On the 17th of June 2016, the prison population of the England and wales was 84,405 and since the 1990s it has risen by an overwhelming 92%! But why? Prisoners often pass golden opportunities to escape because they would actually rather be locked up than on the outside. This then gives us the question is the UK justice system too lenient?
Prison sentences are given to punish offenders, to ensure that they are doing something to make up for their crime against society and reduce the risk of them reoffending. But is that really the case when reoffending rates are higher than ever and prisoners are getting luxury items inside the jail? Nowadays, offenders are allowed TVs & Xboxes, they earn £12 per week for getting taught the basics and in some prisons, offenders are even allowed to have pet birds! Personally I think that this is beyond a joke. People who have hurt innocent people are being sent to a place where they can be getting more luxuries than they had before they went in. this is not okay and it needs to be stopped. 84,405 criminals are serving their time sitting on Xboxes, watching their favourite programme while being served hot food that many wouldn’t have received before going to prison.
We go to school 5 days a week, 6 hours a day and we get no pay. Criminals who have killed, stolen, abused and raped get paid £12 a week to learn the basics. They leave prison with better qualifications than some get in school. How is this fair? Most prisons offer courses that have a
Prisons consist of social structures just as general society does. There is the upper class, which consists of the rich and powerful. The rich can pay off guards and other prisoners who may cause problems for them, and gang leaders whose reputation scares other inmates extremely that they are not challenged nor denied requests. “…and if everybody knows that gangs control the fate of all inmates, then criminals will be afraid to cross gang members there” (Wood). Gangs can control whether you live or die in a prison. Being a leader of a gang will put you at the top, being in the middle consists of being part of a gang or associates of a gang. The very bottom or the lowest consists of new inmates (who have not had time to move up yet or exploit
The second supporting argument that Parliament imposes the judiciary to place too much emphasis on incarceration is characterized by the reduction of credit for pre-sentence custody credit. Fortunately, this was amended in 2014. The Truth in Sentencing Act, one of the government’s early “tough on crime” laws was passed in 2009, but became operative on Feb. 22, 2010. This Act contributed to the changes regarding the credit offenders received for pre-sentence detention or “dead-time,” that does not count towards any parole or early release eligibility. This curbed judge’s ability to give a break on sentencing when a convicted offender has spent lengthy time in pre-trial jail custody. This discount in sentencing had evolved to recognize that
“In a 2006 Special Report, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimated that 705,600 mentally ill adults were incarcerated in state prisons, 78,800 in federal prisons and 479,900 in local jails. Growing numbers of mentally ill offenders have strained correctional systems” (NIC, n.d.). Often times it is wondered why mentally ill offenders are imprisonment time are lengthier than other offenders? Could it be that it may be hard to comprehend and abide by prison and jail rules, or are there not enough facilities to aide their need? Moreover, pretrial offenders with severe mental illness encounter longer imprisonment time than other prisoners in many states, and they would require a mental evaluation assessment to stand trial. “The prevalence of mental illness among offender populations indicates a substantial need for mental health treatment. Today, the largest US jails and prisons hold more people with mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders than many inpatient psychiatric facilities” (Kim, Becker-Cohen & Serakos, 2015).
