Penal Incarceration In Australia

1460 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Prison and its effectiveness

Within the Australian justice system, the most severe and utilized form of punishment sanctioned to criminal offenders is imprisonment (Brown 2012, p. 484). Admittedly, whilst this method of punishment incapacitates criminal offenders from society, various bodies of research critique whether incarceration truly reduces the overall rate of crime (Hayes and Prenzler 2015, p. 309; Goulding 2007). Despite this concern, preceding decades has seen established criminal justice divisions in Australia amplify their punitive stance on crime via escalating the length and rate of penal incarceration. Within this time frame however, various forms of justice procedures have emerged that have sought to alter existing justice procedures by tackling the problem …show more content…

In order to, determine why alternative forms of justice may have arisen. Generally, within Australia, there has tended to be a lack of agreement when deducting what the purpose incarceration may channel. For instance, Hayes and Prenzler (2015, pp. 316) specify, that whilst some individuals perceive imprisonment to operate on a symbolic level that embellishes retribution, others are likely to completely disagree and hold a different viewpoint. Likewise, a general lack of consensus is additionally seen when deciding if incarceration is an effective mode of punishment that truly addresses the problem of societal crime (Hayes and Prenzler 2015, p.312). To contextualize, prisons have been evaluated to be highly dangerous environments that amplify a subculture of violence and brutality (Goulding 2007, p.407). . As a consequence, of being constrained within this environment prisoners tend to desensitize themselves towards violence (Goulding 2007, p.400). In a review of literature examining Australian recidivism rates, Payne (cited in Hayes & Prenzler 2015, pp. 316) asserted that; “about two in every three prisoners will have been previously imprisoned”, and that; “between 35 and 41% of prisoners will be reimprisoned within two years of being released”. Taking this into account, perhaps, it can be presumed that convicted offenders may have difficulty reintegrating in society because of their desensitization to violence that diminished as a result of being incarcerated. Nevertheless, despite this negativity, a recent evaluative study has indicated

Show More
Related

  • The Rise of America’s Prison Empire

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout his novel, Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, author and professor Robert Perkinson outlines the three current dominant purposes of prison. The first, punishment, is the act of disciplining offenders in an effort to prevent them from recommitting a particular crime. Harsh punishment encourages prisoners to behave because many will not want to face the consequences of further incarceration. While the purpose of punishment is often denounced, many do agree that prison should continue to be used as a means of protecting law-abiding citizens from violent offenders. The isolation of inmates, prison’s second purpose, exists to protect the public. Rehabilitation is currently the third purpose of prison. Rehabilitation is considered successful when a prisoner does n...

    Read More

  • Post Sentencing Essay

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is offered to provide an incentive for “good behaviour” and ultimately rehabilitation during a sentence. The granting and restriction of parole is outlined in the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), and allows those with sentences of more than three years to be released after they have served their minimum sentences. The encouragement of rehabilitation upholds the rights of the community and offender, as the offender’s rights are not undermined by through excessively restricting their freedoms and the reintroduction of the rehabilitated offender into society minimises the threat of reoffending. However, the reward of parole for some offenders has resulted in community dissatisfaction. The Age article “Adrian Bayley should not have been on parole” represents a social concern regarding the leniency of parole for violent sexual offenders. The release of the evidently non-rehabilitated offender resulted in a breach of parole and the sexual assault and murder of Jill Meagher, a 29 year old Melbournian woman. As a result of the injustice of the lenient decision and subsequent community retaliation, new parole laws were introduced in Victoria during 2014. This legislation is outlined in the Corrections Amendment (Parole) Act 2014, and the penalty for breaching parole includes up to three months jail and/or a $4200 fine. Thus, there is greater justice for the victim and especially the community through the discouragement of crime for offenders who may not be rehabilitated and are released on

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Sentencing

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mandatory sentencing refers to the practice of parliament setting a fixed penalty for the commission of a criminal offence. Mandatory sentencing was mainly introduced in Australia to: prevent crime, to incapacitate the offenders, to deter offenders so they don’t offend again, to create a stronger retribution and to eliminate inconsistency. There is a firm belief that the imposition of Mandatory sentencing for an offence will have a deterrent effect on the individual and will send a forcible message to the offenders. Those in favour argue that it will bring consistency in sentencing and conciliate public concern about crime and punishment.

