...Many people are focused on the overcrowding of prisons; however, the increasing rates of the mentally ill in the prison system is also a very prominent issue that contributes to a lack of resources for the convicted. According to the US Bureau of Justice, over half of all prison and jail inmates nationwide have mental health problems. Although there is an abundant amount of research on the mentally ill in prison, many people are not aware of the social implications the mentally ill face when they are released back into society. Based on research conducted in North America, there is a repeating issue of recidivism which is the fact that these individuals are more likely to return to prison. The lack of concern for the recidivism in mentally...
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...Over crowding has become another issue in prisons, from 1982 to 2010 the prison population has grown from 501,886 to over 2.2 million; in 2010, including probation there are nearly 7 million offenders on record (11% in jail, 21% in prison, and 57% on probation) (Bales, Cochran, & Mears, 2014). Among the overcrowded prison populations, inmates or former inmates have filed lawsuits against the prisons they served their sentence at for the inhuman living conditions they were exposed to, such as unsanitary areas, bacteria and diseases (Byrne & Yanich, 1982). The primary reason why imprisonment is not effective is because of recidivism. Recidivism is when an individual relapses back to committing crime. Nearly 60% of offenders who are released from...
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...The US has more people in prison than any other country in the world. With long prison sentences and high recidivism rates, the US has earned the position of having more people incarcerated than any other country in the world. The 2010 census determined there were 2.3 million people in jail, which equates to 707 people incarcerated for every 100,000 residents. There are currently more Jails in the US than there are degree granting colleges or universities, and in many parts of the country more people living in prison than on campuses. The US also has the highest recidivism rates in the world. In a study done by The Bureau of Justice Statistics that tracked 404,638 prisoners in 30 states after their release from prison in 2005, “researchers...
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...There have been several empirical research materials providing evidence on the success of prison educational programs in reducing the return to prison rates. First and foremost, in Michigan, the Prisoner Education proponents have expressed the importance of educational programs for the ex-convicts while being incarcerated in reducing the rate of recidivism as documented by Brunton-Smith and Hopkins (2014). The primary goal of several prison education programs is to offer behavior correctional lessons while providing instructions that will help refine the convicts’ behavior to meet the behavioral norms of the general public. Skills are incorporated into the prison educational curriculum which is made up of basic skills of literacy and essential...
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...In 2015, more than 640,000 people who had been sentenced to prison were released to their communities. A study done in 2005 showed, more than 65 percent of ex-offenders were arrested within 3 years of release, and about 76 percent within 5 years of release. A recidivism study found that less than half of people released from prison had secured a job upon their return to the community. When it comes to their level of education, only about half of incarcerated adults have a high school degree or its equivalent. In another study, focusing on youth and young adults, it was demonstrated that recidivism rates are at 50 percent or higher for youth released from secure facilities, and as high as 70 percent for youth released from residential placement...
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...The recidivating rate would decrease by 43% if the inmates receive education including GED, college courses and other types of training than inmates who do not. Inmates who earned an associate degree are 62% less likely to return to prison. A cost-benefit analysis by the Doe Fund found that $1 million investment in incarceration will prevent about 350 crimes, while the same investment in education will prevent more than 600 crimes. It proves that college education actually save taxpayers money in long run by reducing the number of inmates who break the law and end up in those expensive prison cell. Sing Sing, a prison in New York State where it has a private funded education program launched in 1998, has a recidivism rate of less than 2 percent....
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...Prison Life and Recidivism Karen Cavanagh CRJ303: Corrections Instructor: Gary Gonzales September 19, 2011 Prison Life and Recidivism Prison recidivism is a problem in the United States, resulting in prison overcrowding. As the government struggles to address the conditions in prisons, researchers have begun to look at alternatives to incarceration. These alternatives can result in lowering crime, recidivism and the prison population. The numbers of people in the United States spending time in prison and the amount of time people are spending is an enormous problem and cost for every state (Langan & Levin, 2002). Prisons correctional role is mainly formed from the special strict environment where sentenced people are placed for a certain period of time. The difference in life conditions, that are stricter, more formal as well as restricted, forces on the sentenced person and has a correctional and educational function on his consciousness of a person. Prisoners have less freedoms and rights than those who are out of prison. They are forced to obey the rules of the correctional facility that includes a strict scheduled daily life, limit time for outside activities out of the cells, limited access to visitors and limited time of the visits. Prisoners in the United States have a shorter period of time for visitors to visit prisoners compared to other countries. The life of prisoners in the correctional institutions is based on the authoritarian regime of the prison’s...
