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Alternatives to Prison
Over the last 30 years, the prison population in the United States has increased exponentially. For instance, California's prison population has increase eightfold, from 20,000 prisoners in the early 1970's to more that 160,000 in the early 2000's. (Haney) In Texas, from just 1992 to 1997 the prison population doubled, adding an additional 70,000 prisoners. (Haney) Because of the massive overpopulation in America's prisons, there have been advances in alternatives which allow for sentences other than incarceration.
Since many of those incarcerated in prisons are there for non-violent offenses, there are some who advocate that non-violent criminals be allowed alternatives to prison. The benefits of such alternatives are that they give courts more options, they save taxpayers money, strengthen families and communities, reduce crime, and are supported by the public. ("Alternatives to Incarceration Fact Sheet.")
One type of alternative to prison is what is referred to as "boot camps." According to professional sociologists,...
By being in the camp, prisoners usually are allowed a reduction in their sentences by up to 6 months. (Blaum)
Another alternative is the concept of "drug courts;" which would concentrate on substance abuse related crimes and focus on treatment rather than punishment. Probation, also called community corrections, is another alternatives and can include a number of different options to keep an offender out of prison. There is Intensive Supervisory Probation (ISP) in which offenders are released from prison but kept in a "half-way" house. There the offenders are intensively monitored and must maintain "fulltime employment, pay taxes, abide by a…
References
"Alternatives to Incarceration Fact Sheet." Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). Retrieved from http://www.famm.org/Repository/Files/Alternatives%20in%20a%20Nutshell%
207.30.09%5B1%5DFINAL.PDF
Blaum, Paul. (1996) "Correctional boot camps are effective." Public Information. Retrieved from http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_1996/June20/CURRENT/research1.html
Haney, Craig. "Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Consequences and Dysfunctional Reactions." Prison Commission Testimony. Retrieved from http://www.prisoncommission.org/statements/haney_craig.pdf
"ISP Fact Sheet." New Jersey Judiciary. Retrieved from http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/probsup/LEOfactsheet.pdf
"What are house arrest and electronic monitoring?" Free Advice. Retrieved from http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-
(MACV Dir 381-41) This document is one of the first confidential memorandums associated with the Phoenix Program, which details in 1967 the mostly U.S. involvement in counterinsurgency intelligence and activities and discusses the future training and development of South Vietnam forces to serve the same function, that had been supported by the U.S. In civilian (mostly CIA) and military roles. The document stresses that the U.S. role is to
Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the
New York State Department of Parole or the Department of Corrections is an agency of the state responsible for the supervision and management of criminals convicted of a crime, felony level or higher. The Department of Corrections was put in place to provide protection for the community by operating and managing safe, secure facilities that keep offenders under control as well as allow them fair treatment during time served.
Drug Courts: A Program to Reinvent Justice for Addicts For the past several decades, drug use has had an overwhelming effect upon the American justice system, with drug and drug-related crime being the most common offense in almost every community (Drug Strategies, 1996). Beyond the troubling ability of these problems to fill prisons to capacity, the traditional judicial system seemed to have no deterrent effect on these crimes (Drug and Crime