The Purpose of Prison

The Purpose of Prison Not everyone is model citizens within a society. Individuals cheat people out of money, murder, rob, and rape others within society. When people commit crime against others and not stay within the law they must be punished. This research paper will discuss the purposes for prisons, and analyze conditions of prison. There are programs in prison and out of prison to try to reduce an individual from returning to prison.

The ultimate goal is to teach an individual right from wrong and rehabilitate an offender back into society, another goal of prison is to incapacitate the individual so they cannot hurt anyone. The purpose of prison is to punish wrongdoings considered not within the normal spectrum of society and the law. When someone breaks the laws outlined by state and government legislation, they are arrested or detained then they go to court. The judge hears both sides the case by the defendant, State, or plaintiff.

The judge then decides what the punishment will be for the offender, and how long their sentence will be. The judge also decides what will be the course of action depending on repeat offending, and the nature of the crime. If there was not punishment an individual would continue to cause crime, and the severity of the crime could get worse. The laws set by government and state legislation are designed to protect people within society and all communities. There has to be laws set as a guideline or people would do whatever they want, and the United States and world countries would be in chaos.

There are jails and prisons in other countries also, and each country and providence has their own laws to govern the people by. The conditions in the US prisons are by far better than any other country. In the US, prisons are run by a warden and corrections officers. The corrections officers watch over the inmates and maintain control. There are other designs of prisons “where more remote supervision is maintained, and a more indirect approach is accomplished. The disadvantage is limited contact and the inability to communicate issues that develop” (Seiter 2011, p. 89).

The direct approach is the model that most prisons use, which requires staff to continually watch over inmates and communicate with them about different issues they may be having. In a modern prison there are specific times when inmates eat in a common area or mess hall much like a school, but with more rules and regulations. There is laundry facilities in a prison, where most inmates take turns doing their laundry at designated times. Each prisoner has specific jobs that they are responsible for. The jobs prisoners are allowed to do reflect what certain skills they possess.

The certain jobs within the prison that the inmates are responsible for are overseen by a supervisor, and the money made by making license plates or silk-screening shirts help fund the prison. “In many ways a prison is like a small city, requiring many of the same services and employees. Just like cities, prisons have schools, lodging accommodations, jails, eating establishments, convenience stores, places of worship, recreation facilities, sewer/sanitation/Street service departments, facility and vehicle maintenance departments, and barbershops just name a few” (Seiter 2011, p. 383). A prison has to be fairly self-sustaining and able to provide for themselves in most situations” (Seiter 2011, p. 383).

In a Texas prison “Textile operations remain a big part of prison jobs today. Inmates grow and harvest cotton, then spin and weave it into fabric for use in prison clothing, which they sew. Prisoners each month make 110,000 towels, 120,000 pairs of socks, 85,000 shirts and pants, and 75,000 pairs of underwear. Prison officials say the cost of inmate clothing purchased through a vendor is $7 to $10; making the same clothing in-house costs about $5 (Turner 2012).

A prison and jail where prisoners are incarcerated is relatively clean, is free from insects and rodent infestation. Prisons in other countries have deplorable conditions many prisons in other countries have a lack of water, food, clothing, medication, soap, toothpaste, and unclean conditions in every way. I feel the U. S. have the best conditions for prisons than anywhere in the world. “In other countries an offender may not go to trial for over three years” (Young 2009). Educational programs are implemented into prison to reduce or completely stop recidivism.

These programs work if the individual is willing. “One of the possible explanations the program might not work is that while the programs can teach the skills necessary for employment, they cannot teach the attitudes necessary for successful employment” (Pollock 2006). Even though an individual possess and have been taught the skill required by certain jobs it is up to the individual to change their life for the better. There would not even be a chance if these programs were not in place, and there would be more repeat offenders returning back to jail and prison.

There have been more favorable results when individuals enter into college programs, but an individual has to go through the general education program or possess a G. E. D before going forward into a college program. Those that “completed the community college program were found to have a 26. 4% recidivism rate, while a similar group of non-college graduates were found to have a recidivism rate of 44. 6%” (Pollock, p. 150). The public in society have a problem with prisoners getting a college education, when their tax dollars go to fund these programs when many parents struggle to pay for their children’s higher education.

Prisoners should have to pay for their own education, and there should be a screening process so it is not wasted time. There are other rehabilitative programs in prison that lead to a prisoner’s reentry into society. There are work programs within the prison, these programs help a prisoner gain particular skills that would be helpful after release and their sentence has been served. The job programs have a lot of purpose they bring in revenue for the prison, teach new skills to the prisoners, and keep the prisoners busy during the day.

Education programs are used as a rehabilitation tool, which allows prisoners to gain knowledge of the outside world they may not know about. Education also prepares an offender and gives them skills to succeed in society. Drug treatment programs are in place to reduce recidivism and help in rehabilitation, many offenders are in prison because of drugs and possession of controlled substances. “The basic belief is that successes of these programs depend critically on matching specific inmates needs to programs as well as having programs with treatment integrity” (Raphael & Stoll 2009, 129).

There is strong belief that drug treatment programs help offenders and have more of an impact than job skills or job-training programs because the drugs is what landed many offenders in prison in the first place. These programs help an offender see the need for change, and identify what needs to change. Prison is a punishment for an offender that have caused crime against society, and prison it is not meant to be a pleasant experience in order to instill a deterrence so the offender does not cause more crime, and will make better life choices so they do not return.

Criminals think the longer they get away with causing crime the less likely they will get caught, the truth of the matter is eventually these individuals will get caught and will be arrested. When others see or hear about what sentence an offender received can act as deterrence for specific crimes. This is the reasoning for tougher laws and penalties so criminals are afraid to risk getting caught and are subsequently arrested for those crimes. Those that have been arrested and sentenced tend to not cause crime anymore because they do not want to go back to prison.

