The New Penology Summary

Imprisonment is one of the primary ways in which social control may be achieved; the Sage Dictionary of Criminology defines social control as a concept used to describe all the ways in which conformity may be achieved. Throughout time imprisonment and its ideas around social control have varied. Imprisonment has not always been used for punishment, nor has it always thought about the prisoners themselves. However when looking at imprisonment it is important to consider the new penology. Therefore, it needs to be clear what the new penology is. The new penology is said, not to be about punishing individuals or about rehabilitating them, but about identifying and managing unruly groups in society. It is concerned with the managerial

Criminological theories interpret the competing paradigms of Human Nature, Social Order, Definition of Crime, Extent and Distribution of Crime, Causes of Crime, and Policy, differently. Even though these theories have added to societies understanding of criminal behaviour, all have been unable to explain why punishment or treatment of offenders is unable to prevent deviancy, and thus are ineffective methods of control. The new penology is a contemporary response that favours the management of criminals by predicting future harm on society. However, all criminological theories are linked as they are a product of the historical time and place, and because of their contextual history, they will continue to reappear depending on the current

With the ideas of The Age of Enlightenment growing in popularity, a new concept of criminal punishment came into play; the penitentiary. The

As a country, we should care about all of our citizens and work toward bettering them, because we are only as strong as our weakest link. When it concerns the issue of corrections it should not be a discussion of punishment or rehabilitation. Instead, it should be a balance of both that puts the spotlight on rehabilitating offenders that are capable and willing to change their lives for the better. Through rehabilitation a number of issues in the corrections field can be solved from mental health to overcrowding. More importantly, it allows offenders the chance to do and be better once released from prison. This paper analyzes what both rehabilitation and punishment are as well as how they play a part in corrections. It also discusses the current reasons that punishment as the dominant model of corrections is not as effective as rehabilitation. After explaining rehabilitation and punishment, then breaking down the issues with punishment, I will recommend a plan for balance. A plan that will lower incarceration rates and give offenders a second chance.

his paper examines multiple factors that help determine reasons for why there is such a great amount of people relapsing back into criminal behavior once released, which only leads them into a federal or state prison. Recidivism can be perceived into different category’s based upon the why factor. Criminal acts that result in rearrests, and reconviction or return to prison with or without new a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner’s release is considered recidivism. There are many different reasons why a person goes back into prison once being released, whether by choice or force or even just nature of habit. Many studies have been conducted to find a pattern or reason on why recidivism is so common. Available

In prisons today, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution are all elements that provide a justice to society. Prisons effectively do their part in seeing that one if not more of these elements are met and successfully done. If it were not for these elements, than what would a prison be good for? It is highly debated upon whether or not these elements are done properly. It is a fact that these are and a fact that throughout the remainder of time these will be a successful part of prison life.

“Lock them up and throw away the key” – that is usually the headline when in regards to offenders going to prison. However, billions of dollars are going into maintaining prisons, yet the rate of recidivism is around 44% (Pearsons, 2011), so it is clear that prisons are no longer effective. The main argument of this paper is that because prisons are inefficient, they should be abolished so other forms of punishment can be found and acted upon. Firstly, this paper will discuss the function of prisons in regards to penal abolition. Also, it will identify what penal abolition is and explain three alternatives to prison – housing alternatives, restorative models, and

By now the number of prisoners was increasing partly due to the decline in other forms of punishment, such as the stocks and branding, which were now viewed as outdated. Nevertheless many people still believed that prison should be concerned with punishment and deterrence, rather than the rehabilitation of criminals which was viewed as costly (Todd, 2002, p.119). In 1842 Pentonville prison was built using the panopticon design. This meant that each prisoner was now held in their own individual cell. Pentonville operated on the ‘separate system' which involved almost total solitary confinement and elements such as education and work were largely ignored (www.howardleague.org/studycentre/historyofprison.htm).

The idea was to make prison a system for corrections, rather than detention alone. These ideas soon manifested in schools of philosophy and criminology were the notion was defended that punishment should be more lenient only at the cost of the greater good and aimed to change the behavior itself. Eventually these ideas gave birth to a new form of incarcerations designed to deter both rise in crime and to reform, based on self-reflection over the prisoner’s choices.

With the belief that the former policy of rehabilitation no longer sufficed to meet the needs of the countries growing criminal population, new policies enforced harsher punishments, longer sentencing ranges with the removal of early release privileges, and reinstated the practice of capital punishment (Miethe & Lu, 2005). For professionals in the field, who intend to make strides, which have a positive impact on the future of crime, it is critical for them to understand this history. It is simply not enough to know it. Within the patterns, there is a message and an answer of how to effectively deal with the crisis faced today as a result of the policy changes. The crisis of not only how to handle offenders, but how to appropriately deter

A prison is a facility suited for behavior change as a result of breaking the legal rules that govern a region. It involves denying of freedom for a certain period of time as per the ruling given by the judge under a court of law. Over the years, handling of prisoners or inmates has changed. A number of better legal processes are on the rise in order to ensure the rights of the individual are observed before he/ she is detained.

The present paper aims to discuss the role of prisons in the resocialization of the people kept in the incarcerated after their turned out to be guilty of committing some offence and the announcement of sentence against them from the court of law. The study will be conducted in the light of Conflict, Structural functional and Interactionsit perspectives in order to define and determine the role played by prisons in the rehabilitation of the offenders.

Once stamped as a criminal, it is hard to integrate back into the society due to the myriad obstacles faced by these ex-inmates. As seen from the true story presented above one can agree with Western’s (2006) statement in his work which states that, “incarceration significantly reduces the life chances after release”. One of the most ruining effect is the fact that mass incarceration

It can be argued that imprisonment has been widely found to have failed to achieve its stated goals. Rehabilitation as perceived within the prison context is a myth. The predominant objective of control has developed in such a manner as to exclude the successful operation of any rehabilitation process. In looking at the nature and operation of the New South Wales prison system, for example, one is confronted by a system preoccupied with notions of control and security. A very disturbing feature of the system is that the availability of such prison accommodation helps to define the nature of the offender rather than the offender being defined by the nature of his offence (Wilkinson, 1972).

There are rehabilitation facilities for the prisoners to ensure that the offenders do not get back to law breaking but will have acquired certain skills to help earn a living after the sentence period is over. The main reason for the establishment of the rehabilitation centers is to counter the increasing population in the prisons as people are being sentenced every day. The act under which the rehabilitation process is planning to reduce the population through the following means: first is community sentences where the offender will be made to do community works while staying at home; custody plus, which will involve short term of less than a year in prison then after which one works for the community while under rehabilitation; Custody Minus, where the prison sentence is suspended for a shorter period in case the offender has gone against the community sentence; intermittent custody, the sentences are served only during the weekends and there are restrictions on time spent in the community; and then the differed sentences which will depend on the fulfillment of the community based rules, (Robbin, 2004).