Crime and Punishment, Correctional System, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice System - Essay Example

? PENOLOGY by goes here] Presented to [your goes here] [your goes here] s [due the paper] Penology 1. Introduction Before going to discuss penology and related issues in detail, let us get a better understanding of what penology actually is. Penology is a part of criminology that is concerned with the punishments of different types of crimes. Penology is a sociological science, which deals with the analysis of criminal behaviors along with the social reactions toward the enacted punishments. Arrigo and Milovanovic (2009, p. 9) state, “Traditional penology refers to the systematic study of penal systems, including consideration of their abolition”. In this paper, we will discuss different issues related to penology, such as, crime and punishment, correctional system, crime prevention and criminal justice system in order to get a deep understanding of penology. 2. Crime and Punishment Punishment is a penalty given by the court to the person who commits a crime. When a punishment is given to a criminal, the criminal thinks twice before committing the crime again once he/she comes out of jail. Punishment is a very effective tool for reducing the number of crimes in a society. Absence of punishments in a criminal justice system not only makes the offenders and criminals fearless but also encourages them to commit crimes again. Punishment alone is not a very successful method for reducing the number of crimes because where it injects fear in the minds of the criminals; it also injects a sense of retribution in them, which is harmful for the peace of society. A good method is to make use of rehabilitation along with punishment because rehabilitation is a process that changes the behavior and attitude of the criminals. Psychologists attempt to alter the behaviors of criminals by doing their psychotherapies and guiding them towards the right direction. Therefore, we can say that although punishment is effective in reducing the number of crimes but it should be accompanied with rehabilitation to transform criminals into peaceful citizens. 2.1 Effectiveness of Punishments Chatturvedi (2006, p. 3) states, “Justice or fairness in punishment is the essential task of sentencing”. The efficacy of punishments also depends on the type of punishment and the reason behind the punishments. Punishments are very useful because they not only prevent criminals from committing crimes without any fear but also play a vital role in setting up and maintaining peace in a society. There is a diverse range of punishments for different types of crimes. For some crimes, the punishment gets over with fines. However, for some crimes, there are harsh forms of punishments, such as, lifetime incarceration and death penalty. Punishments should be justified in order to be effective. Cavadino and Dignan (2007, p. 36). “Punishing people certainly needs a justification, since it is almost always something that is harmful, painful or unpleasant to the recipient”. 2.2 Corporal Punishment or Death Penalty Before going to describe whether death penalty and corporal punishment are rational ways of punishments or not, let us get a better understanding of what death penalty and corporal punishment actually are. Corporal punishment means using physical force on a criminal as a form of punishment for a crime, whereas death penalty means sentencing a criminal to death because of some form of crime, which he/she commits. Both forms of punishments are given to the criminals in almost every country depending on the nature of crimes. Critics of death penalty say that although corporal punishment is a harsh punishment, still it is a much better way to punish the criminals as compared to death penalty. Even corporal punishments can be justified only if bearable force is used on the criminals as a form of punishment instead of using heavy physical form, which can result in damaging any specific body part of the criminal. “The death penalty has been the focus of abolitionist campaigns by penologists and penal reformers” (Hudson 2003, p. 12). The reason is that a death penalty to an offender not only creates many social and financial problems for the family of the offender but also it is against the basic human rights of a person. Therefore, death penalty is a form of punishment, which cannot be justified in any way. 2.3 Society without Punishment One can never imagine a peaceful society without punishments for criminals. If there will be no punishments for criminals, crimes will spread all over the place in the society. There will be no safety to anyone’s property, honor, and life. Punishments are a very effective way to reduce the number of crimes in any specific part of the world because they limit the activities of the criminals. Psychological treatments can never work without giving appropriate punishments to the criminals. If there will be no punishments for the criminals, everyone will try to snatch the rights of others that will adversely affect the law and order situation of the society. Without merit-based punishments for the criminals, a society can never enjoy the elements of harmony, peace, and safety. Therefore, punishments are necessary for establishing peace in a society. 3. Sentencing Models In the United States, some of the most famous sentencing models include determinate sentencing, indeterminate sentencing, and mandatory sentencing. 3.1 Determinate Sentencing Determinate sentences are fixed terms of imprisonment in which the offender has to spend a specific number of years in jail. In determinate sentencing, there is a set of parameters for the judges that define the constraints to be followed while deciding the sentences. For rehabilitation purposes, determinate sentencing model is too restraining as compared to indeterminate sentencing. A good thing about this model is that the criminal keeps in mind the punishment for any specific crime and hesitates to commit the crime again. 