Is it not time we made prison a deterent. Basic rooms, no TV, no video games. Basic food and hard work?

Answer 1

Erm ! nope other wise I would not be able to answer these silly questions from my own room!! on my PDA!

Answer 2

How many of you have actually been in prison? I bet none of you, just sitting there as armchair critics. I have, 6 months and six days in a Spanish jail, not charged with anything, held alongside convicted criminals, under exactly the same regime. To be seperated from your husband, only seeing them once a week, relying on the internal postal system to try to deliver mail between you. I was held alongside ETA, murderers, drug users and dealers, yet I was unconvicted, not even charged!

Unless you have been through something like that, 99% of you dont have a clue nor the right to say wether prison works or not or how it should be!

Boredom within a prison breeds further contempt for the systems that hold them. Rooms are basic, we could only have TV if we had permission, food was cr*p, yes the medical care was free, but was also cr*p, the answer was to merely give out valium for a quiet life. If any of you have been in a prison, you would know what I'm talking about and wouldnt be coming out with such rubbish

Answer 3

I guess I'll be the first to disagree. I think prison is a deterent for most people. To the ones where it's not, it wouldn't matter to them anyway. Has anyone ever watched the show "Lock Up" on MSNBC? They go inside prisons. They're definitely not country clubs. The fact is, most people eventually get out of prison. You can't lock them up and throw away the key. How do you think someone who has been locked up for 20+ years could function if they had no access to TV or newspapers? The world has changed a lot in the past 20 years. You can treat people like animals and expect them to act like a human beings.

Answer 4

Prison will never be a deterrant to criminals. The reason is most criminals don't think they'll ever be caught, so nothing such as prison will ever be a deterrent.

Look at all the prisons prior to the 1960s - they were literally hell holes, yet they deterred no one.

If you want to cut down crime, you needto be pro-active, not re-active. Spending the money on people before they are in prison is a lot more cost effective than spending money on them while they are in prison. Spending money on rehabilitation that keeps the recidivism rate down makes more sense than continuing to build and staff more and more prisons.

Answer 5

yes. It is a luxury for many. I mean, there are people in prison who have more than a lot of law abiding people. I know some people who, when they were young, got holidays and got to play pool and have free meals in juvenile centres because they had committed abhorrent crimes. Then there were people like myself and my friends and family being ignored because we were good while these idiots were living a life of luxury.

Prison should be all about letting the perpetrator know that they have done something wrong, not a place for people to want to go.

All of those young offenders became criminals in adulthood so obviously that was not a deterant.

Answer 6

I'd like to know What prison have you been visiting? I'd like to arrange for a cherished friend to be transferred there! The top notch medical/dental care I'm always hearing about would be nice!He had a small cavity in one tooth and the answer was to pull the tooth, he needs to see a doctor to renew a prescription for a chronic condition (no, it's not a drug with any recreational potential, it's Prilosec) but can't see the doc because he is not bleeding, and when he does get that script renewed, he'll be paying for it or rather either his mom or I will be doing so. The situation has gotten so bad with prison health care that a federal judge recently ordered the whole department into recievership.
He shares a 6 x 12 cell with one other man, and counts himself lucky that there are not 3 in that cell due to the amazingly overcrowded state of the facility, he gets to leave that cell about 4 hours a day, including shower, chow, dayroom and yard time... and THAT is when the facility is not on lockdown due to drastic understaffing, courtesy of a hiring freeze imposed by the Governor...on lockdown, it really is in the cell, 24/7, food passed through the door, etc the only thing that keeps going is the mail (and by the way, I send him paper,envelopes and postage, unless it is a letter to one's attorney of record AND there is no money on one's books, the prison does not pay for letters)....the educational programs, IF an inmate qualifies AND if there is a slot available in the class.....and surely you see the need to try to educate these people to improve the chances of their becoming productive citizens upon release?
The showers are hot and reasonably clean, but inmates buy their own soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.
The food is a joke, and is barely legal in quantity and quality... most inmates get VERY creative with the top ramen that is available at the commisary...
What Gym/weight room are you talking about? My friend does an aerobic routine in his cell each morning and spends about half his time in the yard running his usual 3 to 5 miles, but there's no equipment available...I'm not complaining about that, but I'd like to know where you get your information.

