...will evaluate the past, present and future trends pertaining to the development and operation of institutional and community based correction. As part of the evaluation I will identify and analyze current and future issues facing prisons and prison administrators today. I will also identify and analyze the role/issue of alternate correction systems as a developing trend. Trends within the criminal justice system continue to influence the development and operations of institutions and community-based corrections. As mandatory sentencing laws can cause an increase in prison population, prison administrators face a daunting task in addressing the issues that overpopulation causes. “Apart from the highest priority of addressing prison population growth, prison managers are often confronted with an array of issues relating to imprisonment practices and their consequences” (Greenfeld, Beck, & Gillard, 1996, p.9). Development and Operations of Institutions The development and operations of institutions appears to operate around two opposing philosophies if punishment versus rehabilitation. The evolution of the development of corrections past, present and future has seen many changes throughout the inception of prisons. In the past the trends for prisons were solitary confinement with little concern for the rehabilitation of inmates. The well-being of the inmate was not a major concern. After all they got what they deserved, right? Society wanted criminals to be punished for his...
Words: 1117 - Pages: 5
...Correctional System Budget Student’s Name Institution Introduction Different states in the United States are faced with the worst financial crisis in history. Declining revenues had led to forced cuts in almost all government functions among them being the correctional facilities which were considered off limits before this crisis began. The budgets of more than 26 state department of corrections have been significantly cut, and those that have not been cut are reducing their expenditure on non-core areas. The correctional departments faced with the budget cuts have all reduced operational costs as it is one of the easiest and quickest steps to take (Mears, 2010).Corrections departments all followed this path by reducing personnel costs, reducing beds and eliminating certain programs. The specific strategies that were adopted for such savings however differed. For example, Maine changed the way it provided medication to inmates and renegotiated its health contract with its healthcare provider. Even more controversial, some states reduced the amount of food given to inmates. An example is Georgia which reduced the meals given to inmates, but still provided the same calories. Other states including New York and Kansas stopped their planned technology upgrades and postponed their expenditure plans. However, the cost-cut measures that were employed by different states correction facilities included downsizing programs, closing facilities and reducing personnel costs. Downsizing...
Words: 1364 - Pages: 6
...Correctional System Budget Student’s Name Institution Introduction Different states in the United States are faced with the worst financial crisis in history. Declining revenues had led to forced cuts in almost all government functions among them being the correctional facilities which were considered off limits before this crisis began. The budgets of more than 26 state department of corrections have been significantly cut, and those that have not been cut are reducing their expenditure on non-core areas. The correctional departments faced with the budget cuts have all reduced operational costs as it is one of the easiest and quickest steps to take (Mears, 2010).Corrections departments all followed this path by reducing personnel costs, reducing beds and eliminating certain programs. The specific strategies that were adopted for such savings however differed. For example, Maine changed the way it provided medication to inmates and renegotiated its health contract with its healthcare provider. Even more controversial, some states reduced the amount of food given to inmates. An example is Georgia which reduced the meals given to inmates, but still provided the same calories. Other states including New York and Kansas stopped their planned technology upgrades and postponed their expenditure plans. However, the cost-cut measures that were employed by different states correction facilities included downsizing programs, closing facilities and reducing personnel costs. Downsizing...
Words: 1364 - Pages: 6
...Correctional System Budget Student’s Name Institution Introduction Different states in the United States are faced with the worst financial crisis in history. Declining revenues had led to forced cuts in almost all government functions among them being the correctional facilities which were considered off limits before this crisis began. The budgets of more than 26 state department of corrections have been significantly cut, and those that have not been cut are reducing their expenditure on non-core areas. The correctional departments faced with the budget cuts have all reduced operational costs as it is one of the easiest and quickest steps to take (Mears, 2010).Corrections departments all followed this path by reducing personnel costs, reducing beds and eliminating certain programs. The specific strategies that were adopted for such savings however differed. For example, Maine changed the way it provided medication to inmates and renegotiated its health contract with its healthcare provider. Even more controversial, some states reduced the amount of food given to inmates. An example is Georgia which reduced the meals given to inmates, but still provided the same calories. Other states including New York and Kansas stopped their planned technology upgrades and postponed their expenditure plans. However, the cost-cut measures that were employed by different states correction facilities included downsizing programs, closing facilities and reducing personnel costs. Downsizing...
