Remodeling the Criminal Justice System

Alternative Sentencing Structures in US Prison System
Contemporary laws and the practices of America’s justice system continue to exacerbate the crime problem and have unnecessarily damaged the lives of many people. Moreover, prisons are seen to be systems that are adding more strain to the taxpayers because billions of money goes to waste each year. It has reached a point that the system is almost feeding itself because it takes longer to get off the system and no positive impact is evident on the crime rates. According to research conducted ten years ago, the prison population in America was over two million, which accounts for nearly one-fourth of the world’s total (Alarid, 2016). Having such figures is proof enough of the failure the prison system is facing, and the government should adopt other measures. Rather than stubbornly relying on a system that is a known failure, prisons in America should be discontinued as the primary source of punishment and individual convicted offenders should be punished and treated more suitably in the community through alternative sentencing structures.
With the desire of enhancing safety in the society, prisons are known to be the essential tools, but in most instances, more is not always considered to be better. Criminal justice policy failure in America indicates that something needs to be done and fast. Evidence provided shows that the key to attaining success in such instances will mean diversion from incarceration, accompanied by accurate assessment and screening measures geared towards determining those problems that urgently need addressing. Hence, the government needs to provide the society with the necessary resources that will help to change offenders’ behavior (Alarid, 2016). For all this to be attained, the environment needs to be changed and cater for things like compliance and accountability, supervision, and the sanctioning of noncompliance should incorporate appropriate measures.
Such issues can be changed if only we change our thinking about crime and punishment. Therefore, building sufficient diversion and treatment capacity needs to look at the society or community as vital sentencing alternatives to prison systems. Offenders who will be living in the community will be given a chance to compensate their victims through payback or restitution through community service. Moreover, the community corrections programs have been known to protect the offenders from harm of exposure to subculture violence in many prisons and jails (Alarid, 2016).
Community-based sanctions range from residential programs (therapeutic communities) to economic sanctions (restitution) or outpatient options (probation). Therefore, by introducing community sentencing, offenders will have to obey the rules and laws stipulated by their societies because limits and obligations have been set on their freedom. Examples of punishments offered by community correction centers include working for the community, participating in mental health or substance abuse treatment, and doing community service, which many offenders hate (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2014). The offender, who does not comply with the conditions stipulated, will face stringent supervision. By having the offender close to their family, friends and other loved ones will mean that family ties are strengthened because through these programs they are giving a chance to earn money, pay their taxes, and contribute to community building activities.
The whole idea of having alternatives is to reduce the number of people leaving prison and reoffending again. Therefore, having mental health and drug courts will help in confronting the underlying causes of crime, and through this, offenders will be helped from committing new crimes in future. The support from the public to government institutions on alternative incarceration measures indicates that community service and rehabilitative services are appropriate when sentencing non-serious offenders. Prisons should remain and serve the purpose of correctional behavior for those whom alternative methods have failed to work (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2014).
Overall, the American prison system has failed in attaining its objective, and that is why it is necessary for the government to consider other alternatives to incarceration. Examples of such alternatives include community service, rehabilitative services, and even probation among others. The community contributes to the proper functioning of government offices, and thus, their input in such matters goes a long way in bringing safety to the people. I believe that the offenders will change if brought close to their loved ones because they want them to be safe from harm.

References
Alarid, L. F. (2016). Community-based corrections (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E. & DeJong, C. (2014). The American system of criminal justice (14th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.