Multiple Perceptions of Incarceration and Corrections - Essay Example

? Multiple Perceptions of Incarceration and Corrections Multiple Perceptions of Incarceration and Corrections Recent trends in the growth of correctional facilities in the United States present alarming statistics. Correctional facilities have exhibited plans of adopting reforms in the past. Apparently, a close analysis provides evidence of overcrowding in most of the correctional centers. This translates to the need for state governments to adjust their budgets in order to increase the amount set aside for maintenance and construction of new facilities to cater for the diverse needs of the offenders. The critical economic times have exerted overwhelming pressure forcing governments to allocate more funds for correctional facilities. Hence, they are facing multiple challenges in ensuring the smooth running of activities in these correctional centers. This paper will analyze the impact of hard economic times on the correctional facilities while setting examples from Ohio. Overview of the Issue Studies reveal that correctional facilities have been driven to a breaking point by the current economic hardships. It is critical to understand the structure of correctional activities. Correctional and incarceration facilities have embraced multiple structural changes in a bid to transform offenders. For example, most of the correctional facilities offer vocational training, and have integrated other programs that foster the transformation of offenders to socially responsible individuals. Moreover, many local authorities have opened up juvenile rehabilitation facilities separating the young offenders from the adult offenders. Setting up new facilities for juvenile delinquents stretched the budgets of many local authorities. Similarly, the numerous reforms adopted sought to convert correctional centers into reliable institutions that can the needs of offenders in society while promising security to the community (Rosenfeld, Quinet, and Garcia, 2010). The emergence of hard critical times has threatened to retard the implementation of the reforms. Many of the local authorities face the compulsion of readjusting their budget s, translating to the allocation of limited funds to the maintenance and expansion of correctional centers. Unfortunately, such hard financial times are coupled with increasing numbers of offenders. Worse still, most of the offenders gaining entry into most of the correctional facilities require special programs that can address their specific needs. For example, the high rates of delinquency in the United States translate to an increasing need for local authorities to expand juvenile correctional centers (Kirchoff, 2010). Moreover, the presence of elderly offenders who need special programs as vocational programs are irrelevant to them has been a cause of concern. Other issues such as HIV/A IDS prevalence in prisons translates to the need for more funding to cater for health needs of the offenders. This is the reality in most of the correctional centers. Many local authorities have faced the compulsion of identifying approaches of addressing the issue. One of the approaches proposed by many states has been the reduction of the amount allocated for correctional centers. The tight fiscal condition has compelled states to result to this despite the awareness that limited funds will retard the implementation of recent reforms. Other states have opted to bring to a halt all the expansion plans of correctional facilities. Suspending expansion plans compels the states to rely on the insufficient facilities in existence. In other cases, the insurmountable pressure has compelled some states to close down the operation of some correctional facilities, and transferring the offenders to the remaining facilities. In order to minimize the maintenance expenses, some local governments have opted to exclude some health services and educational programs previously offered to prisoners. This reduces the rehabilitative quality of these correctional centers. An additional approach used by states is the option of supporting continued treatment on substance abuse and making advocacies for sentence reforms (Kirchoff, 2010). In the worst cases, some states have resulted in releasing offenders as long as they have served fifty percent of their terms. The Situation in Ohio Ohio has experienced the overwhelming pressure brought about by the critical fiscal conditions. Prior to the economic difficulties, Ohio was one of the states that had expressed its commitment in adopting reforms in order to improve the state of its correctional facilities. However, critical economic times have often compelled the state to adopt new strategies in order to cope with the minimal funds available for state correctional center's budget. For example, in 2001, the state reduced twenty five million USD from the previous budget. In 2002, the cut increased to fifty five million USD. Such margins of the reduction plan translated to suspension of plans of expanding the bed capacity. Moreover, the state lacked alternatives and had to settle for delaying the opening of a correctional facility for non-violent offenders