...with legal authority over the adult or juvenile offenders. Community corrections programs are generally operated by probation agencies (correctional supervision within the community instead of incarceration) and parole agencies (conditional, supervised release from prison).” (National Institute of Justice, 2015) These community based corrections are most of the time for lower level offenders. These offenders have committed crimes, but are not harsh enough crimes to be put into a prison where they are under constant security. These individuals in these programs may have just got out of prison, or have charges against them that only required the supervision or a probation officer. They may also be able to get help with drug and alcohol problems, grief and bereavement issues, and depression or self- esteem issues. These programs are offered and the Federal, State, and local levels. We will be discussing a program that is at the State/Local level. I currently reside in the state of Florida so I have decided to do the community corrections of Florida as a whole. This way we can take a look at every aspect that the Florida Department of Corrections deals with in terms of Community Corrections. Here is some information that I have found that will give you an insight on what the state of Florida does for community corrections. “The Florida Department of Corrections currently supervises more than 145,000 offenders. These adult offenders are monitored and supervised by probation officers...
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...which include the federal assault weapons ban, community oriented policing services (Cops), Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants, Death Penalty Provisions, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Youth Violence Prevention Program,...
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...Corruption of Florida Police Officers Name Learning Institution CORRUPTION OF FORIDA POLICE OFFICERS Police officers are law enforcement officers who are expected to keep law and order in the society by controlling crimes, investigating crimes, making arrests, patrolling streets and controlling traffics (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). They are expected to show high level of good ethical conduct such as honesty, integrity, courage, responsibility and good character (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). This has not been the case in the country. Controversial behaviors have widely been reported among the police officers who are expected to enforce the low and order. The police have been accused of violating the moral ethical values by engaging in corruption (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). Therefore this paper intends to discuss the ethical issues in regards to police officers in Opa-Locka and Miami Florida. Ethics and Corruption Ethical issues do crop up in our day to day life. In the law enforcement departments, a clear understanding of the ethics will be of greater importance since the officers are highly expected to practice good moral values in the society. Therefore, police administration and the Attorney General should ensure that officers adhere to the police code of conduct so as not to develop mistrust in the eyes of the public (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). However, ethics is defined as the study of the specific moral conducts an individual practices while relating...
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...whether spending one’s early years in a jail causes mental problems later in life, but for the moment the law says babies must stay with their mothers. In Ohio they are trying a program called The Achieving Baby Care Success program. It began in June 2001. The 12 mothers currently participating live in a special wing of the prison. The babies sleep in identical cribs in their mothers’ cells. Between prison roll calls, mothers take their children to the in-house nursery for scheduled activities.9 Victim Offender Mediation Img 0013 600Victim-offender mediation, or VOM (also called victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation, or restorative justice dialogue), is usually a face-to-face meeting, in the presence of a trained mediator, between the victim of a crime and the person who committed that crime. The victim gets to explain how they feel and felt, and what needs were not met as the result of the action of the offender. The offender is to repeat what he or she hears (i.e. feelings and needs) and continue to listen and repeat what the victim says she or he feels and needs....
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...American court system is overflowed with people that suffer from substance abuse. For example drug and/or alcohol related crimes have been implicated in violent crimes, instances of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect cases. Therefore, drug court has come in to offer people arrested for substances abuse related crimes and opportunity to receive community-based treatment with judicial supervision to avoid potential incarceration. For this reason drug court has changed people’s lives in a variety of ways, which are often overlooked, are the positive impact on families and society. Overall, substance abuse offenders have a recurring problem for the criminal justice system as a result drug courts are an important strategy to reduce incarceration, provide drug treatment and reduce recidivism among nonviolent offenders. Another key point is research study by the National Institute of Justice in 2009 called the Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation confirmed that Drug Courts reduced crime and substance abuse, improved family relationships, and also increasing employment and school enrollment. (Marlowe, 2010) Another key point is drug courts have affected the offender’s criminal behavior and substance use with mandated drug and alcohol treatment. Henceforth drug courts has been a popular diversion program for drug offenders since it’s began in Dade County Florida in 1989. Overview Drug courts represent the criminal justice approach to ensure public safety through close supervision...
