...The most evident scenario where education has proven to reduce crime and change the mind sets of criminals alike is the modern education programs established within the various prison systems globally. Throughout the history of the prison system there has been little focus placed on the rehabilitation and education of inmates at large, with a greater emphasis falling on punishment and forced isolation due to the dangers of working with such individuals. In recent years new strategies have been put forward and evidence has arisen around the impact of education upon prisoners within, and beyond the system itself. Studies conducted over the last two decades almost consistently indicate that higher education in prison programs reduces recidivism which translates into the reduction in crime, savings to taxpayers, and long-term contributions to the safety and well-being of the communities to which formerly incarcerated individuals return. Still the argument for and against prisoner’s education wages, Jody Lewen (2007) would suggest that not only can these practices be approached in a safe and cost effective manner, but the benefits can also drastically out way the drawbacks. As Lewen (2007) points out “In order to accomplish these changes, we’re going to have to adopt entirely unconventional, and some might even say revolutionary, ways of relating to each other as human beings”. In the United states the correctional education movement began with a clergyman named William Rodgers...
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...A Positive Perspective on Prison Education Prison Education Many people would agree that continuing an education is key to living in society. Therefore, education is very vital for every individual to maintain, regardless of how or where they obtain it. Having an education can provide people with some many opportunities to improve their lives. Even though people believe that education is important, many people disagree with education being taught in prison. Many of the inmates are high school dropouts or have an eighth grade education or less; therefore, they need to receive an education. For that reason, educating prisoners provides an opportunity for them to learn how to become better readers and expand their knowledge. Usually inmate’s reasons for dropping out of school included a greater rate of grade retention, school transfers, misbehavior, poor attendance, and poor grades. Inmates also experienced less time in extracurricular activities and very little time with a school counselor during their time in school” (Vacca 301). For many people to succeed they have to be motivated, it’s always hard to stay focused when so many obstacles are put in front of anyone. Education can reinforce goals people have, their culture beliefs, and how important education really is. However, many people lose that focus when they feel that they are not...
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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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...taxpayer, are you happy with the prison system in the United States? Yes/No 2. Do you think the prison system is overcrowded? Yes/No 3. Do you agree with the statement, “The prison system in the U.S. does a good job at helping prisoners re-enter society as law abiding citizens?” Yes/No 4. Do you think more money should be spent on education rather than prison? Yes/No 5. The food in public schools is the same grade and quality as the food in prisons, does this surprise you? Yes/No 6. Guantanamo Bay prisoners, many of which are terrorists, have better healthcare than the average American. Do you think this is fair? Yes/No 7. There are many crime prevention alternatives that are more efficient, humane, fair and effective than imprisonment. Such alternatives include counseling, drug rehabilitation, education, job training and victim restitution. Do you support alternative penalties other than prison for non-violent criminal offenders? Yes/No 8. “60% of people released from prison commit a crime after being released.” From this information, do you currently see the prison system as a success or a failure? Success/Failure 9. Would you be willing to accept less state spending on healthcare or education to pay for prison spending? Yes/No 10. Considering all the benefits offered to inmates, such as healthcare and other benefits, would the average person rather be homeless or in prison? Homeless/Prison 11. What should be the most important...
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...-Statement of who and where The Right to Education, Prison-University Partnerships, and Online Writing Pedagogy in the US is an article that focuses on whether or not prisoners should be able to have the opportunity to receive an education while they serve their sentence. It addresses the benefits, as well as some of the cons, that can develop from education rights; to the prisoners, as well as the community. The public and the educators are also addressed throughout this article. The controversy of whether or not education should be available for prisoners is a big problem throughout the United States. Many people feel a deep concern about this issue; due to the fact that nowadays education is very expensive and a lot of people have a hard enough time being able to fund college for themselves; while trying not to take on a lot of loans. Also, family members of the prisoners feel deeply about this problem. Even though their son, daughter, mom, etc. have broken the law and depending on the severity of the crime they still want to be able to know their family member will be able to have a chance to live a normal life, after prison. Whether you are the prisoner, the taxpayer, a family member of the prisoner, a teacher, and so on this problem can be important, as well as a concern to anyone. -Overcrowding in the prisons One of the big reasons for the cutting of funds for prison education is because of the increase of inmates over the last few decades. There are 2.2 million...
