The Working of Prisons - Essay Example

THE WORKING OF PRISONS Prisons and if they work Introduction Prisons are widely known as penitentiary facilities, correctional facilities, remand centers, and detention centers. All the above words carry their varied meanings. The meaning is dependent on what act a person is taken to a prison. Some legal systems give distinct meaning to these terms. One of the legal definitions found in law for prisons is that it is a facility used for forcibly correcting offenders of different offences. These individuals get forcibly confined to these facilities so that they can be denied a variety of their freedoms as a way to correcting them. In this paper, the pivotal objective is to carry out an assessment of whether prisons work. The other objective is to carry out a brief history of prisons demonstrating actual data. When a person is taken to a prison, the main objective is to correct the person. The individual is denied a number of freedoms by prison authorities representing the state. This act is seen as proper punishment for lawbreakers. Every nation puts up prisons as part of a criminal justice system that helps in confining individuals charged or convicted with crimes. Criminals are confined to jail or prison as they attend hearings. The judge determines the punishment depending on constitutional provisions. Some are incarcerated after being found guilty during trial. In other cases, authoritarian regimes use prisons as a political tool to punish political crimes. These forms of punishments are administered in many instances without trial or other legal due processes. The international law is against such use of prisons as it pushes towards fair administration of justice. Prisoners also serve as detaining places for war criminals. Brief history Prison is a place where all individuals’ rights, freedom, movement and access to basic facilities are restricted in view of inducing punishment to offenders. In real overview of it, it is a place where dignity, privacy, and control are bestowed to guards and prison administrators. Statistics reveal that over two million people are in prison in the United States (Kann, 2005: 112). They also reveal that more than four hundred thousand work in the prisons. Prisons carry several functions. They are used to jail criminals, detain political dissidents, regulate mentally ill individuals, and lock away prisoners of war. Analyzing cultural functions of a prison are very complex. A punishment that involves taking a person to a prison is referred to as a sentence. In the modern society, prisons work to serve the purpose of safeguarding the society from those seen as a threat. Prisons are used again as rehabilitation centers for those convicted so that they may not commit crimes again when they are released. The same prisons offer opportunities for those convicted to learn new ways of becoming useful to the community as well as acquire new skills and education (Kann, 2005: 115). Do prisons work? It is clearly hard to come up with complete answer to the above question. In a way, it is right to say that prisons work. However, many researchers have come out and argued that prisons do not work. Prisons carry many functions. The biggest function is to jail criminals. However, they have also been used to incarcerate political criminals, mentally ill people, and people who failed to pay their debts in time or at all. In most parts of the world, prisons are divided into three main units. There is a maximum-security, minimum-security and medium-security prison. Minimum-security prisons are used to rehabilitate those offenders who are non-violent and bear relatively low criminal records. It is also used to rehabilitate prisoners who have been released from the other units of prisons due to exemplary performance discipline wise. In medium security prisons, inmates are left to have a bit freedom within the prison territory (Alexander, 2012: 77). They put up in dormitory-like houses while a razor-wire fence encircles the outside fence. Maximum-security prisons in most parts house prisoners who are thought to be hostile, violent and dangerous to other prisoners. Those inmates who escape from prisons regardless of the unit are thrown to maximum facilities when they are caught again. In recent days, many people argue that prisons only serve to worsen the situation of inmates. Instead of helping, they become worse that in the beginning. Organizations argue that the law department and the judiciary have become adamant to what is happening in the prisons. Every day more and more people are sent to jail, and the prisons are now full to capacity, but the two bodies continue sending more to prisons. The government has ignored the cries of reform groups to build more prisons to create more room or find another solution to punish lawbreakers (Selman & Leighton, 2010: 92). According to credible sources, prisons do work. Even though those opposing prisons as a form of rehabilitation and punishment to law breakers argue that prisons are the least successful method of curbing crime, they are the most effective in securing moral values. The good they do under critical examination, outways the negative impacts. For example, when a criminal is locked up in a prison, it becomes physically impossible for him, or her to cause trouble or commit any offences. There are possibilities of him or her returning to crime life after completing his or her incarceration period. Nevertheless, there are possibilities of realizing change (Selman & Leighton, 2010: 93). The biggest advantage is that when he or she is locked in, public is safe from him or her. Statistically, the person may have committed numerous crimes when at large. A report adopted from the home office survey of 2000 shows that an average inmate commits 140 crimes before his day arrives for imprisonment. The crimes are spread over a span of 12 months. Calculating statistically using algebraic equations, if 10,000 people are sentenced to terms in prisons in a year, the number of crimes prevented within that period escalates to 1.4 million (Selman & Leighton, 2010: 94). One can imagine how the public would have been a good and secured without criminals around. In another evidence-based survey, British police records indicate that the more number of criminals put to jail the lesser and lesser crime becomes. During the era of Michael Howard, he managed to curb crime better that his predecessors who instead of curbing, worked towards management of crime. Michael used the principle of imprisonment and