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...Prison Work Release Does it help in recidivism? The reason I choose to write on this topic is to explain the work release program in prison for recidivism. In addition, while working in corrections I worked at a work release center. While these issues among the general public is somewhat complex, the program itself is fairly straightforward. Prison work release allows an inmate in custody with the Department of Corrections to live at a prison work release center and to go out in the community independently and find employment. The Department of Corrections does not find jobs for the inmates. The inmate must search for jobs and interview like anyone else looking for a job. Inmates walk, ride a bicycle, or use public transportation to look for a job. Once they obtain a job they use the same methods to get to their job. The Department of Corrections also does not pay for the use of public transportation. In order to find employment some centers require inmates to buy a bus pass that is valid for at least one month. However, since most inmates do not have any money to buy a bus pass they rely on family or anybody they can convince to send them money. The general public is somewhat leery about allowing inmates to be free to work with the general public. Sometimes when a person of the general public learns that an inmate is working at a restaurant they patronize they won’t return to the establishment. Some people might wonder what the purpose of it is. Will it prevent the offender...
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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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...has been growing concern and controversy about the over-representation of Aboriginals within the Criminal Justice System, a considerable problem that has been found to be more even extreme with Aboriginals female offenders. For Aboriginal women the rates of incarceration are particularly disturbing. Aboriginal women are over-represented in the federal prison system. They represent only 4% of the women in Canada yet account for 32% of the women in federal prisons. The number of Aboriginal women federally incarcerated has increased by 151% between 1997 and 2006 (Elizabeth Fry Society, 4). Aboriginal women are not only disproportionately over-represented but also the fastest growing population sentenced to federal prisons. The over-representation is even more pronounced in terms of Aboriginal women incarceration rates: As of April 2010, Aboriginal women accounted for 32.6% of the total female offender population (SOURCE 5). This means that one out of every three women federally incarcerated is of Aboriginal descent (Correctional Service Canada, 2009/2010, at 18). Furthermore they are over-represented in the maximum security prison population, making up 45% of the maximum security federally sentenced women, 44% of the medium security population and 18% of minimum security women in 2006 (Elizabeth Fry Society, 4). The justice system has played a major role in the creation of poor social conditions in Aboriginal communities today. It has failed to provide them with protection against...
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...Delaware’s Juvenile Justice System as compared to Other State’s Juvenile Justice Systems Ashley The juvenile justice system, just like the justice system for adults in the United States, could benefit from undergoing a few changes. Delaware is one of the states where juvenile justice policies are extremely complicated and usually result in many people losing hope and giving up, meaning a higher recidivism rate amongst our youth. The purpose of this memorandum is to propose five changes the state of Delaware could make within its juvenile justice system that would benefit the juveniles, the law enforcement officials, and the public alike. One of the first changes Delaware can take to make their juvenile justice system stand out from other states is to remove the mandatory rules to charge some juveniles as adults. Currently, only four other states do not utilize mandatory rules for sentencing juveniles as adults (Trying Juveniles as Adults, 1998). This may seem like an easy way out for some juveniles who have committed more serious offenses, but it’s important to remember that these juveniles are, in fact, still juveniles. They haven’t fully developed mentally, physically, psychologically, etc., and it’s unreasonable to charge them as adults for crimes that they have committed as juveniles. Focusing on rehabilitation for our juveniles should be a main priority, not locking them away for years on end and depriving them of services such as substance abuse counseling and...