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...Prison Abolition Jessi Lee Jackson and Erica Meiners, authors of Feeling Like a Failure: Teaching/Learning Abolition Through the Good the Bad and the Innocent, analyze the prison system in the United States and necessitate the abolition of these organizations due to their ineffectiveness in society. The authors critique the technique of the police force alleging these institutions to either being racist, sexist, classist, or a combination of either and disproportionately scrutinize these victims causing a majority of them to end up in the prison system. The authors’ informative article continues to examine the prerequisite of abolition of these prison system and presents detailed information on the proper way of living without the need of the prison systems and promote more effective alternatives to the situation. Some of these alternatives includes ensuring the communities have viable jobs that are not dehumanizing and placing a higher set of standards on the education and health care systems to become more accountable for the uneducated and mentally ill respectively since these classifications make up a majority of the incarcerated. It also challenges individuals to find ways to communicate effectively with each other rather than relying on the police force. It highlights the importance of including this information on abolition into the education curriculum for the outcome of producing a more stable and beneficial society. According to the Critical Resistance, abolition...
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...History of Prisons CJA/234 February 3, 2014 Robert Bennett This week’s readings reflected the history of prisons and the eras in which they have evolved. Within this document the evolution of today’s prison systems will be discussed, along with the complications of prison overcrowding. Finally the comparison of today’s prison to the prisons of the past. The penitentiary era changed using the Quaker’s system converting the Walnut Street jail into use instead of using the older method of stocks, flogging, and public humiliation. This was a more humane way to deal with the individuals who chose to break the laws set before them. The inmates were able to work on crafts to keep themselves occupied and their sanity level was maintainable. The mass prison era changed the ways of the jail to a prison in which there were more solitude and less rehabilitation. Inmates were not allowed to speak to make contact with each other, but vocational job training was introduced. Not until the reformatory era was the idea of education introduced into prisons to allow children and adults to become educated with incarcerated. Also the ability for early release for good behavior was introduced. The industrial era introduced prison work labor. Inmates within the prison system would create goods for the public for a minimal wage. The punitive era did away with the industrial aspect of prisons. The ability for education became a luxury, and maximum security prisons were built. As the restrictions...
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...on “Education vs. Prison Funding” The government is responsible for security of its citizens and it is also responsible to provide a safe socio-economic environment to its people, and in this context; Jails and schools are two important institutions of any society, which need regular monetary support from the government. Thus government has to be very careful in allocating funds to both of the institutions; as one punishes the convicts and other makes the people skillful, and wise enough to get a job and earn money for family. Government has to be very careful in allocation of funds to them, as it is very critical to decide which institution should be allocated more money. The report, “Prison Spending Affecting Higher Education in California” states that in 2008 one of every 48 adults was in jail; this data states the very reason that why prisons are getting so much funding against education. We need to take very stringent and effective steps to reduce the population of prisons. The article, “Education and Public Safety (2007)” mentions that the lack of proper education is directly proportional to increase in prison population; the fact that most criminals are from some particular areas, where the high school dropout is maximum, proves this theorem. It is dangerous for the future of the society that the education in lack of subsidy and proper funding is becoming unaffordable for more and more students. The prison data shows that around 50 percent population in the prison is of...
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...Imprisonment comes with many problems, from “transitional issues for inmates post-release” (Contardo, 2008) to financial impacts due to the rising costs of incarceration. For years prison workers and other professionals have been trying to find a way to reduce these effects. One of the ways they have found is through an education system within the prison. Many see giving those in prison a chance to partake in a form of education as a way to negate ‘prisonization’. Prisonization, according to Harer (1994) as quoted in Contardo (2008) is the “process by which prisoners become alienated from prison rules, staff, and the larger society”. A large contributor to the process of prisonization is Gesham Sykes theory of deprivation. During his study he found...
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...break out in prisons among inmates. Due to their situation, and reasoning for being placed in prison in the first place, this is actually very common. Prison systems generally run off a punishment system. If an inmate has a tendency to start fights, or other dangerous situations, then they are most likely going to be either taken to a higher security prison, lose privileges, or in some cases receive more severe punishments in regards to their time in prison, and sentencing. Due to the fact that juveniles are targeted more frequently in adult prison systems, they tend to have a larger self-defense tract record. In many cases, juveniles are punished for being involved in a fight, that originated with an adult...
