Corrections Trend Evaluation - Research Paper Example

? Corrections Trend Evaluation Introduction In the United s (US), changes have been observed in the correction programs reflecting the societal values, changes and ideals. Correction usually refers to the system of prison as well as jail developed with the intention of grueling the offenders along with changing their criminal behavior. Additionally, corrections are also referred to the ‘community-based programs’ which include parole, treatment facilities and probation among others. The correction programs have followed certain trends in order to develop as well as enhance the operations of institutions engaged with the correction programs. The changes in the correction programs have occurred due to the rising count of the number of prisoners. Moreover, growing concern with regard to the rules as well as the regulations for the safety of public and reducing incarceration cost have resulted in the modification of the correction programs. These changes are majorly made with the intention of reducing inmate population and minimizing cost (Adams, n.d.). The paper intends to discuss the trends of correction programs for the development as well as the improvement of the correction institutions. Moreover, an analysis will be executed with the objective of identifying the issues in relation to prisons and their administrators both in the present and future prospects. Discussion Research Prisoners or offenders are offered with correction programs and are convicted to correction institutions with the aim of minimizing crime rates and changing their criminal behavior and attitude. In the past, prisoners or offenders were observed to be treated in an inhuman manner and they were punished in physical forms which include being tortured and hanged among others. The prisoners were treated as slaves mainly due to inadequate funding or resources availability and development (Hartnett, n.d.). In this respect, with growing number of offenders and inadequate funds, prisons as well as jails were privatized in order to improve the operations and to render enhanced development of correction institutions. The privatization of prisons as well as jails will facilitate in minimizing cost. By the year 2001, in the US, there were around 158 correction facilities owned by private sectors operating in almost 30 states. Privatization of prisons as well as jails was the major trend in the past in order to cope up with the increased demand and operational costs. In this respect, the government has contacted the private sector with the motive of acquiring adequate financial assistance as well as to construct correction facilities at a cheaper rate as compared to public prisons (Austin & Coventry, 2001). Number of Prisoners from 1925 to 2010 Source: (The Sentencing Project, 2012) In the US, offenders or prisoners are observed to be offered with two different sorts of sentences which include treatment and punishment. Treatment implies that society is protected by implementing correction programs with the objective of changing the criminal behavior of offenders through rehabilitation. On the other hand, punishment signifies that society is protected by incarceration of offenders. It has been realized that there are various phases on the basis of which changes are acquired in the correction programs or facilities. The correction programs started with the development of reform movement for the disposition of prisoners to jails in order to minimize and control crime. In 1920, more prisons were developed and various educational and corrective programs were implemented in order to improve the behaviors as well as attitudes of offenders. In the period between 1930 and 1940, importance was placed to medical model for better treatment of inmates. Moreover, during these periods various therapies including psychodrama and transitional analysis among others had been adopted with the objective of improving the treatment procedures. In 1970s, it was observed that treatment or rehabilitation of prisoners was a failure due to increased crime rate. In this regard, incarceration was determined to be the most appropriate procedure of correcting the behavior of offenders and for the safety of the society. The increased use of incarcerations has raised the number of prisoners in the present scenario. Thus, punishment is perceived to be the major correction program adopted in order to minimize offences. Punishment is recognized to be efficient in case if it is effective in developing a harmonious society with reduced crime rate. Punishment is recognized to be affecting the psychological as well as physical development of an individual in a society. Individuals committing crime in a habitual basis should be offered with incarceration punishment or correction programs. The number of prisoners and probationers had increased to 2,193,798 and 4,162,500 respectively in the year 2005. Moreover, in a continued process various legislative reforms as well as correction programs have been formulated and implemented in order to reduce prison population. Additionally, numerous community-based correction programs have been initiated with the aim of reducing crime rate and ascertaining a pleasant society. The numerous community correction programs include home detention, shock probation and halfway houses among others. With the increased crime rate in relation to child sex, terrorism and kidnapping, community corrections and punishment legislations are followed and will be followed with the objective of minimizing such offending acts (Morgan & Sigler, 2009). Evaluation Punishment is recognized to be the most dominant policy, practice as well as legislation in the present scenario. Punishment as a correctional program is mostly used with the intention of deterring offenders from committing criminal offences. Punishment as a corrective program should be effective in improving the criminal behavior and