Criminal Justice System in the USA - Assignment Example

The United States has more incarcerated people than any other country in the world ‒ as of 2011, over 2.3 million prisoners were locked up in local county jails and in state and federal prisons (Fisher, 2011). With more than 50 companies operating within the federal and state criminal justice system, the privatization of incarceration has become a five billion dollar business. Several of these for profit businesses include The GEO Group, PA Child Care, and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) (Fisher, 2011). This is obviously the wrong direction that the prison system is taking and represents an unethical way in which the offenders are being treated. Although the conditions in these prisons meet federal and local standards, the overall issue of human rights and equality is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that the people who are being locked away are not viewed with respect to how they should be punished or reformed; rather, they are only viewed with respect to the overall level of profitability that can be extracted from the state, regional, or federal government for their tenure in the penal system. The following analysis will discuss this to some length and highlight the unethical nature as well as some prescriptions for change that could be instituted in order to have a positive impact upon the current criminal justice system. The ethical issue that exists is the fact that the prisons and penal institutions within the United States are supposed to be interested only in punishing and rehabilitating the criminal. Instead, what is taking place throughout the country is a situation in which the prison complex itself is making a massive amount of money based upon the individuals that it incarcerates. As one might expect, this means that there will be little if any focus upon seeking to rehabilitate the criminal; instead, the focus is upon only trying to expand the size of the prisons so that a further and further level of profitability is made. There have of course been people complaining about the criminal justice system in the United States for many years; however, the fact of the matter is that the current “for profit” criminal justice system is one that does not champion the improvement of society or the reintegration of the offender. As such, the primary ethical/moral issue that one must consider relates to the issue that has evolved from what this author will deem “incarceration for profit”. Although few individuals in the United States are aware of this practice, the fact of the matter is that it has grown from an isolated incidence to a multi-million dollar a year industry. The central issue can be explained as a system whereby overburdened municipalities cannot immediately afford the massive expense that is called for in order to build a new penitentiary system. As a way to bridge this gap while making a substantial profit, private firms enter into the equation and offer the municipality a joint venture which is oftentimes hard to resist. These firms offer to front the necessary capital to build the facility as well as staff it with private contracting security firms. The catch then comes as the municipality agrees to an extended lease of the facility. Although at face value this may seem an ingenious way for a private firm to work to alleviate the strains that a municipality may have with relation to prison overcrowding, it is however slightly more sinister than one would at first presume. Due to the fact that a private firm now has stake in the criminal justice system, a system that arguably the state and the state alone should have prevue over, the interests of rehabilitation and reform are placed as secondary to overall profit (Brickner et al. 11). Such a situation is counter to the very foundations of what the criminal justice system is supposed to provide to society. In this way, incarceration has become the primary focus of policy makers and local leaders whereas the needs of those incarcerated as well as the secondary objectives of rehabilitation and reform are all but forgotten in a drive to provide more “bed space” for existing and incoming offenders. This issue has been compounded by a host of policy decisions; some of these are beyond the scope of this individual analysis. However, two of the complicating factors will be discussed at greater length within this analysis. A prescription for change must start with regards to the way in which private prisons are used and funded. The focus on incarceration is the first aspect that needs to change within the American criminal justice system. Per capita it is absurd that a developed nation such as the United States punishes nearly each and every imaginable crime through incarceration. Moreover, the focus upon putting non-violent offenders, such as those who are in prison for drug related offenses, alongside those violent offenders not only makes little sense, it also serves to change the dynamics of society as non violent drug offenders are oftentimes hardened in prison rather than being reformed; which is the supposed original intent of the entire incarceration process itself (Chang et al. 45). Further, in order to be more equitable, the process of the criminal justice system should seek to create a sustainable prison system; not be reliant upon private entities to fill the necessary gaps that the state/government system is unable to fill. In order for this to take place, it will be necessary for the legislature, both state and federal, to ensure that the correct allocation of funding is available for upkeep and up-fit for existing state institutions; rather than being entirely at the mercy of the private institutions that have come to be so profitable and widespread within the current system. In short, it is not only a few simple steps that need to be made in order to fix the problem that has been described. Rather, it will take the combined effort of the legislature, citizens, and the criminal justice system itself to wean the United States away from the addiction to privatized institutions that has become so widespread of late. References Brickner, Michael, and Shakyra Diaz. "Prisons For Profit Incarceration For Sale." Human Rights 38.3 (2011): 14-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. Chang, Tracy F. H., and Douglas E. Thompkins. "Corporations Go To Prisons: The Expansion Of Corporate Power In The Correctional Industry." Labor Studies Journal 27.1 (2002): 45. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. Fisher, William (1 July 2011). The Corrupt Corporate Incarceration Complex. Truthout | Report. http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/1905:the-corrupt-corporate-incarceration-complex (Accessed 4 Sept. 2013). Read More