On a yearly basis, 12 million black men and women cycle in and out of nearly 3500 jails and prison (McKinnon & Bennett, 2005). In 2008, 785,556 individuals were incarcerated at midyear, up from an average of daily population of 403,000 in 1990. Of the 2008 population, 42.5% were white men and 39% were black men, even though of the total U.S. population only about 6% were black men while 28% were white men (McKinnon & Bennett, 2005). Socio-economic status is a major factor in recidivism among the homeless mentally ill population (Solomon and Draine, 1995). Many mentally ill ex-offenders have limited resources prior to going to prison and upon release.
Prison Gangs Prison gangs are the most feared and destructive element of prison society. Engaging in murder, robbery, rape and drug dealing on a frequent basis, prison gangs pose a danger to the entire prison population. The ability to run a correctional facility safely and properly is seriously diminished with the presence of gang affiliated members. Gang affiliated inmates make up just 3% of the overall prison population but account for almost half of all prison violence (Griffin, 2006). To date it is estimated that there are about 100,000 gang members located in the American corrections system with membership having risen greatly in the last 30 years.
In specific, there has been a geographical clustering of incarceration. In most states, the huge majority of people admitted into prisons, particularly for drug crimes, have come from a comparatively few large urban areas within the states. Within many of these areas, in a single year, almost 4 percent of the young black men between the ages of 16 and 34 were removed into prison. This rate exceeded those of comparably aged white men by seven to ten times. The exceedingly high removal rate may contribute to family disruption and social organization of communities, thereby contributing to crime problems.
These types of measures have all but eliminated the chance for rehabilitation in our prison setting. While punishment and incapacitation is an important part of making sure that justice is served, especially to victims and their families, the fact is that the incarcerated offender will eventually be required to return to society as a reformed member. This makes it imperative on us, to provide the tools of rehabilitation to the offender, both in the prison setting, and especially through parole, where the offender is truly gauged on whether or not he or she is ready to join the
Lack bed space, most non-Mexican illegal immigrants apprehended are released and directed to return for a court appearance. However, 75 percent fail to show. Last year, only 30,000 of the 160,000 non-Mexicans caught coming across our Southwest border were sent home. Addressing this problem, the President has signed legislation increasing the number of beds in detention facilities by more than 10 percent over the next year. IV.
The Field Of Corrections By: Tony Workman 1 of every 133 Americans is in jail or prison, even though the prison population has dropped in 20 states, that is roughly 2.3 million people behind bars. There is a huge demand right now for corrections officers, and is projected to increase over the next five years. It is a physical and mentally demanding job and needs specialized training, but it is also a very rewarding profession. Correctional officers, also known as detention officers when they work in pretrial detention facilities, are responsible for overseeing individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to serve time in a jail, reformatory, or penitentiary. The jail population
During the past two decades, more and more young Americans have been dying violent deaths. The United States suffers far more young violent deaths than any other wealthy nation. For many years Americans have been dying at younger ages than people in almost all other wealthy countries (huffingtonpost.com). In these years the rate of youths involved in motor vehicle and other accidental deaths has been climbing while suicide and homicide rates have shot up dramatically. Moreover, violent deaths are becoming a larger proportion of all youth mortality.
(Work release programs help inmates succeed, July/August, 2000). At least 70% of inmates in correctional facilities are in need of basic literacy skills. Only 22% of all inmates are high school graduates. Half of the inmates currently in jails and prisons committed crimes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Fewer than half of the inmates that are currently in jails and prisons in the United States have earned more than $10,000.00 in the year before they were incarcerated.
When a child is being abused, he/she will more likely act out in illegal ways before telling someone. A child becomes internal when they are being abused, and seeks ways to numb the pain this can be through drugs and alcohol. When these factors are added in to the already traumatized child crime does not follow too far behind. It is important to for other adult figures that are in their life to keep their eyes open to these signs. Sometimes all it takes is someone who the child can form a bond with to talk to him or her for the child to open up.
Interventions such as SORNA, which call for labeling youth as sex offenders require them to re-register at regular intervals and thus reinforce the label, and notifying others of their status as sex offenders likely limit the opportunities that such youth have to participate in normal adolescent activities and limit the peer group that they can access. Although the negative impact of the labeling process has been argued, youths identified as troubled do experience rejection from most peer groups and from adults. Thus, youths registered as sex offenders are more likely to socialize with other troubled peers and are less likely to be involved and attached to social institutions such as church’s and schools because of limitations to their access. Those who steer clear of criminal behavior has been associated with attachment of school and other prosocial organizations and institutions that promote involvement in a prosocial peer group. Consequently, the effects of ongoing registration of adolescence well into their young adulthood, as called for in the Adam Walsh Act, are more likely the result of criminal behavior than the prevention of sexual