Criminal Justice
Content
The Illogical Incarceration of Non-violent Offenders
Donald Findlay
Society today has a flawed understanding of how to treat deviant behavior. In America today the criminal Justice system treats non-violent offenders in the same way as violent offenders, often turning them into violent offenders. The American justice system is set up more or less to punish, prevent and rehabilitate social deviance. The use of mass incarceration and imprisonment of nonviolent offenders is illogical. It is a drain on societies resources, acts as a training school for non-violent offenders, causes disunity in the community, and doesn’t decrease recidivism rates. Incarcerating non-violent offenders is an ineffective drain on societies limited resources. A 2010 study by the Vera Institute of Justice found that the average cost per inmate in Minnesota’s prison system was $41,364. Also, in
2010 Minnesota’s per capita income was $42,8947. This means that the average Minnesotan’s income is roughly the same as the cost of keeping a person in prison for a year. Many of these people are non-violent offenders in prison for drug or property charges or felony DWI. The high cost of keeping nonviolent offenders in prison is not an affective use of resources. Society needs to find more cost effective ways of dealing with non-violent offenders. An example would be to legitimize marijuana. Other means might be: group homes or outpatient treatment facilities that would keep offenders out in society and train
them how to function better in society while they work to pay for some of their own expenses. Incarceration often serves as a training ground that turns non-violent offenders into violent offenders. Non-violent offenders are often placed in prison with violent offenders serving longer sentences. The non-violent offender needs to learn how to survive and adapt to living in a violent oppressive environment. These responses are conditioned into their psyches and are hard for them to change when they get released. They return to society with no job, no money, increased criminal training and more violent tendencies and a dislike for authority. This increases their likely hood to reoffend, decreasing the effectiveness of incarceration. Gang member often view going to prison as a form of college or finishing school that can increase your position in the gang. The incarceration of non-violent offenders causes disunity in society. When you take away family members, fathers, mothers, and so forth, it leaves gaps in the social structure of communities and families. It is like taking out an organ along with the cancer. The body can’t function without the organ. Removing the offender from their role in society damages the functioning of society. A non-violent offender may be the primary wage earner in the family and a parent, which negatively affects the children. According to the Minnesota and Families Network During the time period from 1991-2007 the number of children with fathers in prison has increased 77% and the number with a mother in prison increased 131%. At least 1.7 million minor children in the U.S. have a parent in prison, with more then 15,000 children in Minnesota. Having a parent in prison
affects the child emotional, social and developmental growth making them at a high risk to offend. Way s of treating the offender while keeping them connected to their community would more effective and less disruptive for society. According to a June 2006 U.S. prison study by the bipartisan Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons 67 % of prison “alumni” are rearrested and 52% are re-incarcerated within three years of their release. The high recidivism rate of our current correctional system shows that it is not working; particularly at it’s high cost. Finding ways to keep non-violent offenders out of jail and treating them within society may be a more affective method of dealing with social deviants. Societies way of dealing with social deviants today is flawed, costly and ineffective. It’s treatment of incarcerating non-violent offenders acts as a training school creating more violent offenders. It creates disunity in society by creating holes in the family and community, harming our children and creating future criminals, increasing crime and recidivism rate. Putting non-violent people in prison drains society. They are consuming resources, but not putting any back in. We need to find ways of treatment that keep them productive and connected to their community.
Citations
U.S. Prisons Overcrowded and Violent, Recidivism High — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933722.html#ixzz28YZM28rt
http://www.careydwidefense.com/blog/2012/02/02/Average-Annual-Costof-Minnesota-Prisons-41364-Per-Inmate-in-2010.aspx http://voices.yahoo.com/the-american-prison-system-correctional-facilities4921020.html www.mnsecondchancecoalition.org/pdf/FamiliesOfIncarcerated.pdf NORML http://norml.org/laws/item/minnesota-penalties2?category_id=867 SOC. Benokraitis, Nijole V. Student Edtion 2nd. Wadsworth. Belmont CA. 2012. Chapter 7.