with drug-related issues. In the worst scenario, the state closed the Orient Correctional Institution, a facility with a capacity of 1700 offenders. The prison head had to settle for concentrating these offenders into other correctional facilities. Closure of this facility also rendered the prison staff jobless. In a different case, Ohio registers an increased number of elderly offenders who require special rehabilitative programs because their age surpasses the benefit of vocational programs offered in most of the facilities. For example, in Hocking correctional center, one of the special facilities for rehabilitating older people, the number of offenders rose to 600. In 2006, statistics revealed that the cost of sustaining an offender above fifty years of age was 81 USD. Over the years, the cost has been increasing tremendously. The prison head directed 321 million dollars to correctional facilities in 2010, and mentioned that he would result to closing a prison in 2011, if crime rates increased (Reutter, 2013). A similar case had happened previously, compelling the head of prisons to identify the Marion Juvenile correctional center, and convert the facility into a correctional center for adult offenders. Ohio has also resulted in the release of prisoners before completion of their jail terms. The strategies adopted in the reduction of expenses in the correctional facilities have given rise to overcrowding in many centers compelling the release of offenders after serving a substantial portion of their jail term (Reutter, 2013). In Ohio, an offender must serve fifty percent of the required jail term for him or to be eligible for release. Impact on Society The approaches described adopted by many correctional centers in order to cope with the harsh economic times have registered negative effects on both the rehabilitative capacity of the centers and the perception of the society towards released offenders. Apparently, the correctional center lacks adequate resources of rehabilitating the offenders efficiently. Therefore, incarceration in these centers does not suffice to prepare the offenders for a productive re-integration into the society after the release. Moreover, the suspension of the implementation of expansion plans retards the progress the correctional centers had been making to improve their standards to match those described in the international standards. The head of prisons admitted that the financial hardships comprised the rehabilitative quality of many of the correctional centers in Ohio (King, and Mauer, 2003). The community will lose their confidence in the correctional centers as playing a critical in enhancing security in society. As the head of prisons highlighted, there is a possibility that the overstretching of prison capacities has the potential of causing increased crime rates, compromising security in the community. Moreover, the release of offenders in a bid to ease congestion and overcrowding in correctional centers reintroduces potential criminals back into the society, and is a potential drive for the formation of re-energized gangs in society. Therefore, society has been adamant in accepting such offenders into the society. As described above, there is evidence of overcrowding in most of the correctional centers. The critical economic times have made it difficult for many state governments to allocate more funds for correctional facilities. Many of the local authorities face the compulsion of readjusting their budgets, translating to the allocation of limited funds to the maintenance and expansion of correctional centers. Unfortunately, such hard financial times are coupled with increasing numbers of offenders. Prior to the economic difficulties, Ohio was one of the states that had expressed its commitment in adopting reforms in order to improve the state of its correctional facilities. However, critical economic times have often compelled the state to adopt new strategies in order to cope with the minimal funds available for state correctional center's budget. As highlighted, correctional centers now have to tackle a complex scenario of suspending expansion programs and closure of some centers. References Adams, G. (2002). Current Trends in Correctional Programming in the USA. Retrieved on March 29, 2013 from http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No54/No54_24VE_Adams.pdf King , S., and Mauer, M. (2003). State Sentencing and Corrections Policy in an Era of Fiscal Constraint. Retrieved on March 29, 2013 from http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_statesentencingpolicy.pdf Kirchoff, M. (2010). Economic Impacts of Prison Growth. Retrieved on March 29, 2013 from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41177.pdf Reutter, D. (2013). Economic Crisis Prompts Prison Closures Nationwide,? But Savings (and Reforms) Are Elusive. Retrieved on March 29, 2013 from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/displayArticle.aspx?articleid=21078&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 Rosenfeld, R., Quinet, K., Garcia, A. (2010). Contemporary issues in criminological theory and research: The role of social institutions. Belmont CA: Wadsworth. Read More