Words: 1364 - Pages: 6
...policy makers, prison employees, and inmates. The U.S. has experienced a histrionic rise in prison use for fighting crime. This has resulted in skyrocketing incarceration rates, causing the overall population of inmates to grow by 700 percent in the past 40 years. As of today, 1 out of 100 adults are incarcerated nationally. This inclination has ended up costing taxpayers a pretty penny. Correction spending now cost almost four times more than it did twenty years ago, making it the second fastest growing budget, falling in behind Medicaid. While those numbers may seem alarming, most don’t understand that the expenditure only account for a small...
Words: 816 - Pages: 4
...student is asked write a paper on the budgetary pressures and cuts faced by all levels of government, and explain how to justify to the tax-paying public an increase in expenditures on prison treatment and rehabilitation programs. To respond to this assignment, the student undertook desk research, wrote and submitted this paper. Keywords: prison treatment, rehabilitation programs, cost, expense, investment Introduction: The context for extra spending Many sections of the United States government over the past several years have experienced severe budget cuts due the Great Recession. Some education departments have experienced double digit percentage cuts, leading to layoffs among both faculty and administrative personnel. Hospitals, public transportation, and many other government departments have experienced layoffs, working hour reductions, cuts in pay, and cuts in resourcing. With these cost-reduction measures imposed in many government departments, it would be difficult to persuade the tax-paying public that anything currently deserves an increase in spending. If most parts of society must cut back on budgets and services, why should the public tolerate extra spending to help those who have actively broken the law? Many would argue that preference should be given to extra spending for law-abiding citizens. This paper explores how to justify to the tax-paying public an increase in expenditure on prison treatment and rehabilitation programs, and finds that the most...
Words: 1484 - Pages: 6
...through tough times there is no doubt we, as a whole nation, have had to make some compromises. One of the biggest, broadest issues our country has been facing is the recent budget cuts in numerous different categories including mental health care. Mental health care has gotten the short end of the stick in the last few years, and it has become a spiraling problem in the United States. Between 2009 and 2011 the United States witnessed some of the largest state budget cuts in history, and we are still suffering from the consequences of doing so. Where does a majority of homelessness, suicide, substance abuse and jail overcrowding stem from? If you take a closer look it will become very clear that cutting the funding for mental health research and treatment has left these mentally ill patients with very few options suitable enough for their varying conditions. Due to the lack of appropriate facilities needed to properly diagnose and treat mentally ill patients, jails are becoming overcrowded and homelessness is at an all-time high. The importance of mental health care is being put on the back burner while, instead, it needs to be a priority and that is why President Obama’s proposition to increase funding to aid the mentally ill in 2014 is extremely necessary. As states cut mental health care funding, prisons are becoming an asylum. There is a very common misconception among the general public that mentally ill individuals are extremely violent, however, this statement has proven...
Words: 1630 - Pages: 7
...Running Header: THE MAINE STATE PRISON HAS THE ABILITY TO CUT COSTS 1 The Maine State Prison has the ability to cut healthcare costs by using Medical Diets as part of a medical treatments Kaplan University THE MAINE STATE PRISON HAS THE ABILITY TO CUT HEALTHCARE COSTS 2 Taking prescription medication has become an everyday part of life for many people. Nearly 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug. More than half take two, yet every medicine comes with side effects or risks associated with their use. (mayoclinic, June 19, 2013) What if people were informed that health could be improved immensely and medications could be decreased or even ended through a few simple diet changes? What if simple food and life style changes could save your health and your wallet? That is the logic and practice we must incorporate into our homes and local facilities supported by our tax dollars such as The Maine State prison. Many inmates located at The Maine State Prison have a medical need for a special diet. By accommodating these special diets, The Maine State Prison would be able to reduce their short term as well as long term prisoner healthcare costs. The Maine Department of Corrections ( DOC) has the highest per-prisoner healthcare cost in the nation in 2001 averaging 7,761 per inmate per year (Prison Healthcare cost, 2013)Inmates health, the public's safety, and taxpayers total corrections bills are all affected...
