Controlling Crime in the USA - Essay Example

Controlling Crime security is one of the main agenda of the US government. The population in prisons is rising. This is an indication that not only are the taxpayers bearing a heavier burden but also, their lives and property are facing increasing risks of criminal activities. The four main types of crimes that need to be controlled are, violent crimes committed against the citizens or foreigners, non-violent crimes committed against citizens and personal property, and white collar crimes. A combination of enforcement and non-enforcement strategies need to be used for effective control of crime. There are four legal departments with different roles yet with one goal of controlling crime. Departments substantial in controlling crime The four departments that are most essential in controlling crimes are the corrections system, the legal system, law enforcement agencies and the judicial system. The criminal justice system includes practices and government institutions, whose functions are to uphold social control, control and mitigate crime, and sanction violators of the law with criminal penalties and rehabilitation. This system empowers police to use force and other types of legal coercion to bring social and public order into effect. This includes arresting all criminals or suspects of crimes. The main role of the judicial system is to give sentences to convicted offenders depending on the nature and severity of the crimes they committed. Financial penalties for convicted criminals are also instituted by the justice system. The legal system consists of courts equipped with professionals who are knowledgeable in the law for example judges, defense attorney and prosecutor. Their function is to administer legal proceedings and give a final court decision on the case. This includes jail or prison and probation terms, and fines. According to Schanzenbach and Yeager (2006), these convicted individuals are ordered give restitution to the individual or organizations the crime was committed against and pay fine to the justice system. Fines can also accompany prison sentences. The correctional system consists of a number of correctional centers where offenders are taken after convictions. They serve as detention places for criminals. This puts them away from the rest of the population. In this way they are not in a position to perpetrate crimes. In these correction centers, punishment is used as a negative reinforcement for their offenses. While on their stay in correctional centers, the criminals go through several reform programs which are meant to transform their behaviors, perceptions and attitudes. These are meant reduce their rate of re-offending by coming up with a reformed person. These include rehabilitation and treatment. For example, treatment from the effects and addiction to drugs. The role of the law enforcement in crime control is to ensure the enforcement of the laws. In the US, it has the federal, county, village, state, tribal and special law enforcement agencies. Capital punishment is used in cases of serious and brutal crimes. Crimes subject to capital punishment differ from state to state. The most common are treason, high grade murder and many crimes that lead to mass death. The maximum sentence awarded for a criminal offender in the US is an execution. Some states still accept death penalty others do not. If the offender deserves a death penalty, the judge must select a state with a death penalty to enforce the execution. The standard method of execution is lethal injection. Table.1 indicates the most recent executions in the US (Schanzenbach and Yeager, 2006). Behind the bars Convicted criminals are put in prisons for varied times depending on their crimes. This is used as a way of making them pay the society for what they committed. Life imprisonment is the heaviest of these. The offender is not given any chance for release upon conviction. It is used for those convicted of most serious crimes yet which do not deserve an execution. The role of incineration as a crime control method is debatable. Incineration of dangerous criminals has been credited in some cases of decrease in crime. However, increasing the rates of incineration to include low-level crimes and non-violent drug offenses leads to diminished returns. It also presents a negative benefit-to-cost ratio. The US records a higher rate of incineration rate in the world. In 2009, this rate stood at 748 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. In June the same year, 9[update], 2,297,400 offenders were incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails (US Department of Justice-Federal Bureau of Investigation 2009). According to the 2006 Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP), the number of young offenders held in juvenile facilities in 2006 was 92,854. Upon the release of an offender, an additional probation time is added by the court. This is done to ensure the offender fully repays the society what they have done (Kepos, 2007). According to Schanzenbach and Tiller (2006), analysts have concluded that increased incineration will prevent lesser crimes while presenting greater costs to the taxpayers. According to Prison Count (2010), the trends of admission to prison in the US declined for the first time in 38 years in 2009. However, the rates of decline differ from one state to the other including the driving factors. The reduction in prison admission was recorded in 26 states including states that are tough in crimes like South Carolina, Texas and Mississippi. These states have enacted reforms to reduce the highly increasing prison populations. There is a possibility that this trend will continue in some of the states. Alternative punishment and rehabilitation The power of ‘behind the bars’ is far from being an effective tool in criminal control. This is evidenced by the large number of people being admitted to the prisons across the state. Even when serious criminal are locked up, finally they complete their terms and are back into the society. This calls for the adoption of alternative strategies of controlling crimes. These strategies are those that help to prevent crimes from taking place without putting people under the fear or the power of enforcement. Rehabilitation programs aim at developing a transformed people that are less motivated to orient their lives towards criminal activities. They also help reduce the rates of re-offense among offenders as an effective way of controlling crime. There are alternative forms of punishment are applied outside prison. These include probation and house arrest. These are sanctions that limit the offender’s mobility and their opportunities of committing crimes. Only offenders of less serious crimes are sentenced to probation for some specified time. In this form of punishment, the offender regularly meets with justice officials to ensure that the offender follows guidelines appointed by the court. Those who do not stick to the guidelines are imprisoned for the sentence period. