...prisons is one of the biggest challenges facing the American criminal justice system today. The total population of prisons and jails in the United States neared the 2.1 million mark in June 2003, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported incarceration rates of state and federal prisoners continued to rise. At midyear 2003, the number of sentenced inmates was 480 per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 476 per 100,000 on December 31, 2002. There were 238 jail inmates for every 100,000 on June 30, 2003. Overall, one out of every 140 U.S residents was incarcerated in prison or in jail. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s state and local governments got tougher on crime by passing legislation calling for mandatory sentences for repeat offenders, such as California’s “three strikes you’re out” law and New York and other cities adopted the “Broken Windows” strategy that called for the arrest and prosecution of all crimes large and small. Because of these polices the number of violent crimes has dropped. Unfortunately, one unintended consequence of America’s new tough stance on crime is that our prison system has become dangerously overcrowded, forcing prison officials to release violent criminals after serving only a fraction of their sentences. The current system used to relieve overcrowding has created a “revolving door” criminal justice system. The recidivism rate among those released early from state and county prisons...
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...illnesses and substance abuse. The number of offenders reentering society from prison and jail is steadily increasing yearly. States are diligently working to identify methods to help offenders successfully reintegrate into society. Some initiatives available in Harris County, TX include prison education programs, life and job skills training and counseling services. This paper focuses on the educational opportunities available for offenders in Harris County, TX. The education opportunities are structured to assist offenders with incarceration related factors and attempts to help offenders with successful reintegration with family, the community and society as a whole. I will discuss several educational initiatives available to offenders and how these initiatives correlate to our text. Harris County, TX . On March 12, 2004 the CEA unanimously voted to grant accreditation to Harris County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Education Program. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office became the first county jail in the U.S. to receive the Correctional Education Association (CEA) accreditation for its Inmate Education Program (Albers, 2006:15). This recognition sets Harris County Sheriff’s Office to a high standard to be compared with. The educational facility is located on Crites Street in Harris County which opened in 2003. The Inmate Education Program began in 1973 as a way to offer qualified offenders an opportunity to obtain an education to prepare for life after prison or jail. Since its inception...
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...RACE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 2 “According to the U.S. Justice Department, in 2003 about 10.4% of all African American men between the ages of 25 to 29 were incarcerated, as compared to 2.4% of Hispanic men and 1.2% of non-Hispanic White men” (DeVry, 2015). This topic is critical to the study of cultural diversity because of the racial disparity among the young African American males in the criminal justice system and the lasting effects of incarceration. This research paper will unveil the truth about why African men in this age group are much more likely to be sent to prison than are people of White or Latino descent. . African American men are often charged and prosecuted more aggressively than White or Hispanic men. This paper will also reveal the adverse mental and physical health endured by black males during incarceration and upon release. Recent studies indicate that inadequate education and low socioeconomic status has a direct correlation between black males and crime. As the United States becomes an increasingly diverse nation, many studies confirm racial inequalities exist amongst judges, lawyers and legislation. This creates the very serious concern of racial profiling. While racial profiling is illegal, studies prove that black males are more likely to be stopped and searched. New York State is only one of two states that automatically processes, prosecutes and incarcerates 16 and 17 year-olds as adults. Legislation...
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...Fyodor Dostoevsky stated that, “You can judge a society by how well it treats its prisoners”. Many prison systems in the world seem rather harsh. North America has received much criticism for having 76.6% of their ex-prisoners re-arrested within 5 years. Whereas Norway has a much superior rate, only 20% of ex-prisoners continue to be arrested within 5 years. This illustrates how the prison system of the United States is corrupt. For instance, the United States has nearly 5% of the world’s population, but nearly a quarter of that 5% is serving time in prison. The society of the United States can truly be judged, and blamed for many ex-prisoners being re-arrested, considering the annual wage of an American citizen drops an average of 40% after...