Words: 2008 - Pages: 9
...Criminal Justice Trends Paper Dwight Blackshire September 9, 2013 CJA/484 Mr. James Herring Criminal Justice Trends Paper New philosophies to aid in the future progress of corrections are being developed as a result of past and current trends. The issues and concerns surrounding the corrections component of the criminal justice system are overcrowded prisons and their decreasing budget. If these issues and concerns are not address, they will continue to affect the effectiveness and future operations of corrections. Restorative and community justice programs are options being considered for the future of corrections as administrators, legislators, and activists debate philosophies to address these issues and concerns resulting from past and current trends. In the past, the national political climate favored the “get tough” approach against crime. It was believed that treatment programs could not reduce recidivism. Furthermore, it was also believed to keep the national crime rate low and protect the public, offenders of crime must be punished to deter crime. As a result, reforms such as truth-in-sentencing and three-strike legislation were implemented into the law. These...
Words: 1573 - Pages: 7
...Prison Downsizing Implementation in New York State Darlene R. Muller Policy Implementation: Spring 2013 New York State has been in financial crisis for a long time. Numerous plans, policies and budget cuts have been proposed and enacted to attempt to save money, and no public service or government agency has been overlooked. One of areas where most attention is drawn is to the corrections system. A large portion of New York’s budget is spent on housing, supervising, and rehabilitating inmates. There are many who believe this is wasteful, but what is the solution to the dilemma? Public safety must be ensured, as well as the rights the inmates and accused are entitled to. There are two sides to this problem. There are vast amounts of money spent upon this system, however it also is one of the main sources of employment for those located in the areas that contain these facilities. The loss of jobs and revenue within these areas must be comparable to the savings involved. There is no question policy changes must be made, as the prison population continues to grow and budget constraints are an issue in every state. As policies are enacted to become tougher on crime, the need for corrections services increases. Legislation and policy change has had some success in other states. Kansas had an overwhelming problem with prison population and budget restraints throughout the last few decades. (Rengifo, 2010) At first, with increased prison capacity, in the 1980’s, Kansas...
Words: 1167 - Pages: 5
...Key Issues In Our Prison Population The United States is currently in a recession that is affecting middle and lower class American in many ways. Jobs are being cut down, gas prices are not constant, and the money that America once had is rapidly vanishing. One issue in particular has much to do with our prison population in Texas and every other state. As of June 30, 2009 there are 2,297,500 people including women incarcerated in the United States of America (Sabol, 2009). The US is 5 percent of the world's population and shockingly has 25 percent of the world's prisoners. Over the last 30 years, the US criminal justice system experienced the second largest increase in government investment, health care being the first. Last year, as state budget shortfalls emerged, 31 states cut education budgets while increasing money for incarceration (Rooks, 2010). This causes problems for states including Texas at the local, state, and federal. Drugs are an issue in every country in the world, but here in the United States we make it a primary issue, which is why we have so many people incarcerated. Drug offenses, account for two-thirds of the federal inmate population. This is virtually affecting the poor and minorities in our society. Because of this, money for incarceration increases and cuts down education budgets, thus also affecting our students who will be the future of our country. Policy makers in Washington D.C. must address these issues if they want the future of America...
