Prison Life and Strategies - Essay Example

Whereas traditional prisons have long been a fixture of the American criminal justice system, so-called for-profit prisons are a relatively new construct that has begun to have a profound effect on the way that the criminal justice system operates. For instance, whereas a state-run prison facility may have a very stringent code of ethics with regards to the prison guards that serve it, a for-profit prison is likely to have a much more lax interpretation of such statutes and practices. Furthermore, where the state prison is concerning with rehabilitating and re-introducing the prisoner into the civilian population as a means to better society through the correctional action that has been effected, the for-profit prison systems have no such interest and actually gain a high degree of revenue through an increased rate of recidivism.

As such, the purpose of this brief research paper will be to review the problems associated with the increased levels of for-profit prisons within the United States as well as to offer key insights and solutions that may help to ameliorate these problems.