    Read More

  • Alternative Criminal Justice, And Restorative Justice: Not Real Alternatives

    3375 Words  | 7 Pages

    The current criminal justice system is expensive to maintain. In North America the cost to house one prisoner is upwards of eighty to two hundred dollars a day (Morris, 2000). The bulk of this is devoted to paying guards and security (Morris, 2000). In contrast with this, community oriented programming as halfway houses cost less than the prison alternative. Community programming costs five to twenty five dollars a day, and halfway houses although more expensive than community programs still remain cheaper than prison (Morris, 2000). Tabibi (2015c) states that approximately ninety percent of those housed in prison are non-violent offenders. The treatment of offenders in the current system is understood to be unjust. By this, Morris (2000) explains that we consistently see an overrepresentation of indigenous and black people in the penal system. Corporate crimes are largely omitted, while street crimes are emphasized (Morris, 2000). This disproportionately targets marginalized populations (homeless, drug addicted and the poor) (Tabibi, 2015c). The current system is immoral in that the caging of people is highly depersonalized and troubling (Tabibi, 2015c). This is considered to be a barbaric practice of the past, however it is still frequently used in North America (Morris, 2000). Another moral consideration is with the labelling of youth as offenders in the criminal justice system (Morris, 2000). Morris (2000) argues that we should see youth crimes as a social failure, not as an individual level failure. Next, Morris (2000) classifies prisons as a failure. Recidivism rates are consistently higher for prisons than for other alternatives (Morris, 2000). The reason for this is that prisons breed crime. A school for crime is created when a person is removed from society and labeled; they become isolated, angry

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Law

    2337 Words  | 5 Pages

    The gross over representation of indigenous people in the Australian criminal justice system (CJS) is so disturbingly evident that it is never the source of debate. Rather it is the starting point of discussions centring on the source and solutions to this prominent social, cultural and political issue. Discourse surrounds not only the economic and social disadvantage of indigenous communities, but also the systemic racism and continuing intergenerational trauma resulting for the unjust colonisation of a nation which has profited whites at the detriment to indigenous people throughout history. In respect to the currently CJS, trepidations are raised by indigenous communities around the lack of culturally diverse laws and punishments within the system. The overtly western system does not provide a viable space for indigenous

    Read More

  • Dangerous Offenders Legislation

    2270 Words  | 5 Pages

    Is this type of legislation justified? In simple terms no. It removes basic human rights such as the Common Law belief of innocent until proven guilty, it also takes away the adversarial nature of our justice system and replaces it with the possibility of arbitrary imprisonment (NSW Law Commission, 2004). This type of legislation also fails to adequately balance the goals of Imprisonment instead focuses on the punitive goals and contradicts the goal of rehabilitation.

    Read More

  • The History of the Australian Penal Colonies

    2753 Words  | 6 Pages

    Abel Magwitch was one of the two acquitted criminals in Dickens' Great Expectations. The convicts in this novel were sent to either Newgate prison or shipped to Australia where they were placed in penal settlements. Magwitch was sent to New South Wales for his connections with Compeyson (the other convict) and was sentenced on felony charges of swindling and forgery. Convicts sent to penal settlements suffered the same abuse that slaves were exposed to. The difference lies in the fact that these men and women were in these settlements because of crimes committed such as pickpocketing and murder. Such settlements were New South Wales, Van Dieman's Land, Devil's Island, and Botany Bay, to name a few. In fact, "Botany Bay meant convicts and was looked upon merely as the fit receptacle of national crime" (Inglis 4). Convicts were sent to these settlements as a way to curb the number of felons in the British Isles. Settlements created a place to live and work in order to change or correct the character of the convict. During the nineteenth century, convicts made up most of the population of Australia with a mere fraction of actual free emigrants. The Australian penal settlements helped to develop a new penal theory as well as different view of Australia. By looking at the journey of the convicts, their service, jobs, authorities, punishment, and freedom, we will be able to understand the complicated theory of penal ideas and the plight of Magwitch, Pip's convict.