3.2 Indeterminate Sentencing In this model, the judges state minimum and maximum lengths of detention for the criminals depending on the nature of the crime. It is the most widely used sentencing model in the United States of America (Siegal 2010, p. 498). The minimum time of incarceration is must for all offenders whereas the maximum time depends on some specific conditions. The model gives power to the judges to decide the number of years for the incarceration of the offender by providing the judges with both limits for the years of incarceration. 3.3 Mandatory Sentencing Using this model, a judge has to give a mandatory punishment to the offenders because in this model of sentencing, a judge has little or no control over the penalty set for any specific crime. Mandatory sentencing restricts sentencing discrepancy and limits individualized sentencing by restricting the discretionary power of the judges to inflict any kind of disposition. Mandatory sentencing has helped the government of the United States in reducing the number of crimes by incarcerating the offenders who might have received probations in the past. 4. Crime Prevention Clear (1994. p. 78) states, “The task of penology is to organize punishment so as to prevent crime”. Crime prevention is an attempt to either prevent the crimes or reduce the level of criminal acts in any specific area or a country. Crime prevention is extremely important for the safety and security of the public. Reducing the risk of being a victim is the basic objective of crime prevention. Crime prevention involves design and deploying of protective people, processes, and strategies. These strategies are implemented in various judicial and extra judicial settings. It is the one of the prime responsibilities of every country’s government to take proper measures in order to reduce the level of crimes in the country because crimes and violence not only make the lives of the public insecure but also proves to be a risk regarding economy of a country. Implementation of crime prevention strategies plays a great role in the successful prevention and reduction of crime levels in a country. These strategies not only help the government in reducing the level of crimes but also help in generating the sense of security in the public living in any specific society. 4.1 Important of Crime Prevention Importance of crime prevention can never be denied. It is critically important to implement crime prevention strategies in order to remove the crimes from the society. The main benefit, which comes from the implementation of crime prevention strategies, is removal of the fear of crimes and violence from the minds of the people. Crime prevention also helps in creating awareness in the criminals about the consequences of being involved in criminal acts. Another major benefit is that of rise of economy. If we want to reduce the level of crime rate, we must implement a well-planned crime prevention strategy in order to get desirable results. Some effective crime reduction factors include educating society regarding consequences of crimes and reducing poverty. Education plays a very effective role in crime prevention as it creates awareness among the public regarding the negative outcomes of crimes. Another important factor, which is very effective in crime prevention, includes reduction in level of poverty in any specific country. Poverty acts as the root cause for any criminal act because when people do not get the basic necessities of life, they get engaged in criminal activities to get revenge of their disabilities from other people around them. 5. Different Types of Crimes and their Prevention Strategies Crimes are not just related to any specific field of life, rather they cover almost every aspect of life which include technological crimes, juvenile crimes, property theft crime, public order crime, domestic violence, racial hate, religious hate, rape, anti-social behavior, and sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, and white collar crimes. All of these types of crimes need different prevention strategies depending upon the nature of the crime. 5.1 Robbery This is a kind of criminal hazard. This hazard can happen within a house, bank or any other financial institution. Thieves can enter any alone house where there is no security mechanism or they can also enter a bank to get some money by using force. Ramifications for this kind of hazards can be made to apply an efficient security mechanism. There are many security devices, which can be used to avoid it .e.g. security alarms, fences and obstacles. 5.2 Kidnapping Kidnapping is also a type of criminal hazard where criminals kidnap a person and then ask his relatives to pay some money in order get their person released safely. Kidnapping is a violent crime and leaves a fearful and traumatic impact on the mind of the victim. Ramifications can be made by keeping a laser gun, a personal security technology, which is used to seize or lesser down any person’s movement when he tries to grab or kidnap other person. 