How to Avoid the Overcrowding of Prisons - Term Paper Example

How to Avoid the Overcrowding of Prisons by Implementing Additional Diversion Programs Introduction Prison overcrowding is a main cause to problems counting: increased level of conflict and violent behavior, inmate and staff health and wellbeing issues, reduced staff morale, and failure of rehabilitation contributing to increased re-offending. Any crime done by an individual usually requires punishment, something done through the legal process. The punishment offered to a criminal inflicts pain because of the offense as well as preventing further offenses from the same individual. In America, corrections given to offenders are constitutional and therefore very frequent. This is achieved through numerous community and institutional sanctions to make sure no future offenses committed. The correction processes are usually significant and are applied for four major purposes: retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence and incapacitation. In this paper, we will explore how the application of different programs helps to avoid overcrowding in prisons in the United States. Subject of the Problems with Overcrowding Prisons Correctional facilities are necessary in ensuring that the people who have done something wrong in the society have been corrected and made better people for the society (Nilsson 61). There are several reasons for the use of diversion including reducing the stigma of incarceration, the expense, and the perception of the general population, as well as providing a better chance at rehabilitation. Most remarkably, this forms a benchmark from where all the inmates are rehabilitated and sent back to the community help to reduce overcrowding in prison facilities. There are two types of diversion: conditional diversion and unconditional diversion (Borzycki 38). Conditional diversion would have the charges dropped, but the offender must meet certain conditions such as counseling. Unconditional diversion is the complete termination of any criminal processing before adjudication. This would also carry no threat of later prosecution. The services offered for an unconditional diversion are the same as conditional, but they are completely voluntary (Gable 21). However, each of these conditions has a number of problems as well as advantages, and the reason one diversion should be favored for effectiveness in terms of costs and success in dealing with the people. In that case, since all these approaches have a number of factors which define them, the conditional diversion appears to have a number of benefits as compared with unconditional diversion. Current Diversion Programs Problems The first program to look at is conditional diversion. With the kind of correctional option which has been adopted, the process should be able to give good results so that the society has been in peace. In that case, the conditional diversion has an advantage due to the fact that it brings in the element of counseling to the criminal who is under the correctional process (Rakis 8). This brings in the element of convenience with the process since the correctional performance is able to bring about fruits in correcting the individuals. As well, the process can be cost effective since no much cost should be incurred with the counseling process. In that case, the approach does not engage much of the prosecution processes, and this means that the costs of engagement and law have been reduced. As well, when the charges have been dropped, this gives hopes on the individuals and increases the achievement or realization of the motives of the judicial system and the correction of the individual. The offender is usually required to meet some major conditions, and this process ensures that there has been success in achieving the ultimate results (Borzycki 59). Majority of the correctional facilities have been able to adopt this method since it has been seen to be much effective, efficient and able to reform the individuals. On the other hand, the unconditional diversion might be cost effective, but on the contrary it fails to meet the transformation on the individual who has been put on correction. This single fact thus makes the process not commonly adopted in different parts of the world. The process should be able to arrive to the correction while incurring the least of expenses (Rakis 10). In that case, this form of diversion has been an important piece of adoption in correcting individuals. Basically, such correctional options are important in dealing with people who have broken the law and who can be reformed through such programs (Gable 23). This has been acknowledged as an approach which helps in the reduction of expenses and in the long run being able to deliver correction on the members of the public other than subjecting into complex judicial systems which might be more demanding and time wasting, and in the very end fail to deliver the anticipated correction on the individual. Another important program is that there should be better law procedures which should be undertaken against individuals who have been noted to commit offense again after they have been reintegrated into the society (Nilsson 75). This should be done in a manner in which would integrate both the individuals and the entire society. As well, some individuals have been noted to have mental imbalances and therefore it should be necessary that appropriate intervention so that the follow-up problems can addressed (Borzycki 79). This would ensure that the ex-offenders are correctly re-integrated back into the community and by so doing eliminating the large number of inmates in prison facilities. Solutions for the Problems with the Current Diversion Programs Future recommendations are that there should be sensitization of different individuals in the societies so that they can be able to accept the individuals back into the society towards overall commitment and understanding. As well, there should be prolonged counseling and appropriate therapies in ensuring that offenders are given psychological interventions and guidance so that they can have better lives into the future days (Prison Fellowship International 1). From the data that has just been realized, it should be noted that different individuals who had been traumatized by the assault should be keenly advised and counseled. This will make offenders have peace back in the society, keep away from committing the same mistakes thus; help manage overcrowding in prison facilities. From the study, a number of limitations have been noted with the study. For one, a number of individuals have remained impervious and their argument has been that there is nothing that can make them accept the re-integrated individual into the society (Gable 25). Due to this kind of a stand, it shall be noted that majority of the individuals were never willing to give their information hence bringing a very big limitation on the study. Another limitations is that majority of the ex-offenders and victims of sexual assault are never willing to give out their information due to trauma and a grim remembrance of whatever happened earlier hence undermining the quality of data that was being searched. Lack of appropriate time and enough finances brought a very big limitation towards the study. This has brought out the necessity of coming up with a recommendations of having future researches allocated much money and time so as to come up with appropriate data and discussions (Rakis 11). This would ensure that all strategies are done accordingly and appropriately towards ensuring that all the ex-offenders have been properly rehabilitated and as well making them useful individuals in the community into which they have been re-introduced. Implementing extra diversion programs helps to minimize overcrowding in prison facilities. Unquestionably, reducing idleness should be encouraged towards reducing overcrowding in prison facilities. Idleness among inmates is reduced through increasing chances for sports, exercise, religious and cultural activities. The conclusion is that there should be proper monitoring of the individuals being rehabilitated and then be keenly re-integrated into the society once they have been certainly believed to have been reformed. This would help reduce the problems and chances of sexual offenses by a very big margin. Conclusion Prison overcrowding is a deep-rooted issue and solutions call for watchful work and tough political determination. Some of the imaginative programs put into consideration to solve this problem revolve around the following. Mobile judges move to prison facilities to hold court trials (Prison Fellowship International 1). In one way or the other, this helps to lessen the figure of remand inmates. Judges make use of community service and probation as a substitute to prison. This serves as a form of rehabilitation, seeing that offenders are not punished but given restrictions in their own home areas. Most remarkably, legislators implement judgment reforms in order to reduce the duration of sentences given to the inmate. It is worth noting that overcrowding can be dealt with in different ways in prisons. This largely depends with the region or state where the prison facility is located and the laws used in the region. Works Cited Borzycki, Makkai. Prisoner reintegration Post-release. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology Press. 2007. Print. Gable, Gable. ‘Electronic Monitoring: Positive Intervention Strategies.’ Federal Probation, 69.1(2005), 11-25. Nilsson, Anderson. ‘Living Conditions, Social Exclusion, and Recidivism among Prison Inmates.’ Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 4.1(2003), 57-83. Print. Prison Fellowship International. Improving Conditions in Overcrowded Prisons. Retrieved: http://www.pfi.org/cjr/downloads/ten-keys-to-improving-conditions-in-overcrowded-prisons Rakis, Joseph ‘Improving the Employment Rates of Ex-Prisoners Under Parole.’ Federal Probation, 69.1(2005), 7-12. Read More