The new 'prison'?

Question

People commit crime, go to jail, build up hatred for the system that put them in jail and learn how to commit crime more effectively inside.

A waste of human life and tax money to keep these inmates in their cells just rotting away until they are released.

I take the view that ALL criminals are made by circumstance and upbringing - there is no 'criminal' gene, the crime is made by the system and the criminal has bad actions.

If you want clarity, just get some stats on the conditions criminals are brought up in for some supportive evidence.

Anyway, I propose prison as a secure community - where prisoners live as citizens in an enclosed village. They work, get paid, and live outside community. This is to reform bad learning but not to punish what is effectively not their fault.

They can buy education with their income and other items which teaches the value of money. A huge resource is wasted - why not use it?

Finally, a certain highly secure section is reserved for bad behaviour.

For the people who rely on the media to make their opinions - you want to kill all the prisoners, force them to work as slaves and probably love the death penalty - for shame.

How guilty are you of gross ignorance. Prison is about justice and NOT revenge. I do not like the actions of most criminals but as you continue to isolate them and treat them badly, you increase their desire to mug, attack and rob you of all you have. I think that your attitude deserves this revenge as you so strongly agree with in your comments.

If you taske the view that an individual is in complete control of making a crime then read these facts and then explain why some nations have much higher specific crimes than any other country. I cannot use that line of thinking - it simply is flawed logic:

http://www.nationmaster.com/facts/Crime

Another useful info-bite:
Contrary to high incarceration rates, good education quality is more effective at reducing prison populations--the international data shows that each 2 1/2 TIMSS point increase in math scores reduces prison populations by one inmate per 100,000 population.
Source = http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

If you still don't believe that crime is made by conditions, then read this:
http://www.preventingcrime.net/library/Causes_of_Crime.pdf

Cited from above PDF link (paraphrased):
"Up to 80% of sex offenders were physically or sexually abused as children" - so to Ringo, I would not like their actions but do not think chopping them into pieces is appropriate.

As I said before, the crime is out of their control so I would like to see prevention rather than using prison as a final cure.

John Ringo - eat your words you redneck fool. I hope the crims get a hold of you in your job and make you pick up the soap. I have provided evidence above in links, read if you can...

Answer 1

I agree with you on several points of your argument.

Prisons make a bad situation worse. If a person is caught, convicted and sent to prison early in their life, the criminal behavior is often perpetuated throughout the individuals life.

I do like your "enclosed" village idea. If we can build a 700 mile wall, we can build villages. But that is primarily what prisons are. A "city" within a city.

Prisons are now the new "hospitals" for the mentally ill. Due to budget cuts in the early 1980's, Reagan/Bush administration, hospitals were CLOSED and the populations became part of the community. Which meant primarily that they became homeless. Homelessness, joblessness and street drugs exacerbated a very, very serious problem. It is easy to see how the mentally ill, left un-treated and homeless, could become a "criminal".

Prisons themselves faced major budget cuts. Services that were intended to help the transition back into civilian life are non-existent. Which includes effective health care not to mention care for mental illness, the last on the list.

The prisons became dual in their mission. The argument to decide exactly what to do with "criminals" has apparently been won by the side that says punishment as opposed to rehabilitation. You cannot do both at the same time if you want either to be effective. (And there are strong arguments on what punishment is, how effective or non-effective it is and so on and so forth.)

There is some evidence to support the genetic pre-dispostion to an individual becoming a criminal. HOWEVER, this is where the argument nature vs. nuture comes into play. If a child has their needs met in childhood, the child greatly decreases their likelihood of becoming a criminal. There are major exceptions, such as Ted Bundy, but he suffered from a rare form of manic-depressive disorder, prevalent in a very minute sector of society, which is of little comfort when we consider the horrendousness of his crimes. MANY Doctors and criminal specialists, including FBI did NOT want him executed as he could have been studied to understand the illness. Again, short sighted people convinced people in general, and the elected officials, to carry out the death penalty.

Clearly, there are people that need to be segregated from the rest of society. And I do agree that in general, criminals make a decision to engage in criminal activity. But it is not for me to judge, if I had to same set of life circumstances, I too would have a high probability of being a criminal as is the case with anyone!!There are a lot of very bad and very sick people incarcerated, and like a great many illnesses, the risk of contaminating others in the environment is greatly increased.

To decrease the contamination the prison population needs to be segregated in and amongst themselves. Dangerous predators need to be segregated from the mentally ill and other inmates that have a chance at rehabilitation. Such as drug addicts. There are several sub categories in each main category.

