Corrections trend evaluation (Research Paper Sample)

Corrections Trend Evaluation
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
Introduction
The three key reasons why crimes are punished are retribution, prevention and deterrence. Corrections are one of the integral pillars of the criminal justice system. In addition to dealing with inmates’ rehabilitation in correctional facilities, corrections also consider people placed on probation or parole. The society's expectation is that, once an individual is released from the correctional institution, he or she is a changed or reformed person (Siegel, & Bartollas, 2014). In the evaluation of the corrections trend, past, present and future changes relating to the operation and development of community based and institutional correction facilities. This discussion identifies, analyzes and evaluates present and future concerns facing the prisons and their administrators currently and the developing trend of the alternate correction systems.
Past Corrections
In the past, racial barriers and gender were the main factors affecting the system of criminal justice. The State prisons’ history started in 1970 in Walnut Street Jail. Located in Philadelphia, it was the first U.S penitentiary and the building functioned as a city jail. In the eighteenth century, United States used similar principles and functions as those applied in England, however, in terms of punishment, England did very little during that time. The correction systems applied in the two countries differed insignificantly except in terms of punishment. However, it was extremely noticeable that the corrections system in America had distinct punishment, such as the application of use of capital punishment. The U.S had more criminals than England courts, who were sentenced to deaths when it came to capital punishment. Many people fought against death conviction and torture, but given it was the law at that time, pre-meditated cases of murder attracted death sentences (Siegel, & Bartollas, 2014).
The key objective of the correction system is to enable the public to feel protected and secure from criminals. The purpose of the corrections is to house the offenders for purposes of punishment and rehabilitation for their crimes. In May I4 1930, President Herbert Hoover, through an act of congress created The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBP) and signed it into law. FBP was established within the federal department of justice, as an office where it currently remains. Prior to the enactment of this legislation, federal prisons existed without a central office to oversee them. The opening of the earliest federal prisons in 1890s, the federal prisoners served their sentences in local and state institutions. Alcatraz, the infamous federal prison, was opened in 1934. Ironically, this was against the BOP central office wishes, which perceived the prison as more troublesome than it is worth.
In Europe, the punishment for offenders was not imposed in the form of imprisonment. There was a dual punishment system with varied penalties depending on the economic and social status of the offenders. When a highly noble individual was guilty of a law violation, he or she was sentenced, or fines to forfeit part, or all of the property or land. Suppose a more grievous crime was committed, the individual would be banished for life or given hard labor. When a low class individual committed a crime, he or she would be mutilated, executed and tortured. Punishment was cruel and executed in public. Prisons were places where mostly, offenders were held as they awaited punishment or trail but not used for punishment. Debtors and murderers, children, women and men were all held in a single local prison together. The wardens and guards were neglectful of prisoners and the prisons were poorly maintained, and many prisoners died from diseases. In elaboration, the prison system was filthy, disorganized and barbaric.
Current and Future Corrections
In current prisons, various reforms have been implemented; proper diet, outside inspection, paid staff and other necessities for prisoners are provided, like medical care. There are different prisons for juveniles and adults; women and men. The girls and boys are held separately in their juvenile centre of detention unless they are being tried as adults. There are different court systems for juveniles and the children are accorded different treatment in terms of courts and sentences (Siegel, & Bartollas, 2014). Community corrections have become a significant portion of the correctional system, with emphasis on the development of alternative correction services, which were community based. Community corrections became a considerable alternative to probation, electric monitoring and incarceration. These community-based corrections are essential in the reduction of the population in prisons; with congested prisons and fewer alternatives accorded the chance to use these corrections’ type. Presently, several department heads, officers, wardens and supervisors are involved in the running of the correctional institutions. There is rapid growth in the system of criminal justice contributed by the increased public opinion concerning the system. The political government is under the public’s influence decisively.
Today there is a rapid pace information in the opinion of citizens concerning new relevance in public service for an individual. A variety of issues is facing the corrections system. In the current society, the corrections are experiencing layoffs and cutbacks; the criminals are twice as dangerous within the prison system. The employees in the correctional facilities contend with lack of health funding and insurance. With inappropriate funding, several corrections will not be able to receive the proper assistance that they require. Today, the correctional facilities are overcrowded with inmates and fewer correctional employees. In terms of justice administration, there is a rapid growth of corrections, which has increased significantly over the previous few decades. This suggests that, in the future, the justice system must incorporate a working strategic plan. In the U.S, those in corrections are aware of the congestion of criminals given the prison inmates population. The Justice Statistics state that, the state and federal prison have accommodated over a million inmates. In the future, the number of inmates appears to be blinked extremely, hence, over the coming years; the prison system will enhance or increase its capacity.
Presently, the prison system and its administration deal with several issues ranging from prisons’ overcrowding to lack of insufficient resources to improve the prison. The prison administrators deal with the issue of inmate manipulation and risk of innate attacking them. Daily, the administration contends with dissimilar people of all races. With inmates of varied cultures co-existing in one place, there is a high tendency of chaos and tension. In addition, within the prisons, there are gangs to deal with and the gangs tend to grow in size as the prison population grows (Siegel, & Bartollas, 2014). These gangs recruit other offenders and execute their own agendas in prisons. Overcrowding mainly due to recidivism is a main issue because they system is expanding in size and cost. Overcrowding results into viral outbreaks riots and puts strain on the existing basic facilities like sewage and water. The cost required to keep prison afloat is extremely high leading to inadequate security given the fewer personnel.
Future trends concerning the operation and development of community based and institutional corrections arise from current problems. All correctional agencies aim at rehabilitating the offenders and prepare them for their release back into the community, where they once were members. Approximately, there will be a rise in the number of mental health disorder, which will make hard to manage. It is the responsibility of correctional facilities to treat and care for people having a mental disorder. In the future, the correctional facilities’ operational costs will majorly depend upon the program types offered to assist in rehabilitating a criminal or incarcerated person (Lander, 2005).
Strategic planning is required to ease the...