Intro to Corrections Essays Kaplan University CJ 130

1. CJ- 130 : Week 5 – Assignment: Mid-Term EssayJuly 10, 2010Patricia Pryor StudentKaplan University Crime and punishment has always been used throughout civilization. As governments evolved so have the concepts used in punishment of a criminal, the philosophy of crime, and punishment has changed at many times in history. Crime is part of any culture and in order to combat crimes there has always been some form of punishment used. This is done in an attempt to try and deter crime. America’s approach in the nineteenth century was thought to be advanced and people would travel to the United States to learn about it. Today incarnations rates in the United States are one of the highest in the world. <br />This history of crime and punishment in the United States goes way back even before the United States Constitution, where in 1608 James Kendall was executed, showing that capital punishment was an acceptable form of punishment. The United States started by using a checks and balances system in order to separate power and prevent authoritarian use. In the United States they use a jury system that appoints members of one’s peers in order to interpret laws and determine whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. The criminal justice systems involves many parts including the local law enforcement, court trial, court case, trial with a grand jury, and decision and punishment. <br />Lombroso is known as the father of criminology, he studied criminology from different angles. Criminology is very important when trying to understand crime and crime prevention. There were many theories in history; some believed that you could study people’s skulls, this study is called Phrenology. Theories that were created using roots from biology, psychology and society. These theories are what help police officers catch criminals. These criminals are then sentences to some form of punishment which takes the criminal out of society. The problem is that every day new criminals emerge then society has to learn how to combat new criminals. As a society we treat the symptoms, the individual criminals, but as a society we are still trying to determine the instigating factor. There are a variety of institutional settings that are used in the United States. Where an inmate goes depends on what crime they were convicted of. The use of different facilities helps dictate where an inmate will be placed. <br />Minimum Security Institutions are also known as Federal Prison Camps. These usually have a dormitory housing setting. These institutions have a low security level and the ratio between staff and inmates are usually pretty low. They have many work-release oriented programs.<br />Low securities Federal Correctional Institutions have a higher staff to inmate ratio than in Minimum Security Institutions. They normally have a double-fenced perimeter, the housing is dormitory or cubicle settings and like minimum security they have a work program. <br />Medium securities have stronger perimeters than minimum and low security. They are usually double fences with some sort of electronic detection system. Housing is cell type, and they offer a variety of work and treatment programs. They have a higher staff to inmate ratio, and greater internal controls versus low security. <br />High security institutions have a highly secure perimeter with walls or reinforced fences. They also have multiple or single occupant cell housings. High security ratio has the highest staff to inmate ratio and very close control of inmate movement. In a lot of federal prisons there is a lot different security levels located in closely together in order to increase efficiency and sharing services and help with emergency preparedness. <br />There is also the administrative facilities these facilities are used for special missions, such as detention of pretrial offenders, and medical centers to treat inmates. They can also house dangerous inmates or those that have made previous escapes attempts. <br />Private prisons are the transfer from public facilities to a private one. The government contracts out a new facility to design and operate new prisons. Although the prisons are private the government will still regulate the private prisons. Therefore there really is less difference between the two than what some people commonly believed (Dolovich, 2005). Private prisons grew in the late 1990s. <br />Prison have a hard time in establishing a well balanced system, a system where the public feels the inmates are being punished but also establishes a system protecting the inmates from cruel and unusual punishment. Florida removed the Welfare Trust Fund that allowed the purchase of television or other electronic devices, but still uses televisions that are donated in order to help with educational purposes, tools used to influence good behavior, and to prevent idleness. Cable television is not allowed in prison and only seems fair considering the fact that many people that are not in the prison system do not even afford themselves with such extras. Some good key points of the Florida prison system is that about 80% are assigned to work and/or participate in some sort of program whether it is substance abuse, or vocational or adult education. Georgia and Florida offer a variety of programs to help assist placement of their offenders with reentry. In Georgia, at Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto the prisons can enroll in faith and character program, they live in separate dormitory hold regular meetings with volunteers. quot;
If we can influence their behavior in prison such that it changes their thought process from the negative, from the criminal, to a positive way to become a productive citizen ... we have to use every tool in the belt,quot;
said prison warden Tony Turpin. Ten other states have faith based prison programs because there is a belief that this will help the inmates give them a leg up by embracing a certain religious perspective. Faith programs have helped avoided much criticism because it offers the program to inmates on good behavior and includes multiple religions. Nationally two of three inmates will return, the hope of these programs is to help them beat the odds because it cost around $55.00 a day to keep an inmate in prison. Many programs are created to try and battle the recidivism rate, there is jobs in the prison setting, short term vocational training, short term assistance, and treatment programs. The problem is that studies done so far do not show a significant decrease in inmates returning to prison. <br />Reference<br />Whitman , J. (2006, December 1). Punishment. Retrieved from <br /> http://www.socres.org/punishment/summaries.htm<br />Pritikin, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from<br /> http://www.cardozolawreview.com/PastIssues/PRITIKIN.WEBSITE.pdf <br />Sterling, J. (n.d.). History of criminal justice. Retrieved from <br /> http://www.lawandliberty.org/justice.htm<br />