Sadly, Americans being who and what they are, this will not be happening, the swing to punish and indeed murder, people who have committed minor to major infractions in society, has tied the hands of professionals who KNOW there are solutions but whose hands are tied by people screaming about "their" tax dollars and the death penalty option. Tax dollars are to assist society to function smoothly and progressively. The political climate that created the "my tax" dollars hysteria is the ONLY living element that needs to be executed.

This forum allows for only a crumb of research and data about criminals and criminal behavior. To gain any real knowledge, one must research, which requires an advanced education in the field.

Tragically, very few people understand the intricacies of crime. With such widespread ignorance, it is no surprise whatsoever how crime and punishment has progressed to the state of total ineffectiveness, and now to the point of perpetuation.

There are no easy solutions. There are however, some very effective strategies, but you and I probably won't see them in our lifetime. Until elected officials and the general public becomes educated in the FACTS, they will continue to do what they have always done and that is punish AFTER the fact.

Peace.

Answer 2

I don't really watch tv that much, but I'll do what I can lol Secret Life Of The American Teenager 9/10 Skins 10/10 Once Upon A Time 7-8/10 Pretty Little Liars 9.5/10 Teen Wolf 10/10 Glee (I Stopped Watching After Like 4 Seasons) 7/10 Family Guy 8/10 The Boondocks 9/10 Degrassi 8.5/10 Switched At Birth 9/10 The Fosters 8-9/10 Dance Moms 8/10

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Very interesting thought pattern that you have.

Now tell me. When one of these individuals goes and rapes your Mother/Wife/Daughter tell me again how you think that the system created the crime and that the criminal only had bad actions.

Please go out and hug your tree, close your eyes, click your heels together and state repeatedly "There's no place like home"


Dude I work in a County jail and have toured the State Prisons. Where / What do you base your facts off of ?? How do Detention Officers / Correctional Officers mistreat inmates / convicts ??
The reason that most prisoners commit crimes is because they have chosen to do so. I know that in your Utopian universe that these poor souls didn't have a choice, but I am telling you it is pure BS !!! Every human being has a choice. I am not going to buy into the thought process that it isn't the future Convicts fault that he went out and commited a crime. The future convict is a by product of society. Society made the future Convict what he is. That is such a load of Bull $hit as I have ever heard. Each human being needs to accept responsibility for their own actions. For what they did or didn't do !!!
Everyone has a choice. Like you had the choice of showing your ignorance on the internet and making an extremely dumba$$ comment like you did OR you could have said nothing and no one would have been the wiser. Yet you chose to show your ignorance. See that is the power of choice. Now please go out and hug your tree. Tell yourself what a great person you are. And remember !! You like yourself !!!

Answer 5

I can't agree that all criminals are made from circumstances. People CHOOSE to commit crimes, just as they can choose to rise above their situation and become contributing members to society. Perhaps we need some reform, but prison should not be fun, it needs to be punishment. My dad is a prosecutor, and has been for over 20 years, sometimes the system straighens those people out, sometimes it doesn't. I am not in prison because I chose to not commit crimes. I even had a buddy who was born into an underpriveledged home. His dad and 3 brothers had all been in jail, and still are for various crimes. Where is he? Working on a Masters in Education without so much as a speeding ticket on his record. You choose what you do with your life, and we shouldn't reward prisoners for commiting crime.

Answer 6

You are obviously speaking with little information. How do you explain the psychopaths who grew up in a wealthy, and loving home, who then go out and murder a bunch of people, and chop them up into bits? How did their circumstance create them? Secondly, Prisons are not places where criminals sit in the cells and rot away (except for maybe the really bad ones.) Rather prisons ARE like their own community. The prisoners have the option of working a job, and getting paid with money that they can spend at the commisary. Yes, they are hard concrete, and steel, and not some plush neighborhood, but if you knew anything about prisons, and prisoners, you would understand why it should be that way.

Answer 7

Yes, I agree that criminals are not born, but made due to their circumstances. Its difficult for someone to try and reform in our prison systems, b/c they are not designed to help them become better people. They are designed to punish. Yes, I do believe some punishment is due, but most people only think about the punishment and not about what happens to people after they're released. Maybe some kind of mandatory pre-release for all prisoners could be a good idea.

Answer 8

man are you out there,sorry don't mean to upset you but people are criminals by choice! not by outside influences. everyone has a choice!these people need to be put in chain gangs and put to work on our streets and public parks etc. you cant rehabilitate a pedophile! sorry but you really bumped your head and i'm sure your gonna run into a problem with the families of murder victims who wouldn't think that the person who killed thier loved one was going to club met!

Answer 9

I agree IF the secure facility is very secure and they earn money to pay for all their needs but NOT live outside the community

Answer 10

Was there a question in there? Great article and I hope to see it on the cover of Prision Guard Weekly.