An offender in jail or prison have very few visits with family members, and cannot spend holidays at home with them so individuals that have family are less likely to offend and return to prison or jail than those that do not. “The existence of punishment serves to remind people that the commission of criminal offenses comes at a cost, for example arrest, conviction, and imprisonment (Raphael & Stoll 2009, p. 138) There are programs that help reintroduce an offender back into society. This paper has named a few already like vocational training, educational programs, and learning work skills.

There are work release programs that let an offender work and return back to jail or prison in order to build trust. Parole and halfway houses help protect people in society because the offender is not just released back into society, they are watched and monitored regularly to make sure the offender continues on the right path. “The US Department of Justice reports that, of the more than 519,200 parolees discharged from supervision in 2006, 44% has successfully met the conditions of their supervision, and 39% have been returned to incarceration because of either rule violations or a new offense” (Seiter 2011, p. 96). Halfway houses, house individuals that have been released from prison that may not have family, and is easier for a parole officer to visit one place then go all over the city to look up addresses. This type of setting house individuals together so they are not influenced by outside interference that may trigger responses that could make the individual become a repeat offender. Halfway houses are designed for substance abusers, and mental patients, which provide rehabilitation outside a facility to help them so there is less influence for the offender.

House arrest is sometimes an option of going to jail or prison, and reduces overcrowding of the prison system. “Putting nonviolent criminals in jail adds to the social problems and costs of the state. It damages families and their ability to support themselves, and it makes it harder for convicts to return to the work force once they are released” (Make room behind bars 2010). An electronic ankle bracelet is placed on the offender for monitoring; this allows the offender to be imprisoned at their home, and limits how far they can go from their property.

House arrest has the potential benefits for being economical, imposing severe restrictions on the offender’s freedom and opportunity to commit crimes, and allowing for participation in community-based treatment programs” (Seiter 2011, p. 124). Electronic monitored house arrest gives the offender the option to not be processed into a detention facility, but violation of the conditions of house arrest will send the offender back to court where a judge could sentence an offender to a physical jail or prison.

A suspended sentence or split sentence is used for an offender that needs to be punished but the offense is not serious enough to give them the full sentence. Many years ago I was put on probation and was given a suspended sentence. I was sentenced to jail for 90 days all suspended the 5 days, if I did not comply with my probation conditions I would have to serve the other 85 days. I was working a full-time job; I told my employer what I had to be gone from work for. My employer understood, and I was allowed to go to jail on a Saturday morning and serve my sentence during the weekend.

I returned back to work Wednesday, it was inconvenient for all involved and I learned my lesson from it. I was also sentenced to two years unsupervised probation. I met all conditions of my probation and paid my fines early, allowing me to be released from probation early. My conviction resulted from a DUI, and I learned from the experience. It has been 19 years since I’ve had any legal trouble since this incident. The system worked for me, and has worked for many others. I did not want to return to jail so I did everything I could to make that not happen.

A diversion program is used for first-time offenders for minor offences and misdemeanors. This pretrial diversion allows for charges to be dropped by a judge if certain conditions are met, or if an individual completes a treatment program. “If offenders are charged with a nonviolent crime, have limited prior criminal record, and possibly have a treatment need, such as for drug or alcohol abuse, the pretrial staff are likely to recommend that the judge grant an offender the opportunity for diversion” (Seiter 2011, p. 41). I was granted a diversion when I was about to enter the U. S. Army, I got into trouble and was arrested for my first DUI.

My recruiting sergeant talked with the judge explained that I had been signed up for the Army and was just waiting to go to basic training; the judge and lawyer had mercy on me and give me a diversion program. I had to pay a $500 fine, and stay out of trouble. I did fine till I was released from the Army, then I got myself into trouble again with a second DUI because the first one came back on me. I had to go through the system all over again, this time with more fines, five days in jail, and two years’ probation. I had learned my lesson from all of that. A person can get themselves in some trouble quickly.

These experiences taught me a lot, and I did not want to go through the court system again. I have not been in trouble with the law for nearly 20 years, and I am trying to join and be a part of law enforcement by earning a bachelor’s degree. I hope these past experiences have not hurt my chances to work in law enforcement. It’s funny how time changes a person for the better. Incapacitation keeps offenders locked up so they cannot hurt anyone on the outside society.

If offenders have bad behavior in prison and continue to do so they are subject to remain incapacitated, their actions are a reflection of their future behaviors. Incapacitation serves to divert crimes by isolating the identified offenders during periods of incarceration” (Seiter 2011, p. 31). The selected individuals or prisoners that seem to not become rehabilitated will not pass a parole board because they are deemed dangerous and are very capable of future violent crime. There is argument that these violent offenders should be put to death by capital punishment, then they would not be able to hurt anyone again “offenders who commit murder have a very low rate of recidivism, and less than 1% later commit another murder” (Seiter 2011, p. 90).

Keeping a person in prison without parole also prevents that person from hurting another person, and does not involve executing the offender. When laws are broken, offenders need to be punished. The purpose of prison and jail is to punish offenders so when released they do not want to return back to prison. The goal of prison is to teach right from wrong and develop a mindset to not re-offend so it becomes deterrence for recidivism. Some prisoners are not released because they are a danger to themself and society, these individuals just cannot be trusted ever again.

Prisons house some of the most dangerous criminals that have killed others for the most minor offenses toward them, and many would do it again. These prisoners are incapacitated to protect society by keeping them locked up in a place where they cannot hurt anyone. This is the many purposes for prisons in the United States justice system.