Problems In The Correctional System

The correction system maintains the responsibility of supervising an offender throughout the duration of his or her sentence. Once a crime is committed, supervision starts. This type of supervision can be very costly depending on the duration and sentence imposed by the judge or jury. America has the largest incarceration rate in the world. Because of those numbers, problems within the correctional facilities are growing. An alternative is needed to assist in relieving several major problems within correctional facilities all around the United States.

Criminal justice proceedings begin with the commission of a crime. Duhaime’s Law Dictionary defines a crime as “an act or omission which is prohibited by criminal law and punished, usually by

More than “2.3 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 942 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 70 in Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S territories” (Rabuy and Wagner, 2016). Rabuy and Wagner (2016) also found that 3.8 million people are on probation and 820,000 are on parole. As the incarceration number continues to grow, so do the problems within the correctional facility. One of the biggest problems the correctional system is facing today is overcrowded jails and prisons. An overcrowded facility is the start to a domino effect of problems. Problems such as a growth in inmate misconduct and violence against each other and against staff members, and an increase in medical problems and diseases. Alternatives to incarceration will help lower these numbers and growing

Peak (2012) states “a real alternative to incarceration must have three elements to be effective: it must incapacitate offenders enough so that it is possible to interfere with their lives and activities to make committing a new offense extremely difficult, it must be unpleasant enough to deter offenders from wanting to commit new crimes, and it has to provide real and credible protection for the community.” Alternative sentences benefit both the justice system and the offender. By having the ability to impose an alternative sentence on eligible offenders will greatly reduce incarceration rates. Thus lowering prison numbers, which will lower the amount of violence and medical problems within the jail house walls. An offender granted an alternative to incarceration has a lot to gain. For example, if the defendant is places on house arrest or electronic monitoring, he or she can retain their current employment, this helps ease the burden of their arrest on the family. Someone on house arrest is afforded the opportunity to see their family (husband, wife, children) everyday. Offenders on house arrest do not have to worry about the reintegration phase once release from jail / prison. And they have the chance to use court appointed resources to begin the healing process and address the root of the