Assignment2: Improving Corrections Facilities
Assignment2: Improving Corrections Facilities
Correctionalfacilities are meant to serve as a punishment to prisoners who may befound guilty of committing an offense. They are confined to an areaand are denied certain freedom under the state law. There are severalcorrectional facilities in the United States. The focus of thispaper will be on California correctional facility and FloridaDepartment of the correctional facility.
Correctionalofficers’ work is to ensure that there is order in prisons or jail.They are responsible for individuals who have been arrested,imprisoned or awaiting trial by the court. They undergo training inan academy where they receive teaching skills required in the runningof a prison. Since the working environment can be precarious, theyare well trained to cope up with the circumstances. In both of thecorrectional facilities in California and Florida, there are severalbudgetary constraints that the officers must adhere to run thecorrectional facilities (Lerman, 2009). The officer must not be aconvicted felon with 1 or 21 years old. He or she must have a highschool diploma and be an American citizen.
Thestate legislature has established diversion programs and also signedby the law. The purpose of the program is to act as a relief to thecourts, and the police departments among others. It has betteroutcomes as compared to the involvement of the court process. Theoffenders are offered the opportunity to avoid the prosecutionprocess (Sweetman, 2005). However, there are certain requirements inthe program that are supposed to be followed by the offender. Theoffender must complete the set community service hours, educationwhich will ensure that he or she will not repeat previous offenses,and restitution to victims of the offense. Therefore, offenders withminor crimes, such as misdemeanors and non-violent felonies benefit alot to the diversion program. The offenders of this particular crimeneed not to go through the court process. They are better servedgoing through the program by undergoing counseling rather thanpunishment. The court process is a much expensive procedure unlikethe diversion program, which is less costly. The defendants underthis program are able to compensate the victims through activities,such as community services and restitution orders.
Thereare other crimes that do not qualify for inclusion in the diversionprograms. Therefore, the inclusion of these offenses has fewerbenefits. They include the serious crimes, such as murder attempt andrape cases. The subjection of the diversion programs to these violentcrimes has not been very reliable. Cases of committing the sameoffense again have been high. The offenders of these crimes needed tobe confined in a prison and denied much freedom to serve as apunishment of their consequences. The sentence will help improve andcorrect the behaviors of the offenders (Lerman, 2009).
TheCalifornia and Florida correctional facilities enjoy significantbenefits from diversion programs. Youthful offenders in both prisonswho have committed petty acts can be enrolled in the program tocorrect their behaviors. It will reduce the overcrowding of thejudicial cases in the institution. Hence, in my view, the program ismuch relief to the judges and creates an opportunity for them tofocus on the cases committed by the dangerous offenders (Carlson,2013).
Therewas one time when all prisons were of public nature. However, thetransition has taken place over the years. The prison system haschanged giving rise to the private prisons. The existence of theprivate system has changed the prison system entirely. Public prisonand private prison are never the same. The overall performance of theprivate prisons is much better than the public prisons. Theperforming standards of the public prisons are very poor compared tothe private ones. The performing standards are critical in ensuringthat the services are maintained appropriately. The environment ofthe private prison is safe and offers a good climate for therehabilitation process. Another benefit for the private prisons isthat it contributes to less recidivism. The reduction of recidivismis a serious concern to prisons. Inmates from public prisons are morelikely to re-offend compared to their counterparts from the privateprisons. For instance, in the late 1990s, a number of inmates werereleased from both public and private prisons (Sweetman, 2005).Statistics show that a low percentage of the inmates from the privateprison were less likely to repeat the offenses they had committed. Those who were found to re-offend had petty offenses, unlike thepublic prisons. Therefore, private prisons have emerged to be thebest solution in improving the offenders. They are better than publicprisons which promote more incidences of crime to happen.
Correctionalofficers ensure order and security are withheld in the facility. Theyformulate policies and rules in the institution. The enforced rulesare meant to take away inmates privileges that violate the setregulations. They have control centers with computer tracking systemsto observe inmates who commit a dangerous crime. They aim to reducerecidivism through the policy and practice of proper funding. Itincludes the investment of community-based intervention, tailoringmethods to individual needs, enhancing continuousness of care fromincarceration to the community and offering incentives for partakingin programs that will reduce the possibility of someone reoffending.
Conclusion
Correctionalfacilities play an essential role in ensuring that the rehabilitationprocess takes place. Offenders are supposed to be segregated from thecommunity. Therefore, it is important to consider the significance ofa correctional facility and how to improve it.
References
Carlson, P. (2013). Correctional Academic , Career, and Reentry Education. Prison and Jail Administration: Practise and Theory, p.108.
Lerman, A. (2009). The People Prisons Make: Effects of Incarceration on Criminal Psychology. Do Prisons Makes Us Safer?: The Benefits and Costs of the Prison Boom, p.120.
Sweetman, J. (2005). A Floating Prison Break. Naval History, pp 46-51.