More detailed studies are important to help answer the effectiveness of DTC to rehabilitate better than incarceration. This research will improve upon the other studies by attempting to solve their limitations. The idea of a third unknown variable resulting in a successful rehabilitation will be answered by continually surveying the 100 participants to the reason for their success. The limitation of not being made aware of an out of state arrest could be monitored by yearly checkups of the participants. The implication of proving that DTCs can better rehabilitate offenders than correctional facilities would revolutionize the judicial response to drug related crimes.
Delinquency Deterrence Response The threat of punishment does deter juvenile delinquency by general deterrence which means that crime control policies that depend on the fear of criminal penalties, such as long prison sentences for violent crimes. The aim is to convince law violators that the consequence outweighs the benefits of the crime or criminal activity (Wadsworth, 2005) If more severe, certain, and swift the punishment is the guiding principle of deterrence theory then the effects of the deterrence is greater. Since the increase in teenage violence, gang activity, and drug abuse was a result of not punishing adolescents severely as adults were so that juvenile justice authorities would not interfere with the parens patriae philosophy, which means A doctrine that grants the inherent power and authority of the state to protect persons who are legally unable to act on their own behalf (West,2005), prompted a reevaluation of deterrence strategies in the 1990’s shifting an emphasis on treatment to an emphasis on public safety in some juvenile courts (Wadsworth, 2005). This would allow officers to enter schools undercover to identify and arrest juvenile drug dealers and to allow judges to be more open with charging juveniles as adults leading to doubling the total of juveniles under the age of eighteen from thirty-four hundred in 1985 to seventy-four hundred in 1997. This and the legislators passing more restrictive juvenile codes seems to have an overall beneficial effect on the delinquency rate and that is that it has declined.
This sentencing mechanism has certainly contributed to the increase in prison population. It has also placed harsher punishments that often times do not fit with the crime. Repeat offenders are getting sentenced to long prison terms for low priority crimes. “And if structured sentencing was designed to provide consistency in the type of sentences handed down for specific crimes, the habitual felon law does exactly the opposite, as the offender’s status as a “habitual felon” determines the sentence more so than the severity of the most recent felony”
Instead of just throwing criminals away and forgetting about them, a quick glance at any academic article or research studies on this subject makes it painfully clear what needs to be done. More focus must be put on rehabilitation for those willing to be helped rather than blind punishment doled out indiscriminately toward all, and though chemical castration is not a perfect catch-all solution for every sex offender, it's a start. With overall general reduction in recidivism rates in nearly all studies conducted, having it as an option for rehabilitation is a much needed positive step in not only understanding and fixing our recidivism problems regarding sex offenders, but alsop towards the pursuit of justice in our society as a
Speaking about the presentence investigation report, it is necessary to point out that it is considered to be among the most important documents in the criminal justice field since it is the central source of information to sentencing judges. It is necessary to underline that its original purposes was to provide information to the court on the defendant’s personal history and criminal conduct in order to promote individualized sentencing. However, in the course of time, with the advent of punitive sentencing policies in recent years, the presentence investigation report has become more offense focused and less individualized that is actually the major problem of this component of American criminal justice system. It should be said that presentence investigation report should provide judges with detailed information about the offender in order to better learn his personality and the crime committed. As a result, it will be possible to sentence the offender in respect to his crime and taking into consideration his personality.
Running head: Community-Based Corrections Unit #1 Assignment Expository Essay Community-Based Corrections Rose M. Pope CJ524-01N: Community-Based Corrections Kaplan University Professor: Dr. Patricia Warren April 29, 2011 ABSTRACT "The population of offenders are changing very rapidly as well as the characteristics with today's criminals. In order to meet the change correction officials must meet the challenge. We must understand that the criminals are more oriented towards violence and drug use than criminals in the past. "A change in the correctional philosophy and redesigns of community-based correctional institutions is called to meet the characteristically changing of the criminal population in the late 1970's. Drug-free and nonviolent offenders who dominated the prison populations in the 1940-1970 are still a substantial minority.
It is very important to make the public aware of the new bill passed and the new doubled prison terms if convicted of armed robbery. If the bill were passed there would be the issue of financial responsibilities, which the innocent public would be responsible for. Doubling a prison term could be costly and one solution would be to seek some funding through fundraisers and grants from the state. The bill would costs the citizens but it would keep them at ease and at peace knowing that almost anyone would be discouraged of committing such a crime. We hope that this bill would have an impact on the would be criminals because not only would their sentence be longer but their chances at parole would be harder to
The demographic group most affected by the war on drugs and the incarceration boom are the juveniles. Youth who turn to drugs and alcohol abuse are faced with harsh reality at YSI Facilities, another branch of the private prison industry. Rather than being charged with fines appropriate to their offenses and being sent to rehabilitation or other forms of drug treatment, non-violent offenders are locked away with long, harsh sentences. This profit-driven war on drugs and other substance abuse ruins the lives of the inmates, turning them into harder criminals by exposing them to such environments. According to a project run by The Huffington Post, 40% of juvenile offenders sent to private prisons on account of drug related crimes are arrested and convicted of harsher crimes in less than a year from their release (Kirkham).
On the other hand, with a male judge, the chances of receive the full punishment for a particular crime is much higher. When it comes to the enforcement of the law, on the receiving end, judges are much more lenient to women. They are more likely to get sentences that are less harsh, parole, etc. Men in general are more prone to be nicer to women. That also applies within the criminal justice system.
This seems to show the weakness of the criminal justice system. However, does the dramatically increased number of prisoners necessarily prove that the prison system is not working? Is it possible that the growth resulted from the changes of the laws as more things become illegal, the federal government passes minimum mandatory sentences? Perhaps many crimes for which a person would not have been sent to prison now require a prison term. That could be the reason for the increase.