5.3 White Collar Crimes White-collar crimes are referred to as such crimes, which are committed by those persons who are at some higher rank, and they misuse their authorities in order to get some financial gains or personal favors. Sharma (1998, p. 32) states, “The persons belonging to upper strata of society commit criminal acts abundantly but usually they escape detection”. Executives, who are either in the government or in bureaucracy commit, white-collar crimes. White-collar crimes are not violent in nature; rather they involve such crimes, which are committed for various financial purposes. White-collar crimes are considered an offense that is less punishable as compared to Blue-collar crimes. According to Hill (2009, p. 186), blue-collar crime offender, whether violent or non-violent, is punished more severely as compared to a white-collar criminal. However, it does not mean that white-collar crimes do not harm the people; rather they affect many people in the long run. 5.3.1 Prevention of White Collar Crimes Prevention of white-collar crimes does not seem to be possible but the governments of American and European countries have been successful in reducing the white-collar crime rate through implementing such policies, which restrict the higher officials from accessing the private records. The strategies, which have proved to be successful in the reduction of white-collar crimes, are Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) and Crime Prevention through Awareness and Procedural Design (CPTAPD). People get involved in white-collar crimes when they see that the chances of being caught are very less as compared to the benefits of crimes. 5.4 Violent crimes Violent crimes are those crimes in which the offender makes use of violence in order to get personal favors. The violent crimes include murders, homicide, manslaughter, sexual assault, abduction, robbery, and false imprisonment. Carrying out an unlawful physical attack on some other person is referred to as violent crime. Violent crimes also include sexual abuse in which the offender uses his power to get involved in sexual activity with another person without any mutual consent. Violent crimes not only physically injure a person but also leave a fearful impact on the mind of the victim for the rest of life. 5.4.1 Prevention Strategies for Violent Crimes The main objectives of the crime prevention measures include suppression of the level of poverty, reduction in violent crimes, elimination of socially pathological behavior from the criminals, reduction in crime opportunities, and increase in the risk of interception among the criminals. The preventive measures for violent crimes include social measures, situational measures, public awareness, and building of implementation capacity. Social measures include bringing change in the unpleasant social and economic environment of a country in order to reduce the crime rate. Situational measures include removal of the opportunities available for the criminals in order to ensure a crime-free environment. Next security measure is to create awareness among the public regarding personal safety. These were the crime prevention measures, which can be taken by the government of different countries in order to reduce the level of crime rate. 6. Role of Virtue Ethics Theory in Solving the Problem Virtue Ethics theory can be very helpful in solving the problem of increased crime rate because it focuses on helping the individual develop good and acceptable personality traits instead of focusing on the actions of the individuals. Cline asserts, “Virtue-based ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity”. Virtue Ethics theory helps in making such character traits, which make a person take appropriate decisions regarding different matters of life. Virtue Ethics theory plays a critical role in crime prevention as it makes correctional officers assist the inmates in changing their negative behaviors and bad habits such as anger, aggressive moods, and greed. Therefore, we can say that Virtue Ethics theory can be very helpful because it emphasizes on the development of good behaviors, which makes the inmates leave all sorts of crimes. 7. American Correctional System The United States of America has the largest correctional system in the world. The correctional system consists of administrative works for arbitrating and meting out those who are accused and convicted of crimes. Although America’s correctional system provides a number of considerable benefits to the society, there also exist some key issues, which need to be dealt in order to make the system more effective and beneficial for the society. 7.1 Overcrowding Overcrowding is one of those issues, which is affecting the overall performance of the American correctional system. In America, prisons are overcrowded with a large number of people from different races and cultures. Statistics and researches show that America has the highest number of prisoners in the world. Vicini (2006) states, “The U.S. incarceration rate of 737 per 100,000 people in the highest, followed by 611 in Russia and 547 for St. Kitts and Nevis”. Almost 30 percent of the world’s total imprisoned population belongs to the United States of America, which is really a very high percentage. On the other hand, the number of prisons in the United States is not big enough to meet the requirements of the incarcerated population. 7.2 Increased Costs An increased cost of prison management is one of the major problems associated with the issue of overcrowding or overpopulation in the American correctional system. It is a fact that, in prisons, costs increase with increase in the number of people incarcerated in the prisons. Costs, which include provision of appropriate living conditions, proper meal, and clothing of the prisoners, exceed the normal budgeted cost when the number of prisoners exceeds the calculated number of total prisoners a prison can accommodate. It is very big issue in the United States because it puts a direct impact on the overall economy of the country. 7.3 Less Number of Prison Officers Another issue associated with overcrowding in prisons is the availability of professional prison officers. The problem is that a prison is sometimes unable to find proficient officers when the demand for officers increases. This gives rise to the issue of delayed and improper rehabilitation of the prisoners. Overcrowding gives rise to violence in prisons. Overcrowding also creates stress and tension among the prisoners. Prison officers have the responsibility to take care of the prisoners’ activities and rehabilitation process. When less experienced officers are hired to manage the prisoners, rehabilitation process is affected and prisoners do not get the facilities that they need to develop good behaviors. 