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...Rehab Vs. Incarceration Should drug offenders go to rehab or jail? ITT Technical Institute Abstract This document will show why non-violent drug offenders should be given a chance to rectify their wrong doings. The research will show not only how rehabilitation programs such as DTAP are more cost effective and beneficial to an addict than prison sentences. The introduction will show how addiction can change a person so much so they end up in jail. The second and third sections will show the differences between prison and DTAP programs, while the conclusion will summarize the research findings. Rehab Vs. Incarceration Should drug offenders go to rehab or jail? Addiction Addiction has become an open conversation in America. Millions of Americans have been effected by addiction in some way or another. Many people know someone who has been effected by this terrible disease whether it be a parent, partner, sibling or friend or may have been affected themselves. This researcher has seen first-hand what addiction can do to a person. While these people stand on the sidelines watching the person they know and love turn into someone completely unrecognizable. When an addiction starts it may just be using on the weekends, here and there, or as the doctor prescribes. As time ticks on, it becomes twice as many as prescribed and before they know it, it has become every day. Eventually, they have no way to support their habit. Because their life has become such chaos there’s no...
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...Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control Chapter Summary Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Definitions of “what is deviant” vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Howard S. Becker described the interpretation of deviance as, “…not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists...
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...Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control Chapter Summary Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Definitions of “what is deviant” vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Howard S. Becker described the interpretation of deviance as, “…not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists, psychologists, and...
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...Criminal Records in the Digital Age: A Review of Current Practices and Recommendations for Reform in Texas Helen Gaebler, Senior Research Attorney William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law The University of Texas School of law March 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................4 II. THE PROBLEM: CRIMINAL RECORDS AND COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES .........................................5 Collateral Consequences Overview ......................................................................................................... 5 Who’s Affected? A Look at the Numbers in Texas .................................................................................. 8 Disproportionality and the Criminal Justice System .............................................................................. 10 Reaching Across Generations and Communities ................................................................................... 11 III. AN OUTDATED SYSTEM: OPEN ACCESS TO CRIMINAL RECORDS .................................................... 12 The Background Checking Industry........................................................................................................ 12 Common Practices and Pitfalls............................................................................................................... 13 Past Calls for Reform .....................
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...Parole and the Criminal Justice System Kenneth Mowery SOC331: Social Welfare and Ethics Brent Williams January 11, 2010 Parole and the Criminal Justice System Many offenders within the prison system, when released, must follow up with a parole officer. There can be many different conditions of parole placed upon the offender. The Parole Commission assigns these conditions of parole to assure that the parolee will live a life without crime or assist him or her to do so. The parolee may have to gain suitable employment, attend rehab, report to their parole officer at certain times or even wear a device that allows the offender to be monitored electronically. The parole system interacts or affects the Criminal Justice System in many ways. Are there ways to improve the effectiveness of this system? What does the future hold for this organization and its impact on the Criminal Justice System? History and Creation In June of 1910 there were three federal penitentiaries. Due to the enactment of legislation, federal prisoners began receiving parole on June 25th of 1910. The Parole Board, at this time, consisted of the warden and the physician of the prison and the Superintendent of Prisons of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Each prison had its own parole board. In May of 1930, however, a single parole board was established. This board consisted of three members that served full-time and were appointed by the Attorney General. In 1945, the board started...
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...Criminology & Criminal Justice © 2006 SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi) and the British Society of Criminology. www.sagepublications.com ISSN 1748–8958; Vol: 6(1): 39–62 DOI: 10.1177/1748895806060666 A desistance paradigm for offender management FERGUS McNEILL Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, UK Abstract In an influential article published in the British Journal of Social Work in 1979, Anthony Bottoms and Bill McWilliams proposed the adoption of a ‘non-treatment paradigm’ for probation practice. Their argument rested on a careful and considered analysis not only of empirical evidence about the ineffectiveness of rehabilitative treatment but also of theoretical, moral and philosophical questions about such interventions. By 1994, emerging evidence about the potential effectiveness of some intervention programmes was sufficient to lead Peter Raynor and Maurice Vanstone to suggest significant revisions to the ‘non-treatment paradigm’. In this article, it is argued that a different but equally relevant form of empirical evidence—that derived from desistance studies—suggests a need to re-evaluate these earlier paradigms for probation practice. This reevaluation is also required by the way that such studies enable us to understand and theorize both desistance itself and the role that penal professionals might play in supporting it. Ultimately, these empirical and theoretical insights drive us back to the complex interfaces between technical and moral...