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...Joseph Wright Dr. Light English 102 15 October 2012 Equal Treatment for Those with Criminal Histories All states should require equal treatment for all individuals with criminal records and the expungement of criminal histories for non-violent offenders after a certain period of time in order to reduce employment discrimination and the unemployment of qualified individuals. With the great proliferation of technology in today’s society, it is very easy for employers to obtain almost any information they desire regarding an individual or potential employee. Because this information is so easily obtain, more employers are now requesting background checks for potential hires. The need for background checks is clearly a valid one; however, in many instances employers are not looking beyond the fact that an individual has a criminal history. There are many times when an individual is arrested and charged, but not convicted of a crime. Employers are not even bothering to look any further in lots of cases. To make matters even worse, a great many of employers that use temporary employment services or recruiting agencies don’t even see the application as it is never forwarded to them once the agency discovers the individual has a criminal history. This denies many individuals, who are otherwise qualified, the opportunity to even be considered for the job. In his article, A fair shot at a job, Brent Staples states, “The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...
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...Juvenile Rehabilitation Shelly Stanko CJS/240 February 26, 2012 Farrell Binder Juvenile Rehabilitation In the previous few decades, the United States justice policy has become more punitive. In particular, in the 1990s legislatures all over the county passed laws under which an increasing number of young people can be charged in criminal courts and incarcerated in adult prisons. Certainly, in nearly every state today, youths between 13 and 14 can be prosecuted and penalized as adults for an array of crimes including non-violent offenses (Kristin, 2009). Punishments have become more severe even in the juvenile system. Generally, it is believed that the rising anxiety among citizens concerning the threat of juvenile crime has propelled this tendency and that members of the public favor this legislative tendency toward severe punishment. However, it is unclear whether this opinion about the right solutions to youth crime is precise. On the other hand, different surveys have found the public favors tougher policies regarding youth crime and punishing juveniles as severely as adults. However, a thorough review of sources of information about public views indicates that the perception that the public favors punishment for youths is largely based on either opinion surveys that pose few simplistic questions or publicized crimes like school shootings. It is possible that analysis of public views...
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...reduce the uncertainty about the length of time that offenders must serve in prison. During the 1990s, throughout the states and in the federal government there was considerable legislative activity related to truth in sentencing. By 1999, 41 states and the District of Columbia had passed laws or implemented some form of truth in sentencing, but the forms of truth in sentencing varied among the states. Truth in sentencing law deters crime by showing offenders that regardless of things such as good behavior or time served the possibility of early release is unlikely. My state of Maryland unlike other state does not have a truth in sentencing law put into place. Some states have eliminated parole release for good behavior or work time credits to impose determinate sentences, which permits relatively precise release dates, assuming that good time credits were earned. Other states have retained parole release, potentially introducing ambiguity into actual release dates. This is supposed to increase the certainty about a minimum amount of time that must be served prior to release. There was a case of drug trafficking in the Baltimore Jail around this time last year if Maryland had a truth in sentencing law in place the offend would not have been eligible for parole or early release after doing 75% of their 9 year sentence. Since they don’t the offender can be eligible for parole by the 7th year of prison. Most states required that offenders serve at least 85 percent of their...
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...because I did not know what to do. I did my time, but society seems to continue to hold my mistake against me. As a very young mother, I was in and out of a bad relationship. I tried to get away and provide for my children but guilt for leaving my children fatherless kept me coming back. I can remember the last time I returned to my abusive relationship, it became the beginning of the end for me. In an effort to protect and defend my children and myself, I committed an act that left my attacker seriously hurt. Rather than stay and face the music, I ran away. I later turned myself in but with no representation and my side of the story never heard, I was convicted of a crime I did not commit and given 10 years in prison with 5 years to serve. Since getting out of prison, I have felt like society is against me. It feels like people I know along with the legal system keeps holding my criminal record over my head. Rather than helping me and my children to make a better life for ourselves, people continually remind me of what I did and that I am a felon. The legal system is no better. Instead of funding programs to help a person become a productive citizen, the legal system keeps pushing people back into the streets by not giving them a chance to learn how to survive once you have gotten a criminal record. Along with this, you have to struggle everyday just to make it in this society. Living becomes an everyday struggle because you can’t...
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