Donald Findlay
Society today has a flawed understanding of how to treat deviant behavior. In America today the criminal Justice system treats non-violent offenders in the same way as violent offenders, often turning them into violent offenders. The American justice system is set up more or less to punish, prevent and rehabilitate social deviance. The use of mass incarceration and imprisonment of nonviolent offenders is illogical. It is a drain on societies resources, acts as a training school for non-violent offenders, causes disunity in the community, and doesn’t decrease recidivism rates. Incarcerating non-violent offenders is an ineffective drain on societies limited resources. A 2010 study by the Vera Institute of Justice found that the average cost per inmate in Minnesota’s prison system was $41,364. Also, in
2010 Minnesota’s per capita income was $42,8947. This means that the average Minnesotan’s income is roughly the same as the cost of keeping a person in prison for a year. Many of these people are non-violent offenders in prison for drug or property charges or felony DWI. The high cost of keeping nonviolent offenders in prison is not an affective use of resources. Society needs to find more cost effective ways of dealing with non-violent offenders. An example would be to legitimize marijuana. Other means might be: group homes or outpatient treatment facilities that would keep offenders out in society and train
them how to function better in society while they work to pay for some of their own expenses. Incarceration often serves as a training ground that turns non-violent offenders into violent offenders. Non-violent offenders are often placed in prison with violent offenders serving longer sentences. The non-violent offender needs to learn how to survive and adapt to living in a violent oppressive environment. These responses are conditioned into their psyches and are hard for them to change when they get released. They return to society with no job, no money, increased criminal training and more violent tendencies and a dislike for authority. This increases their likely hood to reoffend, decreasing the effectiveness of incarceration. Gang member often view going to prison as a form of college or finishing school that can increase your position in the gang. The incarceration of non-violent offenders causes disunity in society. When you take away family members, fathers, mothers, and so forth, it leaves gaps in the social structure of communities and families. It is like taking out an organ along with the cancer. The body can’t function without the organ. Removing the offender from their role in society damages the functioning of society. A non-violent offender may be the primary wage earner in the family and a parent, which negatively affects the children. According to the Minnesota and Families Network During the time period from 1991-2007 the number of children with fathers in prison has increased 77% and the number with a mother in prison increased 131%. At least 1.7 million minor children in the U.S. have a parent in prison, with more then 15,000 children in Minnesota. Having a parent in prison
affects the child emotional, social and developmental growth making them at a high risk to offend. Way s of treating the offender while keeping them connected to their community would more effective and less disruptive for society. According to a June 2006 U.S. prison study by the bipartisan Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons 67 % of prison “alumni” are rearrested and 52% are re-incarcerated within three years of their release. The high recidivism rate of our current correctional system shows that it is not working; particularly at it’s high cost. Finding ways to keep non-violent offenders out of jail and treating them within society may be a more affective method of dealing with social deviants. Societies way of dealing with social deviants today is flawed, costly and ineffective. It’s treatment of incarcerating non-violent offenders acts as a training school creating more violent offenders. It creates disunity in society by creating holes in the family and community, harming our children and creating future criminals, increasing crime and recidivism rate. Putting non-violent people in prison drains society. They are consuming resources, but not putting any back in. We need to find ways of treatment that keep them productive and connected to their community.
Citations
U.S. Prisons Overcrowded and Violent, Recidivism High — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933722.html#ixzz28YZM28rt
http://www.careydwidefense.com/blog/2012/02/02/Average-Annual-Costof-Minnesota-Prisons-41364-Per-Inmate-in-2010.aspx http://voices.yahoo.com/the-american-prison-system-correctional-facilities4921020.html www.mnsecondchancecoalition.org/pdf/FamiliesOfIncarcerated.pdf NORML http://norml.org/laws/item/minnesota-penalties2?category_id=867 SOC. Benokraitis, Nijole V. Student Edtion 2nd. Wadsworth. Belmont CA. 2012. Chapter 7.
