Rehabilitation_and_the_Juvenile_Justice_System

Community Corrections CJS/230 By: Angela Lopez March 25, 2012 Community Corrections is a form of community supervision. The community supervision takes place within the community where the criminal who is probation eligible is sentenced to serve their community service. Community corrections, also a form of probation is an increasingly option other than incarceration. This sanction is utilized to fill the gap between prison and probation. Community supervision on behalf of community corrections is successfully effective for most probationers. The community is considered to be watching the probationers every move, waiting to see success of change or failure. As for the probationer, there is usually shame or embarrassment that is felt while serving community service. Community Corrections affect the society in which they are practiced can be seen in many different ways. Society can be harsh and not so forgiving of the probationer. Society in the prior years handled the criminal in the community to where the crime was committed. The criminal was sentenced then, and there. The criminal was either incarcerated, severely beaten, beheaded, hung, or sold as a slave.(Corrections: The Fundamentals, p.456) Now, criminals are arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced. Along with being sentenced, and depending on the crime and history of the criminal’s life’s past, he or she may be released back to the community to pay fines and serve community service. Society, does not accept criminals easily. To society, a criminal is to be put behind bars. In reality, criminals have a right to rehabilitation. Some criminals who have committed non-violent crimes, or misdemeanors, or may have a violation, are allotted probation are released to community service. There is an advantage to communities by having a probationer serve their duties to the community, whether it is repairs, clean-up, renovation, or work assistance that is the probationer’s sentence, and a community’s resolution to not have extra costs of having to hire people when budgets are being cut. Society does look down and frowns upon people with criminal pasts. This is unfortunate for those who are trying to learn from their mistakes, and trying to do right. Community Corrections and their overall effectiveness within the correctional system, has plenty of room for improvement and tougher sentences, so there will be less repeat offenders. Community corrections today, work to the best of its ability, especially for what funding is available. There is a necessity for awareness to be raised in regards to probation, and the communities that are out in our society. Prison systems in foreign countries are firm in their sentencing. There is no leniency. There are less repeat offenders in foreign countries. Prisons in foreign countries do not provide any luxury items to their prisoners. Foreign prisons offer no computers for the prisoners to use, no education offered. Sanitation is not required in the prisons. In Germany, Tadic, the Tribunal decided that Tadic would serve at least 10 years before being considered for release. (International Imprisonment, p.373) Foreign countries are tougher on extradition for criminals. Foreign countries sentence and act on their criminals. Criminals are punished by their countries immediately. There is usually physical punishment. I believe foreign prisons to be cold and fierce to people. There is no compassion or fairness for those who may be innocent. Nations view imprisonment as a serious offense and put sentencing to punishment. Some nations are drastic in sentencing and punishment. There may be sentencing that is unheard of in the United States. Some nations will amputate a hand, or cain a person a certain amount of time. Usually the end result is that the criminal will defiantly think twice before committing the crime twice. I truly believe other countries, nations are firm, and have just cause for the punishments that are given to criminals. That I believe is why there are less repeat offenders, and less crime. I believe that if the U.S. prison system of the United States adopted another countries prison system, the United States would be in violation of human rights, the right of freedom. There would be inhumanity, unjust for prisoners to be treated inhumanly. I believe the prison system would become completely corrupt in every way possible. Other countries do what works for their countries, towns, cities, and communities. As for the United States, our country was founded on freedom of speech, human rights, to be treated fair and equal. If the United States adopted another countries prison system, our constitution has been compromised. The type of community correction idea I would recommend to implement in my area is two ideas. First off, I would really pressure the graffiti on the retainer walls of the community and parks, also the registered sex offenders that are close to the schools. I would raise awareness in the community to form a group that would intricate a watch for the taggers. Once caught the taggers should be fined, and clean their tagging. I would also have the tagger patrol, and fess to any other taggers they may know. As for the registered sex offenders, this is disturbing. I do believe that our parents and schools should have knowledge of who these people are. I personally have a hard time on what type of rehabilitation there is for the registered sex offenders. There is not a high rehabilitation rate for these offenders. There is an increase of repeat offenders. I believe that there is rehabilitation for juveniles. There is a fine line of wrong, and demented. There are criminals that have no remorse in them and their intentions are to be destructive. These criminals need extensive rehabilitation. As for the pedophiles, there is just something about these predators that are not 100% rehabilitative. They are just plain mentally deranged. I would defiantly implement knowledge, not to just my community but to all other communities. Raise awareness of the registered sex offenders in their neighborhoods, and who and what they look like, and arm their children with the knowledge for their safety. RESOURCES Corrections: The Fundamentals, by Burk Foster. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Victims and Offenders, P.420-426, Copyright, 2009, Taylor & Frances Group, LLC Finding Alternatives to the Carceral State, by Jacobs James p.695 Social Research, Summer of 2007