8. Criminal Justice Act 2003 The Criminal Justice Act 2003 prohibits putting a person into jail without any serious criminal charges on the person. To decrease the number of prisoners, the government should implement the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in its real essence. It is a fact that a large number of prisoners incarcerated in the American correctional system have not done any big crime. Such prisoners should be fined instead of sending them to the prisons. These were some of the ways, which can be used to overcome the issue of overcrowding associated with the American correctional system. 9. Use of Criminal Justice System Alexis (2011) states, “The criminal justice system refers to the court system, the prison and jail system, and the system within a society by which accused people are tried for crimes and punished”. The three main components of a criminal justice system include police, lawyers, and judges. Criminal justice system plays a significant role in reducing the occurrence of crimes and establishing peace in a country. Criminal justice system is used in order to arrest and deter such people who are suspected to be involved in the crimes. The offenders are not only arrested by the police officials but also they are given punishment depending upon the nature of crime in which they are involved. 10. Roles of Criminologists and Criminalists 10.1 Criminologists In the broad context, all criminologists, criminalists, and forensic psychologists work for the same purpose, which is, reduction or prevention of crimes. However, there are big differences in the job responsibilities of these professionals. Studying all three fields related to the field of criminal justice, it can be said that the professionals of all three fields work together to deal with crimes. Criminologists deal more with the study of criminal behaviors and analysis of different crime prevention techniques as compared than actually participating in crime prevention. They provide proper solutions and assessments to government agencies, law enforcement agencies, correctional systems, and police officials. They also provide academic services in colleges and universities. 10.2 Criminalists The field of criminalists, on the other hand, is related more closely to the field of forensic science. Criminalists collect evidences of the crimes upon instructions of the law enforcement agencies, which hire them. A criminalist’s job activities are somewhat similar to a forensic science specialist although their job responsibilities cannot be mixed up with each other. According to Bell (2008, p. 299), criminalists need to possess a BS degree along with on-the-job training in order to become a skilled professional. 11. Ethical Treatment of Prisoners Ethical treatment of prisoners is very important because it acts as the basic step towards prisoners’ rehabilitation. Unethical treatment harms rehabilitation and increases the number of suicides among prisoners. One of the major reasons behind increased rate of crimes and suicides among the inmates has been the behavior of some of the correctional officers. Some officers do not treat the prisoners politely, which injects the sense of revenge in the minds of the criminals. Inmates expect good behavior from the correctional officers but when they do not get what they expect from the officers, they become more violent and cruel. The harsh and unkind treatment of some of the correctional officers also plays an important role in creating negative feelings in the minds of the inmates. It is the nature of any criminal to show the feelings of aggression if he/she is mistreated either by other prisoners or by correctional officers. Therefore, it is very important for the correctional officers to control the behaviors and actions of the criminals in an appropriate way in order to control crime rate in the country. 12. Conclusion Summing it up, penology is a branch of criminology that is concerned with the punishments of different types of crimes. Punishment is a very effective tool for reducing the number of crimes in any specific part of the world. Penology not only deals with punishment of crimes but also it is concerned with prison systems and correctional facilities. Penology is a very important part of criminology and covers many issues, such as, prison reform, prisoner abuse, and prisoner rights. References Alexis, W 2011, What Is the Criminal Justice System?. Viewed 24 December, 2011, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-criminal-justice-system.htm Arrigo, B & Milovanovic, D 2009, Revolution in Penology: Rethinking the Society of Captives, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Maryland. Bell, S 2008, Encyclopedia of Forensic Science. 2nd edn, Infobase Publishing; New York. Cavadino, M & Dignan J 2007, The Penal System: An Introduction, 4th edn, SAGE Publications, London. Chatturvedi, J 2006, Penology and Correctional Administration, Isha Books, Delhi. Clear, T 1994, Harm in American Penology: Offenders, Victims, and Their Communities, State University of New York Press, Albany. Hill, J 2009, The Political centrist, Vanderbilt University Press, Tennessee. Hudson, B 2003, Understanding Justice: An Introduction to Ideas, Perspectives and Controversies in Modern Penal Theory, 2nd edn, Open University press, Buckingham. Sharma, R 1998, Criminology and Penology, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. Siegel, L 2010, Introduction to Criminal Justice, 12th edn, Wadsworth, Belmont. Vicini, J 2006, US Has the Most Prisoners in the World, Viewed 24 December, 2011, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1209-01.htm Read More