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...and it’s role throughout history. It will be discussed from the time of King Henry in 1166 to 1995 speaking of the Just Dessert. It will also be discussed the comparison and similarities of the security levels in jails, state prisons and federal prisons, what makes them different or alike. Lastly, it will be discussed about the political policies in place to why there is growth in our criminal justice system. The first jail was created by King Henry the II in 1166 that was created by King Henry specifically for holding offenders for trial, however it became where it was being used hold individuals that were either poor or mentally Ill. John Howard found the jails to be a disgrace and found that the living conditions were inhumane to the criminals because of its filth. This is when John Howard and the English House of Commons created the Act of 1779 which was four requirements needed to be met and they are, (1) secure and sanitary structures, (2) systematic inspections, (3) abolition of fees charged to inmates, and (4) a reformatory regime in which inmates were confined in solitary cells but worked in common rooms during the day.” (Corrections an introduction) The U.S. soon began to follow the Act of 1779 known as the English model. In 1790 the first prison was established and it was called the Walnut Street Jail located in Philadelphia. This is where the concept of confinement and rehabilitation was created (Corrections an introduction) The Quakers who were the ones that changed...
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...Jails and Prisons Sarrita Will CJA/234 January 13, 2014 Helen Ford Jails and Prisons From 1790 to 1995 the criminal justice system went through nine different eras: penitentiary, mass prison, reformatory, industrial, punitive, treatment, community-based, warehousing, and just desserts. Each era described the jails place in corrections and outlines the role of jails throughout history to the present day. The Pennsylvania Quakers believed that honest labor would be the best and most humane way to deal with offenders and their irrational behavior within the community. In the year of 1786 convicts that were put to work on public projects. To distinguish the convicts from the public they wore clothes that were bright and shabby along with a ball and chain that was attached at their ankles. This was believed to prevent offenders from escaping into the community (University of Phoenix, 2011). As the criminal justice system evolved humiliation turned towards incarceration. With the population growing someone had to manage these lock-ups and the control was given to the local areas. Within the lock-ups there would be a mixture of women and men, and petty thieves with violent offenders. As the population grew not only counties but states as well began to maintain their own correctional systems. The correctional systems were managed by local sheriff department (Texas Education Agency, 2011). The duties of these departments housed suspects until their trial or sentencing, provide...
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...Corrections accreditation is a system of verification that correctional agencies/facilities comply with national standards promulgated by the American Correctional Association. Accreditation is achieved through a series of reviews, evaluations, audits and hearings (ACA.org, n. d.). According to the American Correctional Association (n. d.) in order for a correctional facility to be eligible for accreditation they must hold convicted adults or juveniles adjudicated delinquent, pretrial or presentenced adults or juveniles, and/or adult or juveniles offenders sentenced to community supervision. It officially began in 1978, and today it is jointly administrated by the American Correctional Association (ACA) and the Commission on Accreditation in Corrections (CAC). The accreditation program offers public and private organizations performing correctional functions the opportunity to evaluate their operations against national standards, to remedy deficiencies, and to upgrade the quality of correctional programs and services (Foster, 2006). Foster (2006) stated “professionalization has to do with gaining professional status for persons working in corrections” (p.176). The professional development of corrections officers is truly affected by the corrections accreditation. They work toward obedience within the standards that represent professional practices. There are millions of people who work in the jail and prisons system for adults and juveniles. Some of those public employees work...
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...cannot move on with their lives after being released from prison. One of those reasons is because they have a hard time finding a job after being released. The system makes it harder for them. Some felons go in at a young age, most times so early that they do not even achieve a high school education. Felons are unable to vote causing the system to remain against them. Prisons are placed far away from society. After being released ex-felons usually return to high crime rate areas. Most ex-felons have a hard time moving on with their lives, after being released from jail because they have multiple factors working against them. “Men and women who have served extensive prison sentences…are not only left with little or no social support but also clearly marked by the criminal justice system as potentially threatening repeat offenders". (Moore 783) What Moore is saying in this quote is that the justice system marks these ex-felons as a criminal for life, making it hard for them to find employment. The system is designed to offer no help to these...
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...Joycene Harrell CRM-430 Term Paper Week 5 Draft Summary for Prison Rehabilitation and Counseling Programs I chose to focus this term paper on the various programs offered to prisoners as part of their rehabilitation for introduction back into society. In today’s world there are many who believe that every one can be rehabilitated. The question should be asked; “does rehabilitation really work for everyone?” I will provide statistics on the success and failure rate, as well as which programs are most beneficial to prisoners. Whether rehabilitation and counseling 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...
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