    Read More

  • The Justice System Case Study

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    In more recent years, numbers of the UK prison population have been on the rise – less serious crimes have been more severely punished - whereas the number of financial penalties issued to offenders have been falling (Cavadino & Dignan, 2013). In 1975, approximately 40.000 people were imprisoned, that number has risen to 83.842 in 2013 (Berman & Dar, 2013). The prison population more than doubled in that time, whereas the overall population merely grew with 14% (World Bank, n.d.), thus, the relative growth of the prison population is significantly disproportional.

    Read More

  • Stripped of Humanity: Are Prison Systems Helpful or Rather Harmful?

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    For centuries, prisons have been attempting to reinforce good behavior through various methods of punishment, some more severe than others. There are several types of punishments which include “corporal punishment, public humiliation, penal bondage, and banishment for more severe offenses, as well as capital punishment”(Linklater, V). Punishments in which are more severe pose the question “Has it gone too far?” and is stripping away the rights and humanity of a criminal justified with the response it is for the protection of the people? Is justice really served? Although prison systems are intense and the experience is one of a kind for sure, it does little to help them as statistics show “two-in-five inmates nationwide return to jail within three years of release”(Ascharya, K).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'The Prisoner's Dilemma'

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Western cultures imprisonment is the universal method of punishing criminals (Chapman 571). According to criminologists locking up criminals may not even be an effective form of punishment. First, the prison sentences do not serve as an example to deter future criminals, which is indicated, in the increased rates of criminal behavior over the years. Secondly, prisons may protect the average citizen from crimes but the violence is then diverted to prison workers and other inmates. Finally, inmates are locked together which impedes their rehabilitation and exposes them too more criminal

    Read More

  • Recidivism In The Justice System

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Recidivism is a major problem in the United States, as nearly two-thirds of those released from prison, reoffend. In fact, in many cases those who were initially incarcerated for non-violent crimes, often escalate to violence, after release from prison. A U.S. Department of Justice special report released in 2014, entitled: Recidivism of

    Read More

  • Punishment of Offenders

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    The proliferation of harsh mandatory sentencing policies has inhibited the ability of courts to sentence offenders in a way that permits a more "problem solving" approach to crime, as we can see in the most recent community policing and drug court movements today. By eliminating any consideration of the factors contributing to crime and a range of responses, such sentencing policies fail to provide justice for all. Given the cutbacks in prison programming and rates of recidivism, in some cases over 60% or more, the increased use of incarceration in many respects represents a commitment to policies that are both ineffective and unfair. I believe in equal, fair and measured punishment for all. I don't advocate a soft, or a hard approach to punishment. But we must take a more pragmatic look at what the consequences of our actions are when we close our e...

    Read More

  • Current Issues in the Correctional System

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the current prison structures and sentencing process continues to neglect the issues that current offenders have no change will accrue to prevent recidivism. The issue with the current structure of the prison sentencing process is it does not deal with the “why” the individual is an social deviant but only looks at the punishment process to remove the deviant from society. This method does not allow an offender to return back to society without continuing where they left off. As an offender is punished they are sentenced (removal from society) they continue in an isolated environment (prison) after their punishment time is completed and are released back to society they are now an outsider to the rapidly changing social environment. These individuals are returned to society without any coping skills, job training, or transitional training which will prevent them from continuing down th...

    Read More

  • Imprisonment is Ineffective as Punishment

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    UK: Willan Publishing Co., Ltd. Verkaik, R. (2006) The Big Question: What are the alternatives to prison, and do they work? The Independent [online] 10 October. Available from: Johnstone, G. and Ness, D. (2007) Handbook of Restorative Justice.

    Read More

  • Classical School Of Criminology Essay

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    Offenders are protected today by both the rule of law, ensuring that all offenders are treated equally, regardless of their age, sex or position in the community, and due process, which ensures that all offenders are given a fair trial with the opportunity to defend themselves and be heard (Williams, 2012). Beccaria’s emphasis on punishment being humane and non-violent has also carried through to modern day corrections. It is still the case today that offenders must only receive punishment that is proportionate to the crime they have committed and the punishment is determined by the law. The power of the judges and the magistrates to make decisions on punishment is guided by the legislation and they do not have the power to change the law (Ferrajoli,

    Read More

More about Penal Incarceration In Australia

Open Document