Restorative Justice And Reducing Prison Population

Restorative Justice to Reduce Prison Population Is long-term incarceration working to resolve issues of criminal conduct? When considering the population of people incarcerated is rising at an alarming rate and crime statistics not dropping by much, it is hard to tell if incarceration is working in these modern times. The United States prison population is the largest in the world. In fact, the United States has 2.3 million persons in institutions which is more than the rest of the world combined (Wagner p. 2). Crime overall as decreased in the last 30 years with the introduction of rehabilitation programs but these programs are not universal. While serious crimes require serious punishment, most people that are incarcerated should be†¦show more content†¦Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is considered by many as insanity. All over the country new programs are being tried to slow or reduce the recidivism the system experiences. A program in Oklahoma City OK, has created the first m ental health court in the Southwest United States. Deborah Smith Bailey states in her article, The model has proven so successful that, since the nation s first drug court was established in 1989 in Miami, 946 drug courts have been implemented, and another 441 are in the planning stages, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals(Bailey p.6). I want to use stats like these to help show the real effect on the lives of people in the programs. According to Deborah Bailey, some of the ways these programs are getting funding currently are non-traditional. Funding is coming from the private sector because the public system is not completely on board with these programs at the present time and not as willing to experiment. The article ends speaking about how everyone is effected positively with these programs so far (Bailey p.28). These programs have started the conversation and will help build support for a universal model used by all communities just as theShow MoreRelatedRestorative Justice For The Prisons1378 Words   |  6 Pagesgot released from the prisons? And how many effective programs can be helpful for them?Many posts-release prisoners have experienced recidivism and social stigmas due to lack of programs. In fact, restorative justice for people in prison has played a big role in our correctional systems in many different ways.Restorative justice in prison shapes our prisoner s morals and abilities by providing a suitable technique. Although punishment may play a part in restorative justice techniques, the centralRead MoreThe Justification For Imprisonment781 Words   |  4 Pagesthat have been committed. Most of these methods have had severe pitfalls in the effort to reduce prison populations, ranging from corporal punishment, deterrence and incapacitation, restorative justice, rehabilitation and reform, to reintegration methods. In my mind, the most cost efficient and effective punishment for crimes that are not considered serious violent crimes would be the restorative justice, the rehabilitation and reform method, and teaching offenders affective reintegration skills. Read MoreThe Failing Punitive System Of Today s Society1298 Words   |  6 PagesInstitute of Technology, â€Å"The Price of Prisons†). With statistics that frightening, how can we be expected to treat criminals like functioning members of society when statistics prove otherwise? We must change the facts. Throug h the decrease of the maximum time in Solitary confinement, the creation of serious accountability for guards and those who work in the system, and through the creation of a more restorative program, we can improve our judicial branch, reducing the recidivism rate by more than 50Read More Community Based Corrections: Viable Alternative to Incarceration1679 Words   |  7 Pageswhich community corrections reduce cost, prison populations, and decreases this rate judges should disposition to these programs in lieu of incarceration (Honarvar, 2010). The state spends taxpayer money on building correctional facilities and staff to supervise offenders, while the research shows reduced recidivism rates when community service and other alternative methods of rehabilitation are used (Hovarvar, 2010). However, to maintain the balance of justice and rehabilitation, society demands incarcerationRead MoreThe United States Faces Excessive Mass Incarceration1618 Words   |  7 Pageslargest pr ison population in the world and the second highest incarceration rate per-capita (1 in 100 citizens is behind bars). While you are certainly familiar with these statistics, I would like to emphasize that using incarceration as the primary response to social problems, as is happening today in the United States, impacts the incarcerated, their families and neighborhoods, as well as costing Maryland taxpayers millions of dollars annually. We must enact policies that downscale the prison populationRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System Is Not Driven By Welfare And Justice2175 Words   |  9 Pagesorder to maintain a fair and just society. Therefore, it is the juvenile justice system’s responsibility to establish institutions and legislation to protect the important role that young people play in society. The system should also be driven by welfare and justice concerns as young people have special needs in regards to their age, and their physical, emotional and social development. It is essential that these welfare and justice concerns are addressed effectively by the system in order for youngRead MoreThe Time Of Early Human Civilization3258 Words   |  14 Pagesindividuals living in correctional facilities across the United States has reached unprecedented numbers which is described by many scholars a period of â€Å"mass imprisonment† (Garland 2001). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics as of 2013, the American Correctional Population was estimated at 6,899,000 persons under the supervision of adult correction systems at year end of 2013, which was a decline of about 41,500 from 2012 (2013). It is also important to note that about two-thirds (67.8%)Read MoreThe Articles Of Cullen And Jonson1240 Words   |  5 Pagesexplains, 1 in every 100 American adults is behind bar and 1 in 31 is under someone form of correctional control. In the United States there are more than 1.6 million offenders imprisoned in state and federal institutions. Also the incarcerated population surpasses 2.4 million and there more than 828,000 people on parole, so inference there are 7.4 million Americans under the supervision of the correctional system. Throughout class, we have learned that the goals of the criminal punishment systemRead MoreRestorative Justice Policy Proposal for Juvenile Justice System2875 Words   |  12 Pagesofficers, judges, prosecutors as well as other juvenile professi onals are advocating for a juvenile justice system which is greatly based on restorative justice. These groups of people have been frustrated by the policy uncertainty between retribution and treatment as well as unrealistic and unclear public expectations. As a primary mission, the balanced approach or policy allows juvenile justice systems together with its agencies to improve in their capacity of protecting the community and ensuringRead MoreThe Key Drivers Of Growth Behind Our Prison Population939 Words   |  4 PagesThe primary purpose of prison is to protect the community and rehabilitate the offender (Smart Justice, 2015). Research has indicated that prison fails to do this and instead can increase the rate of reoffending (Smart Justice, 2015). Prison does not address the causes of the person’s criminal offending. Imprisonment is designed to be a sentence of last resort, yet we are building more prisons at an ever increasing rate (Smart Justice, 2015). In Victoria, annually, the prison system cost more than