Significant Community Corrections Issue, Challenge, Problem, or Policy (Essay Sample)

Significant Community Corrections Issue, Challenge, Problem, or Policy
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Abstract
As a rule of thumb, those involved in various criminal activities should be punished according to the law. Because of this, there are currently many correctional facilities, including prisons and jails. In these places, the convicts spend most of their lives facing punishment for their mistakes. In the long run, most of them rehabilitate and reform their behaviors. Despite this, there are a lot of challenges experienced in these facilities. For instance, there is a shortage of prison beds and inadequate amenities mandatory for smooth running. Officials have opted for community corrections that allow the offenders to serve their time while in the population. Such conditions are executed if the offender guarantees to remain on good behavior. Even so, there have been many challenges that have accompanied the decision. This paper will analyze the most common one, which is budget cuts. There will be a brief description of community corrections and why it exists. What will follow is the definition of a budget cut and why it is a crucial challenge to community sentences. The essay will elaborate on why we must address the issue from a public safety perspective. Afterward, it will analyze the scientific literature and its possible potential implications. The last part of the paper will address the policy recommendations about budget cuts in community corrections.
Keywords: budget cut, community corrections, offenders, criminal activities, public, community sentence, correctional facilities
Introduction
It is good to appreciate the presence of correctional facilities since they help reduce crime rates on the streets. The public is assured of immense safety through such amenities because they do not have to worry about facing people with bad intentions. These facilities also help crime-oriented people to renew their ways of life. But did you know that correctional facilities and officers also experience significant problems while on duty? Well, there are several challenges, and this paper will review one of the primary ones: budget cuts. Apart from this, there will be a brief description of why it is crucial to address the issue from a public safety perspective. Afterward, the essay will examine the scientific literature concerning the problem and its potential implications. As a wrap-up, the article will elaborate on well-formulated recommendations regarding the policy. Before all that, let us define the community correctional challenge.
What is Community Correctional
As the name suggests, the program happens within the community, not in prison or jail. The person convicted for criminal activities remains under the governance of a probation officer. It occurs in this manner since the officials must ensure that the victims do not return to their old ways of committing criminal activities. It helps put the offenders on track by allowing them to live according to the law.
Three primary assumptions allow for this action. First, most lawbreakers are not necessarily violent or dangerous. It means that if the offenders are allowed to stay within the community, it can be easier for them to change their ways. The reason is that they will also be under supervision, and it will be easier for them to learn how to live a crime-free life. The second reason is that giving the victim a community sentence aims to correct behavior related to why they committed the crime. Doing so helps reduce their chances of repeating the same mistake. Finally, it is assumed that if the victims get a community sentence, they have high options of changing their behaviors than those in jail or prison.
Community corrections come in two primary divisions, including probation and parole. Probation involves releasing a detained individual with the expectation that they will maintain good behavior under supervision. On the other hand, an offender is said to be on parole if they get a permanent or temporary release before the official end of their sentence. However, it only happens if the victim promises to be on good behavior. Even though the two occasions sound so pleasing, they sometimes come with many prevailing challenges. Let us look at the most common one.