succeeded greatly in bringing crime to low levels (Selman & Leighton, 2010: 97). In another way, prisons do work because they serve as a scare point. By this, it means that they create awareness of what is to happen to those who decide to become future criminals. Children are motivated by the events that happen in their early life. If a child is raised in a surrounding or an environment where crime is the order of the day, he or she may end up becoming criminals (Dow, 2005). Prison has helped to save a larger fraction of children from becoming criminals. It is scary to listen to stories of how one is stripped off his or her rights once in prison. An understanding of the consequences of a prison facilitates reduction of the number of criminals in the society. This does not only work for children. Any person with an understanding of the law will choose to act in a responsible manner, to avoid being caught on the wrong part of the law (Dow, 2005). One may argue that incarceration denies people to be united with their families in their daily life. Hence, prisons are not the best form of punishment. However, prisons are deemed to work best in motivating offenders to use the period that they are imprisoned to change their behavior to better (Thompson, 2008: 68). There are channels through which, families of the prisoners and the prisoners are helped to resettle in the community. Prisons carry out multi-disciplinary functions for effective sentence management and delivery of services. Prisons work because many people do not commit a crime for fear of being jailed. Prisons have helped curb criminal activities (Dow, 2005). It is important to agree that witnessing a family member being sent to prison is very painful. Sometimes that family member might have even been the breadwinner or the one with the biggest share of income to supporting the family. However, for the general good of the society, prisons help in keeping such people from bringing harm to the society. They serve as an example to the public cautioning them against such negative impacts of prisons (Thompson, 2008: 69). In a research performed over a sampled number of prisons, it revealed that up to 46% of inmates admitted to prisons go there without experience or qualification of any kind. The same research indicates that 50% of the populations were homeless before being taken to prisons. Half the numbers of inmates in any prison were unemployed before being taken to prison (Solinger, 2010: 111). To add to the list, 36% of the total numbers of inmates were heavy drinkers and 20% abused hard drugs. The advantage of these people being in prison is that they are offered education and jobs while in prison. This may help them realize their worth to the community. The same research indicates that 90% of the inmates released and initially displaying any of the above characteristics end up being rehabilitated (Solinger, 2010: 112). They make use of training and education they receive in the prisons. Some governments have made employment in prisons become a real factor. Private employees are contracted to offer jobs to inmates while in prison (Alangan & Farrington, 1998: 39). In some cases, many researchers argue that some of these incentives may be encouraging for people to go back to prison. They say that the prisons are diverting their main call of duty, to punish lawbreakers. The inmates are not supposed to be given a lot of comfort while serving a sentence. Nevertheless, the systems are better because they transform people to be responsible and reduce crime rates (Solinger, 2010: 113). A research comparing the rate of imprisonment in three countries, British, Ireland and Spain indicate in every 1000 people British sent 12 to prison for numerous crimes committed. Ireland sends 33 and Spain sends 48 (Pisciotta, 2012). The crime rate of Ireland and Spain is very low compared to British, which records high crime rates. Many opposing forces to prison argue that prison is not the best method of correctional method because it hardens criminals instead of rehabilitating them. The above statistics show that prisons are so far the best in reducing crime (Pisciotta, 2012). Experts state that for an inmate to be rehabilitated, he or she requires to spend a long period in prison. The main point is to allow inmates to receive intensive supervision and mentorship so that they can see the sense of not committing a crime. Long periods also increase the chances of many inmates to acquire education and professional training so that when they are released, they may be employed or start their own ventures (Selman & Leighton, 2010: 100). Statistics reveal that 27% of inmates come either from poor backgrounds or from communities where previously members had been sent to prison. Specialists in criminology state that the only better solution to such cases is to put those members away from the community. This indicates that prisons are the best places they can be sent and help reform the shape of their communities and backgrounds (Selman & Leighton, 2010: 101). In America, the estimated number of criminals that are sent to jail amounts to 2,000,000. This serves as the highest recorded number of inmates in the world. Compared to china, U.S. leads by half a million more inmates (Kann, 2005: 119). The population of china is considered big than that of the U.S. by five times. Statistically, the U.S. holds 25% of the total number of prisons in the whole world. Its population is estimated to be 5% of the world’s total population. There are 100 private prisons carrying more than 62000 inmates (Kann, 2005: 121). Prisons are creating more good than harm in the community; however, the current trend of privatizing their operations has created a different dimension. There is an underlying danger in how prison business is being conducted. Privatization of prisons has brought a dangerous aspect to the society. In a private prison, the government pays for every prisoner incarcerated (Kann, 2005: 122). The danger is that the more the number of prisoners incarcerated the more profits the prison shall realize. The aspect of rehabilitation is slowly being washed away by this culture. Many people are detained in prisons so that the prisons can realize more profits such that the administration may start ignoring vital principle supporting imprisonment (Dow, 2005). Prison business has become a multimillion-dollar investment. If the main principle of incarceration is observed, these private prisons may create a better world because they offer better services to inmates than public