The idea of prison has been around for thousands of years and seems to be an integrated part of the human concept. We remove the people that disrupt society and we put them away or get rid of them. We, as a modern culture,
The ongoing role of prison within the UK Criminal Justice System is becoming increasingly unclear. On the one hand in the 21st century, it is considered to be a “state strategy for crime control, a deterrent for those contemplating crime and punitive response for those who have broken laws”McAvinchey (2011 pg.10). On the other hand, it is also supposed to have a rehabilitative purpose, the intended role of a prison is to rehabilitate the offender so that when they have completed their prison sentence, they can be successfully rehabilitated back into the community and live a crime free fulfilled life. Yet, when examining the vital statistics that underline an increase in prisoner population, it is clearly apparent that the system neither
The United State’s prison system was initially designed to punish and rehabilitate individuals whom were convicted of a felony or other serious offense. Inmates are sentenced for a certain amount of time, or the entirety of their life based on how serious of a crime that person has committed. The Idea of imprisoning a person as a form of punishment dates back to medieval times however, it wasn’t until right before the American Revolution humane prisons started appearing in this country. Today, prisons are more populated than they have ever been and are functioning not only as a place to reform people’s morals, but also as a highly profitable investment for the wealthy to exploit. The Prison system is so devoted to making
If the government become “tough” on non-violent crimes then prisons will become populous with inmates who do not deserve their sentencing. In one trial dated back in 1996, a man with a previous conviction of robbery was sentenced to life for a theft of a jacket worth
We live in a capitalistic society and people obviously try their best to maximize profit. To inspire change, people must first reflect on the morality of their decision-making. To begin the debate of the morality of private prisons, we must define what a prison should do. Many would agree that prisons should serve as punishment for committed crimes and rehabilitation so these committed crimes won’t repeat. I believe that after prison sentences, inmates should be able to reintegrate into society. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that 77% of released inmates are sent to prison again within five years of their release. This problem extends far wider than just private prisons. It involves prisons all across the United States. Too many prisons are focusing mainly on punishment for crimes and forgetting about the reintegration of these people into society. Chances are, released prisoners are left jobless for long periods of time because of the sheer difficulty of finding a job as a felon. Many do not have the proper education to find higher level jobs and are limited to a very small set of jobs. They still need to eat and have a place to stay so people do whatever they have to do to survive, illegal or
Have you ever heard the saying “You do the crime; you do the time”? Now most people would consider this completely understandable and maybe even some people would view this as a form of justice, but I will show you why the treatment of our prisoners during and after confinement would be considered injustice, to say the least. Between 1970 and 2005 the US prison population grew a massive 700%. Far
Today, it seems that no matter how many criminals suffer in prison, thousands of crimes are committed each year. Many reformers have noticed this occurrence, and recognize the debatable fallacies of the prison system. Prisons have changed over time to better suit the needs of each generation, and many believe prisons today need to adjust.
Ms Findlay first gave insight as to how the stereotypical ‘place in jail and throw away the key’ aspect of the prison system doesn’t exactly prove beneficial for the improvement of criminal’s behaviour. She discussed
“Many of those in prison come from the most socially excluded groups in society. Many will have grown up in backgrounds where serious violence, drug and alcohol abuse are commonplace experiences. Few may have known the security of a stable home or done well at school. Crime may be seen as a survival strategy, as inevitable, or the only means of getting the things that others have.” (para.11.1) according to the National Museum of Crime & Punishment , an effort to offer better rehabilitative services to the inmates, many prisons have begun providing psychiatrists to help deal with prisoners’ mental disorders and psychological issues. Prisons also offer classroom settings in which inmates can learn to read and educate themselves. These methods are proven to have a positive effect on the prisoners and have helped many to overcome a background with little or no education. Upon their release, prisoners who have stuck with these programs are given a better opportunity to succeed and to become law abiding citizens. The problem with that picture is why that now just being implemented into the equation and not used in the first place. crimes are based off morality when it should really be judged and treated on through psychology because rape,muder,assault,grand theft are abaft behavior rooted to a deeper meaning .some people deserve to be locked away for the sake of thee society but they shouldn't be stuck in a
Do you think that prisons today are as strict as they were 150 years ago? What was wrong with the prison system then that is so different today? When it comes to people that have done crime and sentenced to life sentences and gets 3 meals a day , TV , outside privileges , classes things that will make their time pass and prevent from everyone hurting one another is not a prison, Why keep them in prison if they still get the privileges you can get outside of the prison. Prisons have changed during the years, contemporary prison happen and the era we are in that caused the change. Prisoners have more rights today in the past, you can put a prisoner in a dungeon. Because of the riots there was inmates were successful to changed the system so that they have several
When it comes to incarceration numbers, the UK has the highest rate of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe – it has incarcerated 148 out of every 100,000 of the population (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 2009: 77). It has not always been this way as it once belonged to the lower incarcerators: the UK had only 30 prisoners per 100,000 at time of the second World War (Christie, 2009: 27). Only in recent decades have the numbers started to rise more quickly. Since the late nineties the UK has become stricter: ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’ was Tony Blair’s slogan to promote the Labour Party’s new, stricter, more punitive policy on dealing with crime, which was not much unlike the policy of the US at the time, and the events
“The principle of least eligibility says that, the prison inmates should have no more than what the poorest citizen has.”(Jenne, lecture) This principle doesn’t benefit the inmates and in no way is it going to better them as an individual. If the purpose of corrections is supposed to, “correct the problem,” it should be done accordingly depending on the crime they have committed. Non violent offenders should not be treated as severely as serious offenders such as murderers and rapists. This does not mean they should be treated like they’ve done nothing wrong, but there is clearly a difference in the severity of certain crimes.