Risk Assessment and Sentencing

¶ … Classical Criminology theories in examining a case that studies a bill which is meant to increase the maximum term for prisoners charged with armed robbery, by double. The Enlightenment was the basis on which Classical Criminology theories came to be. The theories emphasize on the notion that people choose to end their own lives, and that people need to be punished to prevent them from committing crimes in the future.

Classical theories are based on the assumption that people have their freedom, and committing an offense is by choice (The Classical School of Criminology & Its Influence Today). The theories are also based on the assumption that people try to look for pleasure and avoid painful experiences. The notion of hedonism was one of the major ideas, which means that people try to look for pleasure and avoid pain. The idea is used in classical theories to inform punishment. Every person has freedoms which should be respected by the Society.

Scenario Background Your occupation is the states correction department bureau, which is in charge of the prison system facilities of the state. There is a bill that is intended to be presented to the committee of the policies of Criminal Justice used in the state parliament (Instructions from Customer). Nonetheless, the state in which you live has been given a National order by the court to reduce or retain the rate of imprisonment for felony charges. We should consider the relationship between policy creation and criminal offenses.

Objectives of the Bill If the bill is passed, it will lead to the increase of the maximum term for prisoners found guilty of armed robbery, by double Goals of the Bill The bill is aimed at compensating the costs of imprisoning violent criminals (South, 2010). The crimes that are nonviolent are -- felony service theft, shoplifting, forgery offenses involving less than $1,000, passing checks that have been forged and setting personal property on fire. Possible Solutions for Bill As from 2013, need and risk evaluations will be part of presentence reports.

This will allow for judges to evaluate the possibility of a defendant committing a criminal offense when weighing the available options for sentencing. Courts in Virginia identify nonviolent criminals who would be better suited for supervision instead of prison by means of risk assessment.

In the year 1994, there was a request by General Assembly for the sentencing commission of the state to come up with risk assessment and use it on community sanction sentences, where 25% of nonviolent drug and property criminals that may have been imprisoned as per the sentencing guidelines of the state (Principles of Effective State Sentencing and Corrections Policy). Texas needs to do this based on the bill that is being passed, such that the bill will still be passed and still have less people being imprisoned for felony charges.

Some states have incentive finances provided by their state-based partnerships to the regions that effectively monitor criminals within their community in place of sentencing them to imprisonment in the state as well as parole and probation violations. There are more than nine states, including Arizona, Illinois, California, Kentucky, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio and Kansas have endorsed the arrangement, where local agencies for correction are funded by their states and given more support to execute evidence-oriented programming and monitoring.

The system is aimed at lowering the level at which parolees and probationers commit new offenses or go against their monitoring terms and are arrested and imprisoned again. Should Bill Be Approved or Not? The bill needs to be approved. People who are against sentencing regulations have stated that the regulations have caused overcrowding and monetary strains in prisons. In addition, they have provided evidence against the idea that a longer imprisonment period will help prevent such crimes as robbery with violence from being committed (Writer Thoughts).

Since the regulations may combine the idea.