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...Fellow in the Key Centre in Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. Charles Barton is the developer and author of the Empowerment Model of Restorative Justice, which is based on a unified and comprehensive philosophy and theory of conflict resolution that makes Empowerment the central and most critical feature of restorative justice responses and interventions. He may be contacted at the above institutions or by electronic mail: bartonc@colorado.edu, or cbarton@csu.edu.au . 1 Restorative Justice Empowerment According to traditional wisdom, determining the just and fair (or the best and most appropriate) response to a criminal act is best left to...
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...makes yelling and screaming from both sides of extremist. One side may say deterrence, while the other side may say, but you may execute an innocent man. Today, one of the most debated issues in the Criminal Justice System is the issue of capital punishment or the death penalty. Capital punishment was legal until 1972, when the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia stating that it violated the Eight and Fourteen Amendments citing cruel and unusual punishment. However, in 1976, the Supreme Court reversed itself with Gregg v. Georgia and reinstated the death penalty but not all states have the death penalty. Thirteen states do not have the death penalty: Alaska, District of Colombia, Hawaii, Iowa, Main, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY (CONS) Death Penalty Fails to Rehabilitate What would it accomplish to put someone on death row? The victim is already dead-you cannot bring him back. When the opponents feel “fear of death” will prevent one from committing murder, it is not true because most murders are done on the “heat of passion” when a person cannot think rationally. Therefore, how can one even have time to think of fear in the heat of passion (Internet)? ACLU and Murderers Penniless The American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) is working for a moratorium on...
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...Catanduanes State University Laboratory Schools Virac, Catanduanes SY 2014-2015 Drug Addiction/Drug Usage Lyri Kirsten Anicken T. Gianan Grade 9 – Platinum Mr. Eddie Cabrera February 11, 2015 Report on the Enforcement of the Prohibition Laws of the United States by the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (Wickersham Commission Report on Alcohol Prohibition) I have signed the report of the Commission, although as is probably inevitable when eleven people of different antecedents and temperaments endeavor to agree upon a contentious subject, it is more or less of a compromise of varying opinions. In so far as it states facts, I believe it to be generally accurate. Every effort has been made to make it so. I should have preferred to have it state more facts and fewer broad generalizations from unstated facts. But the difficulties in securing accurate statistics, owing to the unsystematic and unscientific manner in which they are commonly kept in this country, often makes it impossible to get reliable statements of fact, although there may be sufficient available information to afford a fairly reliable basis of generalization. I am in entire accord with the conclusions "that enforcement of the National Prohibition Act made a bad start which has affected enforcement ever since"; that "it was not until after the Senatorial investigation of 1926 had opened people's eyes to the extent of law breaking and corruption that serious efforts were made" to coordinate "the...
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...RACISM IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM By Nichole Griffith Advised by Professor Chris Bickel SOC 461, 462 Senior Project Social Sciences Department College of Liberal Arts CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY June, 2012 © 2012 Nichole Griffith Table of Contents Research Proposal ............................................................................................................................1 Annotated Bibliography ...................................................................................................................2 Outline..............................................................................................................................................6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................7 Research ..........................................................................................................................................8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................29 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................31 Research Proposal The goal of my research is to expose the racism in the criminal justice system that is so hidden. I want to show how racism contributes to the huge number...
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...2015 Richard Samante Prof. Martinez 2015 Richard Samante Prof. Martinez Juvenile Delinquency in Manila Juvenile Delinquency in Manila CR-21 CR-21 CHAPTER I Introduction A. Background of the study Delinquents is from the legislatic point of view the minors committing criminal act are not called criminals but delinquents. The persons under eighteen who commit violations of law are called delinquents. The penal codes of almost all the civilized nations make special provisions for the treatment of delinquents in law courts. There is a consensus among criminologists that delinquents should be reformed rather than punished. Earlier, it was mentioned that, throughout most of the world, juvenile offending has been recognized for hundreds of years. It would be logical to wonder exactly how juvenile offenders in historical times were handled. For one thing, as indicated earlier, there were, however, juvenile institutions and other procedures for handling juveniles that were created in America during the 19th (Roseheim et al. 2002). Historical accounts of the development of the juvenile justice system throughout the world indicate that before separate institutions and proceedings for juveniles were established in the 19th, juveniles were often treated as if they were small adults. Even children of royal families in England, for example, were exposed to adult situations, such as sexual activity among adults, and were thought to be ready for adult roles in society if they...
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