Determinate sentences involve sentences that have a fixed or flat time (Jirard, 2009). Determinate sentences play a large part in the increasing number of individuals in prison, which, as you can imagine, puts more strain on prisons financially. In the past two decades, we have become increasingly “tough on crime” which has helped to decrease crime to a certain extent. According to an article in the New York Times (2008), the US has fewer than five percent of the entire world’s population, but almost twenty five percent of the world’s prisoners (Liptak & , 2008). The author of the article goes on to say that people in the US are sentenced to do time for crimes that would not produce such a sentence in other countries.
Secondly overcrowded prisons have an impact on rehabilitation programmes which potentially could be a reason for the high rate of reoffending in the UK. Finally the essay will discuss the crisis of the whole criminal justice system as the high volume of prisoners could be an indication of a wider crisis in The Criminal Justice System in England and Wales. At present it is estimated that crime and criminality costs UK society approximately £35 billion per year and currently the government spends approximately half of it on police services 2009/10 and fifth on courts dealing with the issue, of this money only £4.6 billion is spent on prisons (Ministry Of Justice, 2010). As the prison population is rise one of the main reasons for the crisis is the lack of availability of space. It has been argued that the penal system in England and Wales needs to become less punitive, more tolerant and successful (Scott , 2008) .
These eye-popping numbers came about for many reasons: mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes legislation, illegal drugs, gangs, immorality in all its modern forms, the war on drugs, the decline of marriage and families, high rates of recidivism, incarceration of the mentally ill, the decline of capital punishment, problems with the criminal justice system and all the forces pushing tough crime policies. Difficult economic times focus attention on the increasing costs of keeping all these people - 93% of them men - behind bars. Each prisoner costs about $32,000 per year, and the average prisoner does little to offset the cost of confinement. The social costs may be even higher. Breadwinners are lost, families destroyed, more kids grow up without fathers or mothers, welfare costs increase, the entire sex ratio is thrown out of balance and prisoners face grim prospects when released.
the second major shift in the rise of mental ill inmates was due to stricter sentencing laws implemented in the 1980's and 1990's. Many of the people who are in prison now, may have not have convicted, or convicted as severely as years before.
62% of local jail inmates are awaiting trial. The cost of medical care for inmates grows by 10% annually. High rates of incarceration are due to sentence length. The United States incarcerates a large number of non-violent and victimless offenders. 50% of all prisoners are non-violent offenders, and 20% are drug related offenders.
Since the mid-1970s, the prison population in the nation’s largest state has risen by more than 750%, from about 20,000 to more than 160,000 (Equal Justice Initiative, 2010). California’s prison system is among one of the worst in the system and part of it is due to their adaptation of their “Three Strikes” laws. The laws are harsh and the criminals, especially the ones already having two strikes don’t seem to care about the seriousness of committing crimes. California’s prisons, 33 total, are operating at almost twice their design capacity. Overcrowding is a very serious issue that worries the state officials such as Governor Schwarzenegger.
To go to a public school it’s required to have a physical every couple of years, and I wonder how many of the people detained in jail have not been to a doctor in years, and may be getting sicker and possibly spreading it to others. In another article I read called “Chronic Medical Conditions among Jail Detainees in Residential Psychiatric Treatment: A Latent Analysis” published in the Journal of Urban Health August, 2011 there are studies that show that detainees with mental illnesses have significantly higher rates of chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and infectious diseases. There is also evidence to suggest that long-term detainees are at higher risk of having mental illness, and therefore, according to this study, are at higher risk of having infectious diseases. If this is certainly the case than the importance of screening long-term detainees is crucial. (Swartz,
The issue of prison conditions and the impacts they have on the future lives of inmates has attracted significant interest in the American society. One of the most important trends in the U.S justice system is that out of 600, 000 inmates that are released from prison each year, about two-thirds end up being rearrested after three years (Chen & Shapiro, 2007). In this respect, the objective of this paper is to discuss prison life and strategies that can be adopted in prisons to reduce recidivism. Analysis of the Purposes for Prisons in the U.S Justice System The correctional facilities in the U.S are principally meant to ensure that the sentences that have been prescribed by the Courts on offenders are implemented to the letter. Nevertheless, correctional administrators in the modern correctional facilities have been enlightened in that they recognize a broader responsibility and mission of prisons.
Vulnerable Population Barbara May NUR/440 November 19,2012 University of Phoenix Vulnerable Population The article that I chose has two different vulnerable populations that it discusses, that being the elderly and inmates. According to Potter et al (2007) “Providing healthcare to people with multiple, chronic or complex health concerns is therefore even more problematic”(2007). The older in the prison is the age of 50, which this is not considered to be old in the general society, it is in the inmate population, and the ageing process begins earlier. The older inmate population in the prison settings often presents with healthcare needs and, as the number of older people in prison is steadily increasing, even greater pressure will be placed on correctional and health staff to adequately meet the needs of these inmates. Vulnerable populations include the working poor, racial and ethnic minorities, the uninsured, children, the elderly, the homeless, those chronic health conditions, including HIV/AIDS, not to mention severe mental illness.
Criminal Justice Trends Paper Jamar Jackson CJA/484 July 8, 2012 Shane Evans Abstract When we near to the close of the century in criminal justice, we are beginning a breaking point between crime and law enforcement which has been going on for about three decades. From reason that we do not understand entirely in the 1960s the downward course of the crime rate had been tracking since the 1930s came to a close. Reported crimes to the police begin to increase, police started arresting more lawbreakers, tougher laws were being created by lawmakers resulting in tougher penalties for those who decided to break the law, there was an increased number of cases being prosecuted by our court system, an increased number in the population in