentiating Reasoning CRT 205 August 21, 2011 Article #1: "Homeschoolers Deserve Equal Access to Extracurricular Activities." In this article I believe that the author used a deductive argument. The issue described pertains to the population of home schooled children in the state of Alabama having the right to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities. The author argues several points that lead to the same conclusion; that homeschoolers have the same right to join extracurricular sports in the community as public or private school children. “Interscholastic extracurricular activities are an important complement to the academic curriculum. Participation in a comprehensive extracurricular and academic program contributes to student development of the social and intellectual skills necessary to become a well-rounded adult.” “Public schools do not "own" competitive athletics; they belong to the students, their families, and the residents of Alabama.” Several valid premises are made through this argument that I believe make it deductive. “A homeschooled student is a student just the same as a public or private schooled student and therefore deserves equal and fair treatment, especially by the state sponsored educational establishment. This should apply to athletics as well as academics.” Another point that was made, that I find to be a little disturbing, is the premise that an illegal immigrant can enroll a child into our public school...
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...Justice Policy I N S T I T U T E Treatment or Incarceration? Treatment or Incarceration? National and State Findings on the Efficacy and Cost Savings of Drug Treatment Versus Imprisonment by Doug McVay, Vincent Schiraldi, and Jason Ziedenberg January 2004 Justice Policy Institute 4455 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite B-500 Washington, DC 20008 v 202.363.7847 f 202.363.8677 www.justicepolicy.org POLICY REPORT J u s t i c e P o l i c y I n s t i t u t e Table of Contents Introduction: The national and local problem of drug imprisonment 3 Methodology 4 Finding 1: Treatment can be less expensive than a term of imprisonment 5 Finding 2: Treatment can be cost effective 6 Finding 3: Treatment can reduce substance abuse and recidivism while building communities 9 Finding 4: Promising treatment models exist in Maryland and around the country 11 Maryland: Break The Cycle The Correctional Options Program (COP) Drug Courts: Maryland and the National Perspective California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA) 11 12 13 14 Conclusion: Drug treatment can be more effective than cycling people in and out of prison 18 Endnotes 20 About the Authors Treatment or Incarceration? was primarily authored by Doug McVay, former research director for Common Sense for Drug Policy, a non-profit dedicated to expanding...
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...Community corrections is a range of alternative punishments for nonviolent offenders. There are two basic community corrections models in the United States. In the first model, integrated community corrections programs combine sentencing guidelines and judicial discretion ("front-end") with a variety of alternative sanctions and parole and probation options. In the second model, some states have instituted programs in which correctional officials may direct already sentenced offenders into alternative sanction programs and parole and probation options ("back-end"). Both models are designed to help reduce prison overcrowding and are less expensive alternatives to prison. Widespread development of community correction programs in the United States began in the late 1970's as a way to offer offenders, especially those leaving jail or prison, residential services in halfway houses. The first state community correction programs began in Oregon, Colorado, and Minnesota as pilot projects with very little government-funded support. They diverted nonviolent offenders in selected pilot project areas from jails and state prisons into local alternative punishment programs. The programs were referred to as "front-end" sentencing because they allowed judges to sentence offenders to a community-based punishment rather than jail or prison. Rehabilitation programs were the preferred punishment option. In the late 1980's, prison systems across the country began experiencing serious overcrowding...
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...Site Visit to the Travis County Adult Probation SMART Program Tony Lee Merriwether HSCS/311 June 23, 2014 Sheri Meyer Site Visit to the Travis County Adult Probation SMART Program This paper is an overview of adult probation program designed to provide an alternative to incarceration. The Texas Criminal Justice Program designed the program as a diversionary mechanism to provide comprehensive treatment to offenders that require treatment for substance abuse and chemical dependency. The offenders must meet certain criteria to gain entrance into the program. The program is resident in nature to assist the offenders with re-socialization process. The counseling and intervention sessions are conducted by Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors, (LCDC) which use cognitive behavioral therapies as a treatment tool. The SMART program is very structured in regard to the structure, its mission, and goals. There are strict eligibility requirements that offenders must meet to attend the 20-week program. The program is not gender specific and is available for male and female offenders. There are three levels of treatment provided at the treatment facility. Therapy is provided in the form of individual and group sessions. The writer visited the site while accompanied by LCDC Ms. Vicki Clark Merriwether; Ms. Merriwether gained her experience working with active duty Soldiers as an Alcohol and Drug counselor at several military locations in the United States and Europe. Ms. Merriwether...
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...barbaric as it resembles eye for an eye and tooth for tooth justice of medieval times and uncivilized. France and Germany have completely done away with death penalty and reported lesser crime rates. Many studys' conducted in US and some other countries where death penalty is still in force have proved that, it doesn';t have a deterrent effect on crime rate and more than death penalty, it's rigorous imprisonment for life that has more deterrent effect than death penalty. Incarceration for life proved to be more effective in preventing repetition of the same or other crimes by the same convicts than that of death penalty. In countries, where death penalty has been abolished less crime rates have been reported. Apart from incarceration for life, solitary confinement and shaming the person through social boycott etc are other options. For crimes of rape and acid attacks also, incarceration for life and the above two suggested alternatives could be considered as viable alternatives to death penalty in addition to confiscating the entire property of the criminal and paying it as compensation to their victims. Educating the guilty regarding the barbaric and heinous nature of their crimes and making them feel ashamed for their crimes and their crimes' lethal and traumatic impact on the minds, limbs and lives of their victims through reformist approach and making them truly repentant for the heinous crimes...
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...Rationales of Incarceration as Punishment and Alternative Methods The Government has several theories to support the use of incarceration as punishment. Which can be divided into two main categories: utilitarian and retributive. The utilitarian theory seeks to discourage “deter” future crimes by punishing the offender. The retributive theory seeks to punish offenders because they deserve to be punished. If one looks future into the reasons we punish criminals, one can find a number of justifications for using punishment. "Most criminal justice scholars agree [though] that there are four primary justifications for criminal punishment; retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.” (The drug trade, 2004-2005, p. 206) The first rationale is deterrence which is let’s use this person as an example so they and others will not commit a crime. I feel the main reason we use incarceration is to punish the offender and to maintain order in society. Some believe that when you punish an offender it will deter them from a lifetime of future crime as well as others in society. You have to ask yourself does incarceration deter crime. The short answer is both yes and no. Some will learn from their mistakes and not do it again and others will not care. Some believe that deterrence is useful in deterring convicted offenders from committing other crimes and will deter others in society from committing crimes. If a person knows that they will be punished if caught committing...
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