A_World_Apart

A World Apart: A comparison of the correctional systems of America and Turkey A correctional system is a network of governmental agencies that administer a jurisdiction’s prisons and parole system (Garner, 2009). Sentences imposed upon offenders range from probation to serving time in prison. Financial penalties may be given, including fines, forfeiture, and restitution. In some countries corporal punishment still exists. Halfway houses, city and county jails, and federal prisons all fall under the corrections umbrella. Different countries around the world have different ways of dealing with criminal behavior. To illustrate some of distinctions and parallels of criminal justice within the world, two very different countries’ correctional systems should be compared. The United States of America and Turkey are two very different countries geographically, culturally, and politically; therefore, comparing correctional systems of these two countries would be preferable. The United States and Turkey both separate prisoners into remanded or pre-trial detention prisoners, and convicted prisoners (prisoners who already possess their sentences). Institutions in America are separated into federal and state correctional facilities. State facilities may also be broken down into city and county jails. The correctional facilities in the United States can be further broken down by security. The Supermax prison is the highest security prison which houses the most dangerous inmates. This is where prisoners are in lockdown 23 hours a day in a single cell and have no interaction with any other inmates. They are allowed one hour of time outside their cell and all meals are given to them in their cell for the safety of the guards. The next level is maximum security, where prisoners are allowed out of their cells one hour a day and must remain inside a specific area and may or may not have another prisoner in their cell. Like the supermax facilities, maximum security facilities maintain direct and constant supervision on the inmates. Medium security is under maximum and these prisoners may sleep in dormitories and may have lockers to store possessions with less supervision over the internal movements of the prisoners. Minimum security prisons comprise of less secure dorms, and these prisoners often work on community projects. Correctional institutions in Turkey are comprised of closed, semi-open and open prisons. Many prisons have separate blocks for women and some for children, as well as prisons for women or children alone, as in America. Turkey’s prisons are labeled with different letters for different types. Closed prisons are separated into different kinds according to its structure and the number of the prisoners held. Examples are A type, B type, E type and F type, with the F type being the ones where high penalty prisoners are held (http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Prison#Turkey, 2011). The Ministry of Justice manages the prison system in Turkey. The civil penal system is administered by the General Directorate of Prisons and Houses of Detention in the Ministry of Justice in Turkey(http://www.photius.com/countries/turkey/national_security/turkey_national_security_penal_system.html, 2011). Prisons in the United States are operated under strict authority of both the federal and state governments, according to the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Corrections is a governmental agency responsible for overseeing the incarceration of convicted persons. Above the Department of Corrections is the Federal Bureau of Prisons which is under the Department of Justice. In addition, the National Institute of Corrections is part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons which provides support programs to assist correction agencies. Turkey’s population during 2010 was 73.722 million according to the 2010 census (http://www.trt-world.com/trtworld, 2011). As of the end of 2008, prisoners numbered around 100,000 with around 45,000 on remand and 60,000 that were convicted and 384 prisons. In America, on the other hand, the population of the entire country was at 308,745,538 as of 2010 (http://www.census.gov, 2011). As of June 2009, 2,297,400 were incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails, so the United States has a much larger population of inmates and therefore, much larger prison system, 2011). In 2009, over 7.2 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year end which is 3.1% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 32 adults (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm'ty=tp&tid=11, 2011). Therefore, about 756 out of 100,000 Americans are incarcerated versus 142 out of 100,000 Turks incarcerated (Walmsley, 2008). Some privatized prisons exist in America, while the concept is a fairly new concept for Turkey; there are not many privatized prisons in this country. American prisons seem to offer a much better prison life than Turkey. Prisons in Turkey have been widely criticized for failing to meet international standards of proper infrastructure, and implementing extrajudicial punishment of prisoners (http://www.merip.org/mero/mero122900.html, 2011). They have been reported for severe brutality against their prisoners. Education and work programs as well as psychological/counseling programs are prevalent in America’s correctional systems (Rehabilitation - Correctional Programs In The United States, 2011). Community-based treatment is also popular in American correctional institutions. Turkish prisons have been known to have harm-reduction programs. Both American and Turkish correctional systems offer parole. The United States correction system is more lenient on parole and is becoming more involved in community corrections. Turkey has been notorious in their treatment of prisoners and are now have obligations under International human rights by the UN ( http://www.khrp.org/component/docman/doc_details/222-closed-ranks-transparency-and-accountability-in-turkeys-prison-system.html, 2011). In addition, according to an article in the Corrections Compendium, Turkey is using U.N. standards to improve its prison system (Hill, 2003). The Turkish parliament have passed a package of constitutional amendments that will ease restrictions on human rights that will require changes to the penal code so this is promising(TURKEY - Oct. 3 - Reforms To Ease Curbs On Human Rights., 2011)). The United States correctional system is more effective than the Turkish correctional system but, they are very different and the people running them are very different. Prisons in the United States seem to be more organized and have more laws in place to protect the rights of its prisoners, as well as has more beneficial programs for rehabilitation. Although the United States has more prisoners on average, they are treated better, supervised more, and tend to serve less severe sentences. Prisoners in this country are treated more humane than most in Turkey. Turkey’s corrections system is improving, they have taken a big step forward by trying to adhere to U.N guidelines. Though they are making the effort to change they still have a lot of work ahead of them. Hopefully, Turkey’s correctional system will continue to improve. The United States overall has a better prison system than most but, still has a system that needs improvement as well.