Prison Population Issues - Essay Example

Running head: Criminal Justice How the Agencies within Criminal Justice System in England and Wales Contribute To a Rising Prison Population of Predominantly Males Insert Name Insert Grade Course Insert Tutor’s Name 11 May 2012 In England, there is a marked difference in the crime patterns of males and females with males committing serious offences requiring custodial sentences. As of 2011, 79% of the total prison population in England and Wales consisted of young males aged 18years and older while 14 % were on remand awaiting trial and sentencing (Gavin, 2012). Majority of these prisoners are in jail because of violence related offences necessitating custodial sentencing and rehabilitation. England and Wales have the highest prison populations in Europe with the rates of imprisonment rising dramatically over time (Walmsley, 2004). The rise in prison populations in England does not correspond to increases in the rates on crime; rather it is from an increase in the percent of offenders given custodial sentences and an increase in the average length on jail terms. The chief determinant of punishment should be the seriousness of the crime, and custodial sentences should not be used as a deterrent tool meant to jolt the rest of the populace; as it has failed miserably in the England criminal justice system. Of these prison populations, more than half are men serving sentences of four years and over with the rest jailed for six months or below (Home Office, 2004). The justice system in England has consistently used custodial sentences and longer jail terms. This has minimized the use of fines resulting in a swell, in the number of captives especially males, in the prison system. There is a predominantly large male prison population imprisoned, and it is necessary to understand some of the driving factors that leave more males behind bars. More than half the prisoners lacked employment prior to their imprisonment. Most offenders who are in prison have various mental illnesses with 78% males compared to 50% women having personal disorders (College of Psychiatrists, 2007). There is a higher likelihood of men without formal qualification, who have poor socio economic statuses that exposes them to ill health and poor financial status of committing a crime and ending up in jail (College of Psychiatrists, 2007). The number of sentences of older male prisoners aged over 60 years has increased gradually mostly due to increased sexual offences in this group. In 2001, 80% of this group was serving custodial sentences of more than four years, which was an increase of 55% to older males given custodial sentences (College of Psychiatrists, 2007). This increase in custodial sentencing for older males corresponds to an increase in an indictment of men. This has seen the diagnosis of 32%, of older men serving jail terms, with psychiatric illness and personality disorders; with depression rates being higher than in the general population (Fazel et al, 2001). This indicates that a majority of these men would be in hospitals receiving treatment and counselling and custodial sentences could not and would not rehabilitate these men. Their presence in prison only increases the statistics of men in prison but does not offer any rehabilitative or corrective function. Therefore, it only physically removes them from the society and once released will continue to offend. The British society and criminal justice system has been discriminative to males from the black and minority ethnic groups; who historically have remained overrepresented in the prison populations. This is a result of especially over policing of blacks with the increased likelihood and stop and search operations and surveillance leading to more arrests, remands and custodial sentences for black males compared to the general population with the chances of blacks given custodial sentences being higher than for any other ethnic minority groups. This increases the male numbers in prison in a skewed manner exposing serious limitations of the criminal justice system. There are millions of UK children experiencing parental imprisonment as around 25% of imprisoned men in England are fathers (Clark et al, 2005). The social impact of children whose parents serve prison terms, (which include family ties loss, environment disruption, poverty, stigmatization, poor health and the lack of support mechanism for these children) increases the risks of juvenile delinquencies and poor interpersonal relationships. The number of children separated from their fathers is far much greater than that separated from their mothers due to the fact that a majority of prisoners are men. The (criminal justice) system and correction facilities fail in caring for these children. Lack of positive parenting by their fathers in prisons weakens family bonds as there is no support program directed at this group (Festen et al, 2002). These children face increased obstacles to family contact with imprisoned fathers mainly due to geographical distances, transportation, and lack of financial resources. The lack of parent-child relationships, during imprisonments, denies these children the emotional and social support from their fathers. Harsh and disrespectful treatment by correction agents aggravates the situation. The children face disengagement from their fathers in prison. Sometimes government agencies give up these children for adoption, and this effectively hinders the social rehabilitation of this men. The children develop psychological problems, which cause the increase in truancy, delinquency, eating, and sleeping disorders in children increasing the social problems for these children that include lack of education and adequate health care and drug abuse (Murray, 2005). The unreformed and frustrated fathers lack any meaningful reason to reform and end up re-offending thus becoming perpetual jail birds. On the other hand, their children especially boys will have higher chances of committing offences that will make them end up in jail precipitating the already dire situation of the prison services. The rise in the number of people serving prison sentences has led to overcrowding that expose the prisoners to severe social and health problems, which reduce the effectiveness of the punishment program. It is true to say that the justice and the prison system have failed in their inherent duty of correction because of the high rates of re-offending. Overcrowding reduces the effectiveness of rehabilitative services and increases social exclusion of prisoners. Criminal justice should focus more on rehabilitation of the prisoners for the effective reintegration of prisoners back into the social order and remain crime free for the rest of their lives. Rehabilitation involves various programs that can include anger management, educational programs, and drug rehabilitation programs. The participation of purposeful activity is highly important for all prisoners and is essential in successful reintroduction of the male prisoners in the society. Currently, overcrowding has limited time and resources necessary to offer all prisoners these chances and majority spend all their time locked up in their cells with very little time for exercises or association. This has severe mental and psychological effects on the male prisoners and most develop depression and other personality disorders. The lack of these services means that they get no meaningful vocational training and