prisons. Research indicates that the federal prison industries are very productive in the economies of their countries. Inmates are trained to produce quality produces (Dow, 2005). For instance, they produce 100% military wares such as helmets, bulletproof vests, and tents. In the U.S., prisons supply 98% of all equipments and assembly services. They also produce 93% of paints and paint brushes. Recently, an economic survey indicated that prisons supply 36% of the total number of home appliances and 21% of office equipments and furniture (Dow, 2005). Even so, contracting privatization of prisons and opening labor markets to prisoners enable them to generate skills and expertise in doing something (Alangan & Farrington, 1998: 39). The government has supported the move to contract private companies in contracting prison labor because an evaluation indicates that the program offers more advantages that disadvantages. For example, most of the big companies in the U.S. such as IBM, Boeing, Motorola, AT&T, and Dell among others outsource their labor from prisons (Thompson, 2008: 43). Prisoners are paid for their services using different rates depending on where the prison is. This is a good indication that prisons are a good place to rehabilitate offenders because when they are released, they will have a base to start their life (Thompson, 2008: 47). The ratio of inmates convicted in federal prisons having committed non-violent crimes ranges to 97% of the 125,000 inmates. Statistics indicate that half of 623,000 inmates convicted in municipal or county jails suggest that they are likely to be innocent. Most of these people sit in jails awaiting trial (Thompson, 2008: 48). It reveals also that two thirds in a million state prisoners have committed non-violent crimes. There is also the number of those who suffer from mental illness within the two million prisoners amounting to 16% (Thompson, 2008: 48/49). Over the years since 1950, the percentages of recorded offences that lead to custodial sentences have dropped by a margin of 72%. It means that the rate has reduced from 5.4% in 1950 to 1.5% in 1999 to date (Alangan & Farrington, 1998: 40). Robbery has dropped from 85% suggesting that it has reduced from 35.9% in 1950 to 5.1%. Burglary has also reduced by 79% suggesting a drop from 7.4% in 1950 to 1.5% in today’s world. Theft and handling stolen goods has also decreased by 70% recording a decrease of 4% in 1950 to 1.2% in the current days (Alangan & Farrington, 1998: 43). This indicates that when the risk of imprisonment continued to increase, the rate of crime continued to drop. For instance, in the United States, the risk of imprisonment increased from 1980 to 1990 (Solinger, 2010: 36). This saw the level of crime drop significantly. The opposite took place in England and Wales after the risk of imprisonment reduced. After England and Wales changed their policies in 1993, they realized a significant reduction in crime rates (Solinger, 2010: 36-38). The imprisonment Philosophy Prisons began to emerge during the discovery of state as a form of governance. During this era, written language developed facilitating state formation. Laws began to be written in paper so that the society could have official guidelines and principles to follow. The earliest society to create laws was the Hammurabi. They wrote their laws in Babylon. Those who broke these laws were punished to administer vengeance (Alexander, 2012: 31). Other societies eventually adopted punishment as a tool for vengeance during the early civilization era. During this era, imprisonment started taking place for those offenders who could not pay the fines asked as settlement of their crimes. Authorities started to realize that many people could not pay their fines, leading to long periods of imprisonment (Alexander, 2012: 33). Eventually, a crime was settled by a given period of imprisonment for those who could not pay fines. Definite time was created for different offences. The need to build dens where criminals could not escape became high (Alangan & Farrington, 1998: 48). The emergence of prison cells started. The Romans formed the first communities to develop houses that were used to house criminals. They developed metal cages that could not be broken, basements of public buildings, and quarries. The first roman prison was Mamertine Prison (Alexander, 2012: 51). Ancus Marcius established it in the 640 B.C. During this time prisoners were punished under very severe conditions such as slavery and forced labor. In Europe, punishment by way of imprisonment also began to take shape. Fortresses, fortresses, and the basements of public buildings formed good places where cells could be constructed (Alexander, 2012: 52). Conclusion All factors considered prisons do work. They are the best places where rehabilitation takes place. Many countries that use this philosophy have recorded low crime rates. Many prisoners come out of prisons with skills to do certain jobs that they may not have acquired in their free life. Others attain high levels of education than they would have acquired before being taken to prison. Even though privatization of prisons may contain negative influences, the advantages of imprisonment are many compared to its disadvantages. Reference list Alangan, P. & Farrington, D. (1998) Crime and Justice in the United States and in England and Wales, 1981-96, Washington: US Department of Justice. Alexander, M. (2012) The New Jin Crow: Mass incarceration in the Age of colorblindness. The New Press. Carlson, P. M. & Garrett, J. S. (1999) prison and jail administration: practice and theory. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Dow, M. (2005) American Gulag: inside U.S. Immigration Prison. University of California Press. Gilmore, R. W. (2007) Golden Gulag: prisons, surplus, crisis, and opposition in Globalization California. University of California Press. Kann, M. E. (2005) Punishment, prisons, and patriarchy: liberty and power in the early American republic. NYU Press. Pisciotta, A. (2012) Benevolent repression: social control and the American reformatory-prison movement. NYU Press. Selman, D. & Leighton, P. (2010) Punishment for sale: private prisons, big business, and the incarceration binge issues in crime & justice. Rowman & Littlefield. Solinger, R. (2010). Interrupted life: xperiences of incarcerated women in the united states. University of California Press. Thompson, A. C. (2008). Releaseing prisoners, redeeming communities: reentry, race, and politics. 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