During the last two decades, there has been a gap in America between the lifestyles of those who grew up poor and those who didn’t. Once someone who goes to jail once often are looked down upon by employers and these individuals are now limited to work opportunities, causing the poverty cycle to begin. Similarly, juveniles being tried as adults are increasing populations. Many of our laws have been altered to harshly punish youth offenders. By shifting the sentencing structure, more youth are going to prison for minor crimes.
Their special needs are much different than those who have basic needs. People who suffer from substance abuse have needs in the area of addiction. All these different kinds of people with diverse needs effect the jails and prisons in various ways. If people were not cared for properly there would be negative repercussions. There are programs in prisons that allow these prisoners to be cared for properly.
Studies show that women are more likely to benefit from properly administered rehabilitation programs because of their role as mothers. Men, on the other hand, have not succeeded in benefiting from properly administered rehabilitation programs. Also, poorly administered rehabilitation programs do not have an impact on recidivism rates, but are detrimental financially because of wasted funds. Currently 90% or more of all criminal offenders entering prison have previously been incarcerated either in a jail or prison. Research clearly demonstrates that incarcerations, sanctions, and community corrections do little to reduce recidivism rates.
As shown in the film, the hospital setting where the focus is on treatment, support and help, proved to be the most beneficial. most of the correction guards, except at maximum security prisons, do not know how to deal with these individuals. the mentally ill who committed only minor crimes, such as snatching of a purse as seen of the film end up being placed in maximum security prisons where they are left in confinement all day potentially making their mental disease worse. Funding, support, and organization is the only way that mentally ill individuals can receive the help they
Even DOSA (Drug Offender Sentencing Act) which says they get half time upon completion of drug counseling, most inmates are unable to complete. However, due to budget cut this leaves inmates or the state to pay for the costs which cost even more than doing it inside the institution. Recidivism, which means to recommit crime, is over 90 percent for drugs offenders even with treatment. Without treatment or education offenders are committing more crime and most of the inmates are going back to prisons. If there are more good programs that would work for these inmate and guide them throughout, each individual should have the responsibility to complete the program and earn something from it.
Intermediate Sanctions and Community Corrections Some of the benefits to intermediate sanctions include the correctional system being able to reduce the inmate population, provide inmates with the opportunity of a second chance, offering a wide range of rehabilitation/treatment programs, and being stricter in regards to supervision of the rules. The Negative effects of intermediate sanctions are there are not enough professionals to monitor offenders who are offered intermediate sanctions. Case loads for parole/probation officers remain high increasing the chance of an offender slipping through the cracks. Another negative effect is certain individuals are incarcerated as punishment instead of being granted an intermediate sanction. Sanctions require involvement, but they also allow officers the use of discretion.
Determining the amount of homeless individuals in any given area can be a difficult task and statistics very dependent on the source. It has been estimated that in the Kansas City Metro Area there are from 750 to 1000 homeless people living on the streets and anywhere between 12,000 to 24,000 living in shelters and other temporary residences (City Data, n.d.). Regardless of the statistics, mentally ill individuals make up a large number of the homeless and are now in more contact with the general public (James & Gilliland, 2013). Due to the physical and fiscal limitations in establishing the required workforce and facilities to handle this growing problem crisis intervention teams (CIT) have been created. The CIT program is proactive and preventative and is used to confront dangerous situations involving the mentally ill (James & Gilliland).
Special Needs Offenders Community Corrections Programs February 2012 Americas over populated prison systems have left many offenders, including special needs offenders, shuffling their way through community sanction programs. Special populations are composed of women, sex offenders, substance abusers, offenders with communicable diseases, mentally ill offenders, and offenders suffering from mental retardation ( Cappella University, 2011). Special needs offenders require proper classification and specialized treatment efforts to promote successful rehabilitation. Unfortunately, this scenario often times fails to transpire. Due to the unique characteristics all six categories of special needs offenders possess, every criminal
One of the current issues and concerns concerning the corrections component of the criminal justice system is the increased correctional population that has become severely overcrowded. Prisons being overcrowded can cause many problems. One of several major concerns overcrowded prisons has presented is limited space to house offenders. Offenders have the right to have a certain amount of space while serving time in prison. Not possessing the required amount has led to legal issues.
It has gotten to the point where mental patients in prisons are handcuffed and regularly shackled every time they leave their cells. Terms such as: segregation, solitary confinement, and isolation will be used frequently to describe these conditions of confinement (Jeffrey Metzner, 2010). These types of restraints could cause psychological effects including anxiety, anger, cognitive disturbances, depression, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia, and psychosis. Many negative effects of solitary confinement mainly exist in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder (Jeffrey Metzner,