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...American Psychological Association, has been compiled from different studies on prison based drug treatment. Research findings from these two studies mentioned have been obtained from the studies of Dr. Harry K. Wexler and Steven S. Martin. A study conducted by Harry K. Wexler and Gerald Melnick, “Risk and Prison Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes”, focused on prison based drug treatment and aftercare for inmates. The study shows that high risk offenders benefited slightly more from treatment than low risk offenders, but in the end both benefited. A key finding concluded...
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...Many individuals enter into Drug Court each year from different walks of life. Each year in July, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) request data from community corrections to review arrest of past Drug Court graduates. Through April 1996 to May 2011, data came available on 1,409 individuals who entered Drug Court. The average age of someone who received services through Drug Court was thirty-two-years-old while two thirds were under the age of thirty-five and a quarter of individuals were under the age of twenty-five (Norman, Gray and MacMaster). Drug Court has been shown to have a greater effect on relatively younger high-risk individuals, who were diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder and who previously failed in less intensive treatments (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). When Drug Court accepts someone to the program, the participant is usually non-violent offender whose current charges are due to his or her substance abuse addiction. Participants reported a long history of substance usage for about 17.9 years. The majority of the defendants received substance abuse addiction. Participants reported a long history of substance abuse usage for about 17.9 years. The majority of the participants received substance abuse treatment in the past while none was able to maintain their recovery. The major drug of choice for participants was cocaine at 57.2%, marijuana at 14%, methamphetamine 8.6%, alcohol 8.2%, and prescription...
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...works or not, something has to be done to assist prisoners in order for them to lead a normal life upon their release. I will discuss some of the many programs offered by various states ranging from “Pets in Prison” to obtaining college degrees. I will explain the various types of counseling offered to sex offenders, pedophiles and murderers. Those are a few topics I feel should have special interest in the counseling/rehabilitation area. I am sure most would agree that prisoners should receive some type of counseling and rehabilitation, but where do you draw the line on the rehabilitation services offered? Should the money from taxpayers be used to fund certain types of programs, how does the prison system decide who gets to participate in which programs, and how can counselors and judicial boards ensure there will be no regression? Those are just a couple of questions that will be answered throughout my report. Structural Outline 1. Educational Services Offered 1a. Prison Entrepreneurship 2a. Prison Labor/computer repair program 2. Drug Rehabilitation 2a. Program Steps in detail for the Second Chance Program 3. Sex Offender Therapy 4. Alternative Programs to Prison Abstract This research paper will enlighten the readers of the many...
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...Introduction. Historically, castration has been often used as a punishment to sex offenders. However, by late 19th Century, most of the castration sentences were disallowed upon appeal (Spalding, 1998). For this reason, legislative systems have made into law legislations that will revive the ancient castration method to condemn such men. However, this procedure has not escaped criticism from psychological, medical and psychiatric professionals. Some critics, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), believe that mandatory chemical castration of sex offenders due to court order is unconstitutional (Spalding, 1998). The opponents of castration also argue that side effects associated with chemical castration such as serious allergic reactions...
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...Delinquent Diversion Programs This paper will thoroughly cover the establishment of Juvenile Delinquent Diversion Programs and how it contributes to recidivism rates among young offenders. The first part will discuss a detailed description of delinquent diversion programs along with its history and purpose behind its creation. The second part will discuss specifically the Juvenile Drug-Court Diversion Program and how it is applied to the traditional court process. The final part will touch on how the Juvenile Drug-Court Diversion Program contributes to recidivism rates among young offenders in addition to sanctions that are given to those who do not successfully complete the program. History of Diversion Programs In the late 1960s, diversion...
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...Mental Health Courts are effective in reducing recidivism Mental health courts operate in State level and link offenders who would ordinarily be prison-bound to long-term community-based treatment. Mental health courts, after a mental health assessment to the offenders, choose individualized treatment plan, so cover the needs of offenders and public safety. Although mental health courts vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but most share the following characteristics: A specialized docket. Judicial supervised, community- based treatment plans for each defendant participating in the court. Regular status hearing at which treatment plans are review for appropriateness. Criteria defines a participant’s competition of the program. In Broward County, Florida, has had low recidivism rates for mental illness offenders. Sheriff Jenne indicates that the cost is $80 per day to house a general population inmate and $130 a day to detain a person with mental illness; in Miami the cost of treating inmates with mental illness is $125 per day, while the cost for healthy inmates average $18 a day. “By diverting inmates with mental illnesses from the jail to Community treatment in Pinellas County, Florida, treatment cost $60 a day per individual diverted” (Slate, and Johnson, 2008)....