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) 7,225,800 were on probation in 2009. The correctional centers present various modes of rehabilitation as a criminal control strategy. They are aimed at reducing the rates of re-offense. These include prisoner education, training and employment. This is a strategy that has been adopted in order to reduce the rates of re-offense by removing the causative or triggering factor. It has been widely noted that most of the offenders face some disadvantageous situations in their lives. Examples include joblessness, homelessness, discrimination, mental health and lack of adequate education. These disadvantageous situations act as a trigger or causative factor to rime to crime. There are high rates of offense among individuals facing such situations compare to their counterparts who have jobs, are rich, have homes and high levels of education (Kushel et al, 2005). In the prison, education and training is offered to the inmates. Various levels of education are offered to correspond to the varied literacy levels. However, this education has to be that which can satisfactorily enable the learner gain some skills and knowledge necessary for employment. It should also be effective in integrating young offenders back to the mainstream education system upon their release without much difficulty. This will help to reduce school drop among former young offenders. School drop out is one of the factors that trigger increased crimes rates. This is because such youths turn themselves into full-time criminals. Education and training is an effective in approach in removing the low self-esteem faced by prisoners with low literacy levels and those who lack any relevant skills. Their low esteem may cause them to express their bitterness over their situation through criminal activities. They take vengeance over the society as a general. Acquisition of quality education makes the prisoners form a different perspective of themselves and the society. It makes them realize that the state and its people are supportive to them instead of condemning them. The model of prison education should be flexible. It should allow a curriculum that is less academically oriented. This is important because most of the prisoners have records of low academic performance. This education should therefore adapt to their individual needs and abilities. The offenders should be taken through a thorough educational and mental assessment immediately they are admitted. This will help the prison teaching and staff to come up with an individual file for each learner. This file indicates their literacy and aptitude levels, challenges presented and the best approach to be used for them to attain a substantial education progress within their term (Evans, 2009). Training in prison also plays an important role in controlling crime. The training offered should be of high quality skills required by most employers. An employment model should also be developed by each prison. This is meant to link prisoners with employers prior to or just after their release. Prisoners will be more motivated to orient their minds away from crime if they know that a job is waiting for them upon release. It will also motivate them to enroll for the prison education and training. Inmates who perform extremely well should be give scholarships for further education or training immediately upon release. Such a strategy will create a society that is accepting to the released offenders instead of just bearing with them. Treatment from the effects and addiction to drugs is important. This reduces the rates of drug-related crimes. For example, crimes committed to get money to obtain drugs or crimes committed under drug influence. It also includes violence reported in the drug market. Strategic approaches It is of great importance to treat crime and criminals as an important issue that needs understanding and intervention. This calls the adoption of strategic approaches of handling this critical issue. These approaches should not condemn the offenders but purpose to help them by motivating them out of the situation. They should also reduce their chances of offending. The first is a strategic approach to criminal gangs. A three-step model should be used in order to understand the causes, predisposing factors and benefits of gangs. It also presents alternatives to gang involvement for those who renounce their participation. In the three-step model, the first phase is called ‘before’. During this phase, the youth and other people are assessed to determine factors that predispose them to criminal activities and joining a gang. This will give a list of predisposing factors which could include discrimination, low literacy levels, unemployment, lack of proper parental guide and homelessness. Strategies are then put in place to deal with these trigger factors. The second phase is the period is the ‘during’ stage. The activities they engage in and what facilitates their success are noted. Factors that may keep them going or cause them to quit the gang should also be noted. Information from stage two gives a roadmap on how to counter such crimes and present situations that can cause them to quit the gang. The third stage in the three-step model is called ‘after’. This is when the individual has pulled out of the criminal gang. Information to be collected includes the benefits offered by the criminal activities and the gang to its members to them. The person is given a range of options that can be offered to them so that they can get similar benefits or at least some substantial benefits. For example, education, training, employment or a home. This will motivate them to keep away from crime and take the option of a good financial source (Vratil and Whitmire, 2008). Strategic approach to recidivism