As to other recreational activities, if there are video games, it has not been mentioned to me... Television in the day room where what to watch is decided by vote...any TVs or radios in the cells were not provided by the state, either the inmate or someone like me purchased them and like quarterly packages and phone calls (collect and incredibly costly) they are a privilige that is EARNED... Surely you can see the value of rewarding good behavior?

By the way, my friend is what they call a model inmate, he has had no disiplinary problems inside.
I could go on and on, but I really want to know what prison all these stereotypes of fun and games are based on, because it sure as hell is not in California!

Answer 7

Nope. Prison is not a deterrent. It has been shown that the criminal is incapable of thinking in the long term. There are various reason for this. One is the Cognitive Landscape of the criminal mentality. One is genetic disposition. Only one third of the crime is committed by people who can think beyond the next day. There are various reason for that. We have used the prisons as warehouses for far too long (not unlike our public school system). And, yes, there are individuals who make choices to do what is wrong, but even with them there is a limit to their ability to see past the immediate gratification of the perceived need.

Here is but a bit for your education.

Answer 8

I totally agree with you.
Sadly though, you have people out there that are more concerned with prisoners rights, more then they are with victims rights. You're always hearing how the poor prisoners have to sit in their cells, and some of them only get showers every other day....Well, here is an idea....Don't break the law and you won't have to go to jail! All these activist for prisoners want to make sure they get counseling, what about the victims and their families? They are being forced top pay for counseling and therapy out of their own pocket, while the criminals get it for free. It truly sucks!

Answer 9

Yes it is time that we made Prisons a Deterrent: but not by making them like a prehistoric cave, with a lock on the door!! Some inmates may have their own cells: TV’s: PS2’s: X boxes: state of the art Gym equipment etc, etc, etc!! But the one thing they don’t have: FREEDOM!!

A friend of mine was inside for several years for Robbery. On release he found a flat and moved in with the help of his friends… for the next 2 days no one saw him. I went round to see how he was, and what he had been up to: I found the door ‘UNLOCKED’, & him sat on the bed. When I asked him why he had not been round, or what he was doing stuck inside on such a beautiful sunny day, he said: ‘HE WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR & LET HIM OUT’!!!

After saying that!!

Prisons would be a great deterrent if the court system gave sentences that fit the crime: and ‘Seriously’ increased the sentence for ‘Repeat Offenders’.

i.e. if you are given a Life Sentence’: it should mean just that… ‘LIFE’… i.e. you live in prison, you die in prison, you’re buried in a prison grave: not let out in 12 years or less on license for good behaviour!!

If you serve 2 years inside for e.g. burglary the first time: then you get caught again… you make it a ‘Fix Penalty’ 6 years inside!!

They should also do away with the ‘Parole System’: and make Inmates complete their ‘Full Sentence’, no time off for good behaviour: no licences: no tagging… Just full jail time!!

This will then let people know the true meaning of: ‘If Your Not Willing To Do The Time: Don’t Commit The Crime’!! because they will know they are ‘NOT’ going to get out early!!

They also need to bring ‘Rehabilitation’ & proper ‘Education’ into our prison systems: to prepare the Inmate for life once back on the outside!! With proper drug rehab/serious enforcement and punishment for those using or bring drugs into prisons: full range Counselling: Anger management: Academic & Vocational Studies: Proper ‘Meaningful’ employment while inside… to be given a ‘Purpose & Meaning’ in life, other than that of a life of crime!!

The problem is, as always will be: MONEY & RESAUSES to fund such a system… so instead we will be left with a system that does not work, and churns out more repeat offenders than it does rehabilitated members of society!!!

Answer 10

I'd like criminals to do more work, to put something back into the community, whether it be picking up litter, removing grafiti or more involved work for charities or the community in general.

We don't benefit from them being in prison, they're removed from society for a while, but we have to pay for their meals and keep, and then they come out of prison with more criminal skills. Rehabilitation and hard work is the answer.

Then instead of leeting people off early for good behaviour, they could be let off in ratio to the amount of community work they have done - that really repays their debt to society.

Answer 11

Corrections officers will tell you that if prisoners don't have any decent pastimes they will find bad ones. Anyone who thinks prison is a fun place to be doesn't have any idea what they are talking about. It's only "fun" for the small percentage of inmates (usually the ones who were worst on the outside) who can terrorize the rest.