nature of prisoners with the objective of developing a harmonious society. Till the present scenario, three sorts of legislation are perceived to be used in an immense manner which includes ‘habitual offender statutes’, determinate sentencing and sentence enhancement. ‘Habitual offender statutes’ imply that the US federals have endorsed ‘habitual offender acts’ with the objective of reducing recidivism of criminal offences in various states of the US. ‘Habitual offender statutes’ is preferably recognized to use incarceration for criminals with repeated crime or offence activities. This approach is observed to lack research before implementation and is perceived to be ineffective in correcting the behavior of offenders. It has been conceived through the research of various academic researchers as well as correctional professionals that this act will be expensive and unsuccessful. On the other hands, in accordance with the perspective of other researchers, this approach with incarceration will be cost effective. Moreover, with the increase in prison population due to incarceration more prisons are required to be developed in order to accommodate the intensified number of prisoners. In this respect, prison administrators need take into concern the aspect that more qualified staff will be required to manage the operations of the correction facilities effectively (Morgan & Sigler, 2009). The legislation relating to sentence enhancement has been adopted and implemented without determining its consequences. This act is determined to affect both the prisoners and the management of prison. This legislation has increased the prison population to a great extent across many states of the US. The prison management in lieu of prison administrators also is required to adopt certain provisions or regulations with the intention of managing the human as well as material resources in an effective manner for the better management of correction facilities (Morgan & Sigler, 2009). Determinate sentencing and parole have been enacted with the intention of reducing prison population. Moreover, this approach has been adopted as a part of treatment based correction programs. However, with the increment of incarceration rate and growing prison population, funds are provided by the government with the objective of developing more prisons. Additionally, better hiring as well as training services are offered to correctional officers so that they can manage and organize the prison operations proficiently (Morgan & Sigler, 2009). The community correction programs which are adopted and planned to be implemented in the future are determined to be treatment oriented. However, most of the programs including home detention and shock probation among others are recognized to be punishment based which has been the major concern. It can be said that to a certain extent these community correction programs have lost their importance and in this regard, certain legislations have been implemented with the objective of improving the effectiveness of these programs. Moreover, certain alternate correction programs or systems should be acquired such as social diversity in order to minimize social issues as they are the rising concerns in the US. There is an immense increase of crime due to social issues which include gender, ethnicity and race among others. In this regard, better correction programs in relation to community and social concern are required to be formulated in order to reduce crime. Additionally, these social and community correction programs will assist in minimizing prisoner population in the US which is a critical concern for the federal government of the US (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013). Conclusion There has been a vast change in correction programs adopted in the US. The federal government has been observed to adopt various legislations including treatment and punishment correction programs in order to minimize crime rate in the US. Both punishment and treatment are used in different trends and manners by justice system in order to reduce the criminal nature and behavior of individuals. It has been observed that criminals in the past were treated as slaves and were punished physically due to inadequate funds or resources. In this respect, correction facilities are privatized for better operations of prisons. This aspect has increased the number of prisoners for the augmented use of incarceration correction program as punishment and minimized use of treatment oriented correction program. At present, with the adoption of ‘habitual offender statutes’, determinate sentence and sentence enhancement there is an immense increase of prisoners. In this respect, certain community correction programs have been adopted with the objective of developing a harmonious society. There is also an increased concern in relation to social issues and growing prison population and consequently the government of the US should develop certain legislations and policies in order to mitigate these problems. References Adams, K. G. (n.d.). Current trends in correctional programming in the USA. Resource material series 54, pp. 315-326. Austin, J. & Coventry, G. (2001). Emerging issues on privatized prisons. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/181249.pdf Hartnett, S. (n.d.). Prison labor, slavery & capitalism in historical perspective. Retrieved from http://www.historyisaweapon.org/defcon1/hisprislacap.html McGraw-Hill Education. (2013). Introduction to corrections. Retrieved from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073375020/572304/Schmalleger4e_ch01.pdf Morgan, E. F. & Sigler, R. (2009). Getting tough on crime, community, corrections, and sentencing philosophy. Pearson Education, Inc., pp. 263-280. The Sentencing Project. (2012). Trends in U.S. corrections. Retrevied from http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_Trends_in_Corrections_Fact_sheet.pdf Read More