The goal of incapacitation, or using prison (or some type of imprisonment) as a way to remove more offenders (or potential offenders) off the streets, exists conjointly with the outlook and ideologies of the Crime Control Model. Those following the philosophies of this model cite that the best way to protect the community is to remove offenders from public interaction, so incapacitation would best serve the needs of both the offender and society. Society benefits from the lessened potential of an offender committing further crimes against the law abiding, and the offender must deal only with the restraints defined under his sentencing, and not further punishment (such as retribution). With the goal of incapacitation looming, it is easier to quickly and efficiently push offenders through and standardized criminal justice system without much thought for the outcomes for the individual. Citing the goal of incapacitation also provides more validity for the discretion of law enforcement officials, especially when making arrests or detaining parties.…
Every civilized society has to determine the best way to handle criminal activity. Some theories focus on what to do after crimes have been committed. Other theories focus on preventive measures to stop people from becoming criminals in the first place. So-called Three Strikes laws have been enacted across the country, and in federal law, to address repeat offenders. Although law enforcement touts the success of such laws, they have created undesirable results, including disproportionately oppressing minorities and those who suffer from mental illness.…
In recent discussions of the jail system, a controversial issue has been whether incarceration has helped contribute to the efforts of decreasing crime On the one hand, some argue that mass incarceration is a horrible failure. On the other hand, however, others argue that incarceration brings crime down. In sum, then, the issue is whether mass incarceration is the solution to lowering the crime rate or not. Though many people assume that mass incarceration drops the crime rate, it still does not change how the same criminals that are incarcerated are being released from jail committing the same crimes over and over making it almost impossible to drop the crime rate.…
Pager’s (2003) American Journal of Sociology article characterizes mass incarceration as the steady increase in U.S inmates, for increasing reasons coupled with increased sentences. The American Civil Liberties Union’s (2016) article, “What’s at Stake” juxtaposes America’s most famous theme, “Home of the Free” to the current state of mass incarceration experienced in the African American community. African Americans only comprise 13% of the United States population, yet they account for 40% of the prison population (United States Census, 2015). Additionally, one in every fifteen African American men are imprisoned when compared to only one in every one hundred and six white men (United States Census, 2015). The American Journal of Public Health reports startling Bureau of Justice statistics which estimate the incarceration rate among African American males is approximately 95% in Washington D.C.…
Mass Incarceration After the thirteenth amendment was passed in 1865 abolishing slavery, racial tension was still at an all-time high. The idea that white people were still superior to any other race specifically African Americans, this made things even more difficult. Due to this racial tension Jim Crow laws were created.…
Today there is a misconception about mass incarceration being related to slavery, because of the systematic conception that it is a way to keep individuals deemed as a criminal away from the rest of society. Although, mass incarceration populates all misfits, there seems to be a severe injustice in the amount of African-Americans that are in our prison system. African-Americans make up 13 percent of the overall population; meanwhile, they account for 40 percent of the prison system (Khalek, 2011). For many years blacks have been treated as properties as they were captured and sold into slavery. Losing their freedom and dignity in a nation where they were only perceived as property.…
One crucial goal for ending mass incarceration should be ending the media’s criminalization of black youth. Many believe that the issue of mass incarceration is not an issue of systemic racism, but an issue of “black on black crime”: crime that occurs within black communities. Harvard professor Randall Kennedy writes that, “most crime is intra-racial, so black victims suffer disproportionately at the hands of black criminals” (Bibas). The belief that crime only exists within black communities between black men reinforces the stereotype that black men are criminals by nature. Black men have been stigmatized as criminals ever since the early days of American history.…
There has been a widely talked about debate in the United States centering around the incarceration problem. The budget has been farmost the most talked issue including the quality of life for the inmates. Two theories have been specifically been discussed: rehabilitation and deterrence. Deterrence has been the leading theory for the twenty years, in the past decade some views have been shifted to rehabilitation. Evidence from the Department of Justice have backed these claims with shifting towards rehabilitation.…
Another factor taking control over the effect of deterrence is the lack of knowledge. Individuals are not aware of the exact punishment when committing a crime. Finally, prison has becoming less stigmatizing leading to less of a deterrent effect. Individuals are failing to see prison as a harsh place to be (O’Brien Lecture). Closely relating to deterrence, incapacitation is also an ineffective way to handle the growing crime…
In the PBS film Prison State, filmmakers follow the lives of four individuals throughout incarceration in the Kentucky Criminal Justice system, as well as efforts made to reform the system and the effect on inmates. They also studied the impact of criminalization of Juveniles for minor crimes, and the incarceration of the mentally ill and drug addicted. Among the many staggering statistics revealed on the Kentucky Criminal Justice System in the film, was the amount spent on housing the growing inmate population. According to the film, the state of Kentucky’s spending jumped by 220%, about half a billion dollars, in housing inmates between 1999 and 2010.…
The previously discussed ideologies had several problems with the effects that they caused. The current correctional practices have problems that have caused the desire for crime prevention to become prevalent. “Almost all offenders are eventually released, however, and the problem returns unless it has been effectively treated while the offender was in prison” (Allen 57). The logic behind crime prevention is clear. Preventing crime is to prevent everything that follows the crime as well.…
In the last 40 years, incarceration in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world; we hold 5% of the world’s population, but house 25% of the world’s prisoners (Kelly 2015). The use of incarceration has gradually become a more acceptable and more used form of punishment. As a result, our prison population is overflowing with offenders ranging from petty theft criminals to violent offenders. As cited in the textbook, purposes of our justice system should be retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation, (Clear, Reisig, & Cole 2016, p.72-73) but we focus far too much on punishment first and rehabilitation second, if ever.…
Tertiary prevention focuses on the offender after crime has happen, with the main focus being on deterrence and rehabilitation to prevent from re-offending. Tertiary prevention reduces the recidivism rate and insures that appropriate steps are taken so that the victim is not re-victimized. In the United States the primary form of tertiary prevention is incapacitation. Tertiary prevention does not stop criminals from committing crimes after their release but protects the population from victimization of criminals. Specific deterrence is achieved by instilling fear into individuals that are being punished with the prevention of the individual from future violations of the law.…
I think the severity of the crime determines the punishment. In most cases people will go to a mental illness facility if they have already been pre-diagnosed prior to committing the crime. Some prisons actually have a mental health component within the prisons. I think the criminals will have to get their mental health treatment under control and then go to prison. For an example; just be a kid is riding in a wheel chair doesn't mean you can't attend classes that are being held on the 5th floor; kids in wheel chair have to use the resources provided and no excuses are to be made.…
Alternatives to Imprisonment There have been many people who have come forward and advocated for the fact that not every criminal needs to be thrown in prison. The reasons why people feel this way I believe are pretty clear. The biggest reason being the fact that money has to be sent in order to keep these people alive and when I say money; I mean a lot of money. There are states that are currently spending more money on prisoners rather than on children’s education. In a New York Times article, a study done by the Independent Budget Office showed that New York City spent on average $167,731 per inmate in 2012.…