education, and hence will have to start afresh when released. Majority of imprisoned men will lose their families, their jobs, and homes. Without any gains from prison and minimal chances of securing a job, they will automatically resort to crime as evidenced by the high rates of re-offending. The system has failed in reintegrating these men into the society, leading to loss of taxpayers’ money in their imprisonment as the custodial sentences are ineffective in reducing the crime rates. Custodial sentences increase the social exclusion of prisoners making them excellent candidates for re-offending. Overcrowding in England prisoners necessitates the housing of more than one prisoner in the designed one person cells. This exposes the prisoners to many forms of harassment and exploitation. First time male convicts in UK prisons are prone to sexual assault and rape that go unreported and untreated because of fear, shame and lack of adequate resources for the prisons authorities to deal with sexually related offences (Banbury, 2004). The lack of psychological and medical interventions for these male prisoners resulted in increased drug use and suicide attempts, anger and aggression (Banbury 2004). These experiences increase existing psychological problems, and they may perpetuate offending behaviour, which ultimately will lead to persistent convictions and jailing for these abused men. Overcrowding leads to increased drug and substance abuse by male prisoners as a means of escaping the unbearable conditions in prisons and majority become addicted to these drugs compromising their general health and sexual health (Roberts, 2003). This increases the likelihood of unprotected sex, which increases the sexually transmitted infections prevalence, which is higher for men (Mason et al, 1997). This is especially common for vulnerable and dependent men. Sharing of drug paraphernalia especially needles and syringes further compromises their health. With a compromised health, there is no turning back, and these people become major drug users due to low esteem and confidence issues. Drug users are habitual offenders, and this happens chiefly because of the failure of the justice systems to effectively provide conditions necessary for rehabilitation. Prisons are not safe, and many men join criminal gangs and other groups for their own protection and when out; they automatically join these criminal groups increasing their chances of imprisonment. Prison authorities respond to this problem through drug rehabilitation and drug treatment services. This strategy is effective, and successful candidates for these programs have reduced re-offending rates. However, these programs can fail when overcrowding and other circumstances forces the transfer of prisoners. Short sentences also hamper the effectiveness of this program. In short, to curb the rising number of male prisoners, the government needs to come up with astute policies to combat drug and substance abuse in prison and in the society. This is because many people commit crimes under motivation to get funds to purchase drugs. Drug intoxication will also result in individuals committing criminal activities. The existing services are ineffective and hence there are higher rates of reuse of hard drugs and reconviction for male drug users. The government, prison service and the judiciary should immediately institute effective measures to increase the capacity of the criminal justice system to rehabilitate and correct male prisoners and reduce re-offending rates. There needs to be a change in the sentencing framework for all prisoners with special attention paid to foreigners and black and ethnic minority groups. This will help reduce the large number of black and ethnic minority groups in England prisons. In place of short custodial sentences, the courts should include deferred sentences, community sentences, and fines in the punishment of low risk offenders. They should also adopt multi agency approach to manage male prisoners when in prison and once they are through with their jail sentence. Increased opportunities should be availed for this people to develop and strengthen family bonds with their children and families, which can increase their willingness and purposefulness to reform. The prison authorities should cater for the diverse needs of all types of prisoners especially the aged, minority groups and vulnerable persons who are prone to sexual exploitation and drug abuse. Upon release, male prisoners should be provided with viable forms of employment and housing, which can trim down the need to carry out illicit activities. This can be done through the development of integrated education, training, and provision of employment opportunities once the male prisoners leave jail. The standards of education offered in prison should match up with the current market needs, and with adequate liaisons, with employers and community groups, this can reduce the number of men imprisoned. The needs of children whose parents are serving a jail term should be catered for through adequate information collection, and they should be offered the necessary support to continue with their education and develop strong relationships with their imprisoned fathers. This will help reduce the development of child truancy and delinquency, which increased their chances of committing crimes that require imprisonment. The government and prison services should allocate adequate resources for construction of secure prisons establishment and employment of adequate and qualified staff to run the prison establishments. This would reduce the negative effects of overcrowding that result in increased drug abuse, sexual crimes, and psychological and mental problems for most prisoners. The counselling and drug treatment departments should be strengthened to cater for all drug abusers passing through the justice criminal system. Bibliography Banbury, S., 2004. ‘Coercive Sexual Behaviour In British Prisons As Reported By Adult Ex-Prisoners’, Howard Journal, 43, 113–30. Clarke, et al,, 2005. Fathering behind bars in English prisons: imprisoned fathers’ identity and contact with their children (Men’s Studies Press) p. 2 College of Psychiatrists. 2007. Prison Psychiatry: Adult Prisons in England and Wales: College Report CR141 Fazel, et al.,2001. Hidden Psychiatric Morbidity in Elderly Prisoners. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 535–539. Festen, et al., 2002. In Herman-Stahl, Kan & McKay (2008) Incarceration and the Family; A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families (RTI International for the USA Department of Health and Human Services) pp. 1-3 Gavin, B., 2012. Prison Population Statistics, SN/SG/4334.[Online] Available at www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN04334.pdf [Accessed 05/11/2012] Home Office,2004. Population in Custody Quarterly Brief, January to March 2004 (2004) Mason, et al., 1997. Substance Misuse in Remand Prisoners: A Consecutive Case Study, British Medical Journal, 315, 18–21. Murray, J., 2005. ‘The Effects of Imprisonment on Families and Children of Prisoners’ In Liebling, A. &Shadd, M. (2006) The Effects of Imprisonment (Willan Publishing) Roberts, C.J., 2003. ‘They Will Cheat and They Will Lie . . .’’: Power, Control and the Provision of Sexual Healthcare Services to Inmates within the Prison System’. London: unpublished. Walmsley, R., 2004 .World Prison Population List, Findings 234, London: Home Office RDS Directorate Read More