Punishment verses Rehabilitation Kevin Atkinson University of Phoenix AJS/502 Steven Cook March 30, 2015

The purpose of this paper is to compare the effectiveness of punishment compared to the effectiveness of rehabilitation, as well as their effects on the victims, offenders, social society and fiscal society. The criminal justice system actually has four objectives. Two of them are punishment and rehabilitation. These are the two objectives that society has the highest expectations of and the greatest interest in. Both the criminal justice system and the public each have their own opinions on how each of the objectives will or will not work. These two objectives are normally paired together, however no system relies on incarceration for a short time and then rehabilitation for a lengthy period of time. Both punishment and rehabilitation are primary focuses among correctional facilities, it is up to the facility which it chooses to put as its primary. The most common form of punishment is incarceration. Their primary goal is deterrence of crime. Deterrence can be categorized into three areas; special, specific and general deterrence. Rehabilitation has been proven an effective way of deterring inmates from repeating a crime. Punishment stops the crime immediately however it affects inmates psychologically.
Two thirds of prisoners reoffend within three years of their release from prison typically with a more violent crime. Typically more than 90% of a prisons population is released into society within a few years of their incarceration. More often