Legalizing Prostitution - Assignment Example

Criminology 101

Chapter 8 Assignment

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable and unwarranted searches and seizure. The Amendment is one of the most important and upheld part of the constitution in courts whose prominence is related to the protection of right for privacy of the individual citizen by restricting searches in places where privacy is expected such as clothing, vehicle, house, purse and apartment. Besides the protection of the citizen’s rights, the Amendment has been key in the prevention of abuse of power, especially by the law enforcement agencies (Siegel, 2011). Indeed, the Amendment was adopted at a time where there was excessive abuse of the writ of assistance (a general search warrant). The general search warrants, given in Britain, gave powers to the Crown’s messengers to perform searches without any or reasonable reason to believe that the individual may have committed a criminal activity.

Chapter 9 Assignment

Due to the perceived entitlement to appeals, courts have been overflowing with appeals for a long time. In many cases, courts upheld the ruling delivered by the lower courts. In addition, some individuals use appeals to delay the execution of the delivered ruling, especially when it does not favor them. As a result, there might be the need to reduce the number of appeals, especially by preventing litigants from endless appeals. One of the ways is through the adoption of stricter deadlines on the time allowed for litigants to file their appeals after a case has been determined. Such action will help ensure that individuals taking longer than required to make the decision to appeal are eliminated.

Second, courts can screen the ruling with regard to the rulings of other courts, either in the state or in other states to determine the suitability of the ruling as suggested by the Full Faith and Credit Clause, especially in cases that do not involve the interpretation of statutes. Screening can also consider the magnitude of the case, which can be indicated by the participants and the type of case. In addition, the level of evidence included in the case can be a factor in evaluating its suitability in appeal. However, it is important to note that new evidence is not admissible in appeals, except in exceptional cases (Siegel, 2011).

Chapter 14 Assignment

Correctional facilities have undergone significant changes over time. The oldest models of correctional facilities can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries in Britain. During this period, houses of correction were used as part of the Poor Law, which aimed at the reduction of dependence of the poor on the government. To this end, correctional facilities instilled new industrious habits among inmates through prison labor. Most of the persons held in the facilities were petty criminals ranging from disorderly poor persons to vagrants. Control of the facilities was taken over by the Justices of the Peace towards the end of the 17th century.

Jeremy Bentham was one of the most influential reformists in the turnaround of correctional facilities. He designed a prison that allowed better observation of inmates by one centrally positioned guard. The wings of his creation (the panopticon) spread from the central point; the model inspired the building of prisons in the first half of the 19th century. Bentham was also one of the penal reformers who believed that although prisoners should receive severe punishment, their health should be protected. In addition, he fought for the improvement of sanitation and separation of genders. On the other hand, Quakers influenced the introduction of personal redemption as a religious approach to reforming inmates (The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2016).

Chapter 15 Assignment

Prisoners coped with the feelings of frustration and powerlessness by adjusting to the character of inmates. The prisoners became submissive to the guards and started taking the prison rules more seriously. Due to powerlessness, the prisoners became highly dependent on the guards beside some of them befriending guards by telling on their cell-mates.

The experiment identified three types of guards. First were those that exuded a tough character but followed the rules at the prison. The “good guys” was the second type where guards did some favors for the prisoners and never punished them. The last group included the hostile guards who emphasized on humiliation and enjoyed the power.

The experiment was terminated earlier than planned due to the adverse psychological impact that it had on the participants, which were not expected. It took the intervention of an outsider for the researcher to note the consequences as he was also a role player (Zimbardo, 1971).

The experiment illustrated that prison life is emotionally and psychologically draining, especially on the part of the prisoners. On the other hand, the experiment showed that the individuals adjust to the social roles expected of them such as the role played by the prison guards. In addition, the experiment revealed the presence of individual differences in coping to new situations.

Chapter 16 Assignment

Interrogating a juvenile should be performed in an ethical manner in a way that the process does not place the subject in a psychologically risky position. The following steps can be applied:

• Inform the parent/guardian that the juvenile will be questioned with a reasonable explanation.
• Adopt an age appropriate behavioral analysis approach for interrogation.
• It is possible that children do not fully understand the Miranda rights and, as a result, it is important to affirm their knowledge.
• For self-security purposes, there should be an adult that the child trusts, unless he/she does not need one.
• Identify the length of the interrogation that the juvenile can tolerate.
• Select the time to conduct the interrogation; when there are distractions.
• Select the set of relevant questions to ask.
• Introduce yourself to the juvenile and explain the need for interrogation
• Conduct the interrogation according to the plan and avoid making promises or threats.
• Mark the end of questioning and analyze the feedback.

Chapter 17 Assignment

Legalization of prostitution has become a highly contentious issue in the modern society. While some countries such as Germany have legalized prostitution, it remains illegal in a large number of countries, especially in Africa, Asia, and Middle East where traditions are highly safeguarded. In the United States, prostitution is illegal even as some counties in the state of Nevada have legalized it. Although many governments are against prostitution, it has been present in one way or the other and, therefore, it is prudent to legalize and control it.

One of the critical issues concerning prostitution is its connection to HIV and STIs. In this regard, it is important to note that the level of infection or prevalence of HIV/STIs among sex workers operating legally is significantly lower compared to their counterparts operating street brothels. For instance, 63 illegally operating sex workers are approximately 80 times more likely to get infected with sexually transmitted infections compared to 753 legal prostitutes in Australia, a country where prostitution is legal (Scoular & O'Neill, 2007).

While still considering the relationship between prostitution and STIs, it is prudent to argue that prostitutes operating in a regulated environment have higher chances of acquiring training and assistance on infection prevention. This does not apply to STIs but is also useful in the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Countries such as Netherlands provide training on the prevention of infection besides providing crucial requirements such as condoms.

Cases of rape and physical abuse have also characterized the debate on the legalization of prostitution. Illegal sex workers are usually at a higher risk of rape and abuse primarily due to the lack of regulation and protection. Beyond the physical and psychological harm associated with rape, it increases the likelihood of acquiring STIs. Such cases are significantly are in a legalized and regulated environment (Raymond, 2004).

On the downside, critics of legalization argue that legalized prostitution can promote faster spread of STIs (Weitzer, 2012). This is guided by the thought that more people will indulge in prostitution, which may be true. However, a regulated environment that promotes protected sex is less likely to increase the rates of infection as shown by the Australian example. Critics have also resorted to the use of behavioral non-consequential behavioral theories such as Deontology by Emmanuel Kant and the Natural Law of Ethics by Thomas Aquinas. The theories suggest that some human values have a level of universality and ethicality, which cannot change regardless of the view point (Spector, 2006). For instance, prostitution is hardly accepted even in non-religious societies and should, therefore, stay that way. However, a number of consequential reasoning theories, such as Ethical Egoism, Classic Utilitarianism, and Consequentialism, justify the promotion of some practices for the social good.

From the analysis, it is evident that the argument for the legalization of prostitution is stronger. However, it is important that legalization is followed by effective regulation where the government considers prostitution as any other business that require oversight and protection. The most important aspect to consider it that even in areas where prostitution has been illegalized, it still exists and poses even more dangers to individuals and the society. Conclusively, prostitution should be legalized in the US.