is also very crucial. Whenever recidivism occurs, a risk assessment should be done to the re-offenders. This will help to determine their offense driving factors. This information will then be used determine the best mitigation strategy for such a behavior in the individual. This could include mental treatment, rehabilitation fro drug addiction, provision of a home employment and education. Full reinstitution of parole is another good strategic approach in controlling crimes. The removal of parole and lengthy sentences as a strategy of reducing prison population has turned out to act in the reverse. Cases of recidivism have increased. The released offenders return due to committing new or similar crimes. Through paroles, the state will be able to appropriately evaluate all individuals before their official release. This supervised release is used as a risk assessment to determine their readiness and fitness. Those that are more likely to pose danger to the society upon their official release should be retained for additional shorter or longer periods. During this time, they should undergo proper guidance and assessment. Parole helps the offender to customize back to the society and the legal system while still under the authority of enforcement. This is because they are required to obey the law, keep away from drugs, alcohol and their victims, obtaining an employment and maintaining loyalty to the parole officer in terms of required contacts. Other strategic approaches that are preventive should be used. These include those that make the target place or place. An example of such an approach is tightening natural and technological surveillance. Places that are prone or at a higher risk of attacks should increase their levels of surveillance. Security in such places should also extend to entry restrictions where individuals are required to produce identifications. The times that such places face higher risks should be noted. It is at such times that security should be tightened even better. For example, in car parks, schools and business premises (Vratil and Whitmire, 2008). Such preventive strategies should be sufficient in making it hard for the potential crime to take place. It makes the crime to require more intelligent efforts for it to be successful. This will discourage the criminals from attempting crimes in such areas. They also include installation of alarms that will ensure a quick response to crimes whenever they take place. Quick response leads to the arrest of the offenders. This serves as a discouragement for a repeat of the same. Inter-judge disparities should be reduced to the greatest extend possible. This will help to avoid cases of capital offenders escaping to districts or states that offer lesser sentences for their crimes. However, the role of enforcement especially prisons should not be side lined. This is because not all offenders will react appreciatively to such approaches. Some may take advantage of these friendly approache to continue threatening public security. This calls for a throrough assessment of each indicidual to determine the most appropriate measure. Benefit of Controlling Crime Controlling crime will benefit the state, citizens and the offenders. Crimes present different consequences for each of these groups. For example loss of lives and property by citizens. Huge amounts of money are incurred in sustaining prison population. Money is needed for upgrading existing prison facilities so as to accommodate increasing population. Others are for building more efficient prisons with higher capability of securing inmates so as to sustain public safety. Larger amounts of money go to operating and maintaining these facilities. Some of the rights provided for inmates by the prison system must be paid for. These include education, training, counseling and rehabilitation, medical and dental services. The justice system has to pay workers who risk their lives to protect the public, for example the prison guards. All these present a heavy burden to the tax-payers. (Garland, 2002). To the offenders, control of crime will give them a new direction of life. A change of attitude towards criminals influences their attitude towards the society. It is high time that greater emphasis is placed on non-enforcement models of crime control including strategic crime control. The control of crime requires the co-operation of the law enforcement agencies, correctional, legal, and the judicial systems. It also requires the co-operation of the general public and the offenders by being responsive to non-enforcement approaches to the issue. Appendix Table 1. Most Recent Executions in the US. Method Date State Convict Electrocution March 18, 2010 Virginia Paul Powell Shooting June 18, 2010 Utah Ronald Lee Gardner Lethal gas March 3, 1999 Arizona Walter LaGrand Hanging January 25, 1996 Delaware William Bailey References Evans, M. (2009). Controlling Crime. Crime, Prisons, and Jails. Online. http://ic.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/Reference DetailsWindows? Viewed on 9th march, 2011 Prison Count. (2010). The PEW Center on the States. Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts. Schanzenbach, M. and Yeager, M. L. (2006). “Prison Time, Fines, and Federal White-Collar Criminals: The Anatomy of Racial Disparity.” Journal of criminal law & criminology. (96.2) pp 757-793. Schanzenbach, M., & Tiller, E.H. (2006). ‘Strategic Judging Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines: Positive Political Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization. (1). pp 24-55. U. S. Department of Justice-Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2009). Crime in the United States. Online: http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_html. Viewed on 9th march, 2011 Vratil, J. & Whitmire, J. (2008, March 20). “Cutting the Prison Rate Safely”. The Washington Post. Kepos, P. (2007). Crime, Prison and Jails. New York. Information Plus. Worrall, J. (2005) Crime Control in America: An Assessment of the Evidence. Texas, US. Allyn & Bacon Garland, D. (2002). “Of Crimes and Criminals” in Maguire, Mike, Rod Morgan, Robert Reiner. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (3rd ed). Oxford. Oxford University Press. Kushel, B. Hahn, A. and, Evans. J (2005). “Revolving doors: imprisonment amongst the homeless and marginally housed population.” American Journal of Public Health (95). pp1747–1752. Read More