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...first drug court was established in Miami-Dade, Florida in 1989. Drug courts were established because of the “revolving door of drug use” and increasing recidivism rates. Drug courts have the ability to change a person’s life the better by teaching them how to beat their addictions by provind the proper treatments to the offenders. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about the effectiveness, success, goals, and failures of the the Maricopa County Drug court, Baltimore City Drug Court, and the King County Drug Diversion court systems. The number of Drug court systems around the world are continuously increasing. In June 2010, there were about 2,500 drug courts that are being operated in the United States of America....
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...Racial Disparities in America’s Judicial System The mandatory imprisonment policies written for the judicial system are creating disparity of minority inmate population primarily due to non-violent drug crimes and the unjust mandatory minimum sentencing laws. America’s prisons are the most populated in the world, and they are disproportionately populated by minorities due to the set of mandatory imprisonment policies set in place. Over the past five decades, the disparity between races has widened dramatically according to the National Center on Institutions. In the 1950’s, blacks and Hispanics were the minorities in the prison system, whereas today whites are. Is this due to poverty? I’m sure poverty plays a big role in most cases. Robert Woodson Jr., president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise said the reason young men engage in criminal activity is not just for money, it is to make a name for themselves, to have some expression of worth, even if the expression is self-destructive. Crack cocaine hit the streets in the early 1980’s, infesting the lower income areas. It’s a cheap drug compared to cocaine and easier to come by than some of the higher priced drugs. Is this considered racial disparity? The Sentencing Project in 2007 states that two-thirds of the regular crack users are white and Latino, 82 percent of defendants sentenced in federal court for crack offences are African-American. Criminologist William Chambliss suggest that blacks are more...
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...Lizbeth Padilla DeVry University Lance Arnold Intro to Criminal Justice 02/07/2013 I believe treating juveniles as adults is a good law to ensure that they can go to jail and receive time for a crime they committed. I think no matter what age a person is they should learn a lesson by doing their punishment or do hour services for the community. If a child that can pick up a dangerous weapon and harm an innocent person they knows what is right or wrong. They know that they can get in trouble for it. They should expect the consequences are going to be giving to them. My offer, point of view to prevent things like this is that children and adults should take delinquency programs. They can get counseling, get other services where they can get help to get their life straighten out, and prevent them from getting in trouble in the future. During the 1990s, nearly every state passed more punitive justice laws making it easier to try juveniles in adult court. More and more teens are doing time alongside adults in prison. This represents society’s recent shift towards taking a harsher view of adolescent’s culpability. When a juvenile is charge with certain felony offenses, his or her case may be transferred to the adult criminal division where a juvenile will be prosecuted in the same way as adults charge with laws violations. When a child is found guilty or pleads guilty in adult court and is sentenced as an adult, that child is forever considered an adult for the future violations...
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...Drug Courts: Adult and Juvenile Rehabilitation Programs Eugene Berry Crj2200 Introduction to Criminal Courts Drug courts handle nonviolent substance abuse offenders, drug courts are used primarily to solve a problem rather than to send someone to jail or lock an offender away with less chance of rehabilitation. In the United States there are currently almost 2500 drug courts in the 50 states as well as the U.S. territories of Guam, and Puerto Ricco. Drug courts got their start in Florida, in 1989 judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, and state attorneys designed the court for non-violent offenders in Miami-Dade County, to battle a rising crack-cocaine problem in there city’s. Drug courts are a program the can involve different levels of intensive supervision by the courts themselves, this includes drug testing and substance abuse clinics or treatment programs. Drug court judges gain a lot of discretion and leeway in this system and can give the offenders instant or gradual sanctions if the offenders fail to meet the standards of the program given. To help keep the offenders compliant the courts can offer fewer drug tests, fewer court dates, and even the possibility of reduced or completely dismissed sentences if they programs are fully completed. Drug courts are proven to keep offenders from repeating their offences and the overall reduction in recidivism rates on these charges. There is research being done today that shows this treatment method could reduce drug...
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