Words: 1826 - Pages: 8
...THE BUDGET COST AND EFFECTS OF PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES Christina Adonia Turner June 15, 2013 Introduction to Public Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Table Of Contents…………………………………………………………2 2. Executive Summary………………………………………………………..3 3. Scope and Statement of the Problem………………………………………4 4. Literature Review………………………………………………………….5 5. Methodology………………………………………………………………7 6. Analytical Results………………………………………………………....8 7. Discussion………………………………………………………………...10 8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………16 9. Appendix………………………………………………………………....17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 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...
Words: 3383 - Pages: 14
...Should Not Privatize Prisons Amanda Clayton Rasmussen College Author Note This assignment is for Ms. Sally DePreist’s English Composition Class G124 and is being submitted on December 14, 2014 Should Not Privatize Prisons Prisons should not be privatized because punishing criminal activity should not be a profit business. It is not the place of private prisons to administer punishments. It is the State or government that decides who is a prisoner so they should remain responsible for them until rehabilitated. It is wrong to put a private company that makes a profit off a being in charge of prison operations because their goal is profit not punishment or rehabilitation. Private prisons that cut costs may risk security problems because cutting costs often means cutting corners. Prison should not be privatized because the path to profit is to treat human beings badly. Prisons are based on two things custody and care. No one wants to cut corners on the custody aspects of a prison. Care is the only part of a budget that has room to be cut. "One way for-profit prisons to minimize costs is by skimping on provisions, including food. “ A psychiatrist who investigated a privately run prison in Mississippi found that the inmates were severely underfed and looked “almost emaciated.” During their incarceration, prisoners lost anywhere from 10 to 60 pounds." Citation Steven Starkey Additionally, there is a financial incentive...
Words: 465 - Pages: 2
...long been a controversial topic in California. It has spurred debates as to whether it is considered cruel and unusual punishment for the thousands of repeat offenders sentenced every year. Proposition 184 is a cruel punishment for the thousands of inmates packed into state prisons, and the taxpayers spending billions to keep them there. Over the years legislators have sought a way to reform the 3 strikes law. In November of 2012, Proposition 36 was enacted as an initiative designed to preserve the original idea. The idea was to impose life sentences on serious and violent offenders without imposing excessive sentences on non-violent offenders. As California searches for ways to decrease the recidivism rate of serious and violent offenders, we have to consider the current laws and the impact these laws have on the state of California. Currently 4,000 men and women who are serving terms of 25 to life in California state prisons are non-violent offenders. Among these offenders are those who committed acts such as; stealing a pack of batteries or socks. Crimes that in most states would warrant only a slap on the wrist, instead of the life sentence you would receive in California. In 2004, 26% of the prison populations were non-violent offenders serving a life term (Miles, 2013). Under the 3 strikes...
Words: 1205 - Pages: 5
...Prison Overcrowding Final Project Terence Ingram Professor Karina Arzumanova, Esq. March 17, 2013 Strayer University Prison Overcrowding Final Project Criminal Activity is on the rise. With prison populations growing at an all-time rate, the federal prison system has not been able to keep up. As a result, this is a serious problem which puts inmates and guards in danger and holds back efforts to rehabilitate convicts. (McLaughlin, 2012) Violence will be on the rise as more inmates are squeezed into small living quarters. Increased inmate misconduct is a direct result of prison overcrowding which negatively affects the safety and security of inmates and staff. If prisons don’t find a solution to this problem, it will create more tension and could potentially cause an inmate to snap and create a violent incident. With more prisoners confined in small spaces, prison officials are forced to cut back on inmate’s cafeteria time, time in the recreation yards, and television rooms. Multiple inmates are put in cells that were specifically created for one individual inmate. Common areas that were not meant to be used for inmates are being used for living arrangements even though it was not designed for that. Crowded cells and the loss of privacy increase the odds that inmates will lash out, threatening the guards keeping watch. ( McLaughlin, 2012) Policies have been put in place to make sure that inmates are not being violated. Some may say that overcrowding in prisons is inhumane...
Words: 3300 - Pages: 14
