Penitentiary Policy and the Problem of Recidivism - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxx Institution : xxx xxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Consumer Protection Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @ 2009 Introduction One of the central issues in state welfare is the in problem of recidivism. In most many cases ex-prisoners usually relapse and go back to initial criminal trends and end up in prison again. The public view point is usually that many people make an assumption that prison and jail overcrowding is caused by a general growth in the population and rising crime rate. On the contrary, an increase in the number of in mates within the prisons department may be as a result of habitual criminal offenders who relapse and find themselves back in prison. Research findings indicate that defaulters, who end up in prison, have a great probability of returning to prison after being released within a period of four years. In the context of the Irish prison the development of a Penal policy to tackle this situation can actually be essential. In order to effectively deal with the problem of recidivism in our society, a penal policy that analyses the roles of prisoners, the prison management and prison officers can actually be efficient. Recommendations Examination of the role of Prisoners. In order to solve the problem of relapse in criminal activities by ex convicts, one major policy proposal is to the development of prisoners in various dimensions so that when released out of prison they are able to easily get assimilated into the social, economic and political world outside the prison walls. One main issue of concern that should be implemented is the creation of a framework in which prisoners can actively participate in the political practice of the country. A research conducted to analyze the level of political participation and civic engagement of prisoners in Ireland through a quantitative and qualitative interview in different prison institutions, made a discovery that imprisonment actually had a great impact on the opportunity of prisoners to participate in political affairs. Enfranchisement or also similarly referred to as voting is actually a burden of each individual in the society it is therefore an essential right for each individual to participate in the political process through having privileges such as voting rights and opportunity to contribute their ideas to the political system of then state. Therefore prisoners can also be entitled to political participation by enacting laws that could give them this particular freedoms. The second proposal is concerned with fine payments which increase the number of offenders who go to prison frequently. There has been a great concern by the Irish Media about the number of individuals jailed due to not paying fines. In 2008 the number of people jailed from fine penalties doubled, resulting to a rise of the number of individuals in prison for not paying fines to add up to 2,520. This circumstance should not appear as a surprise as difficulties based on the economic sphere worsen. What is actually difficult to appreciate is the reason why policy developers have taken slow measures to impose what would evidently be a very simple partial solution to the overcrowding problems in most of the prison institutions. People who are not able to pay fines shouldn’t wind up in prison. Individuals who have committed petty offences should not be looked in prison in order to take up the much needed space in the prisons, which should be occupied by serious criminal offenders. The major proposal towards this fact is that the problem of recidivism can be solved by through the legal system were by petty offences should not always be subjected to prison sentences but rather community service should be intensified more even for people who do not pay fines. There is a strong connection between prison populations and narcotics seizures. I t is very evident that great measures have been taken to fight drug abuse in our society, however this situation is still prevalent and is a major contributor of crime in our society. The main proposal however is the that in despite of the fact that we have enough knowledge about harm reduction for dealing with diverse response to narcotics, the main aim should be how effectively can we be in the lessening of prison populations. The major recommendation of solving the problem of recidivism that results from drug abuse is to ensure that prisoners should first be tested for drug use then taken to a drug rehabilitation to ensure full recovery from addiction before being released out of prison this is due to the fact that, solving the drug problem that resulted to a person ending up, is one essential factor before releasing the prisoner to the society. A major concern has also been raised about the welfare of prisoners in Irish prisons. The welfare of prisoners can be considered in certain circumstances as a factor to be considered in a penal institution .The conditions in Island prison can raised an alarm of concern. There has been a concern of overcrowding environments in prisons in the Irish Times. Furthermore degrading and inhuman treatment towards prisoners were also reported The inspector of prisons was made aware of the circumstance and he stated that efforts were underway to resolve the prevailing crisis that was facing the prison department .In the year 1998 reports of overcrowding in the prison as an underlying factor for other problems were made by a European committee concerned with torture prevention ,this finding were also discovered in the year 2002 and 2006.The committees recommendations to solving this particular crisis was that the expansion of prisons was not the criteria for solving this crisis but rather finding permanent ways in which ex prisoners do not regress and go back to prison. The definite solution is by improving the welfare of ex convicts after being released in order for them to not participate in criminal activities again and end up in prison again. The other policy proposal is the preparing prisoners for the new life they would have outside prison. While the number of inmates has constantly been rising, it is however necessary and essential to prepare the in mates effectively for life outside prison .Chances of ex-convicts being reintegrated into the working environment is sometimes limited due to changes in the social and economic world which they may not access while still in prison therefore it is essential for detainees to have training and education that goes beyond the compulsory schooling system. Such forms of training may give them skills on ways of getting involved in the active labor market after they have been released from prison. New forms of learning such as research work will enable the ex –convicts confirm to the economic world and as a result they will not have great probability of ending up in prison again due to unemployment. Role of prison management The general role of the prison management is to ensure smooth running of the prison department. The management team of the prison department should play the role of encouraging and motivating the work force that they are in charge of through provision of clear leadership. The management should posses clear a vision that will enhance the attainment of the goals of the organization. In the case of the prison department the management team should ensure that the goal of reforming crime offenders is actually attainable. The major emphasis should be that if a person gets out of prison they should be fully reformed and able to adapt to social standards .Therefore situations such as in human treatments in prisons would actually hinder the reform agenda for prisoners. This is because if convicts are subjected to inhuman treatment, they do not develop behavioral change instead they become hardened. This may result to situations were by they would still commit crime and go back to prison. There is therefore need for the prison management to solve all the pending problems that are present in prisons. Another role of the management team should be the soliciting of more funds from the federal government in order to improve on the conditions that are prevalent in Irish prisons such incidents of overcrowding, poor conditions within the cells, frequent violence between in mates and poor regimes. In order to facilitate expansive and learning and training of convicts, funds are required it is therefore essential that the management of the prisons to request for funding from the government that will enable the smooth running of the training activities Role of Prison Officers Prison officers have a big role to play when it comes to the controlling of the problem of recidivism. This is due to the fact that prison officers have closer contact with the prisoners. Incidents of mistreatment of prisoners by prison officers have been reported severally .It is essential for laws to be enacted that will deal strictly with prison officers who enforce ill treatment on in-mates. This will be a solution of trying to reduce recidivism due to the fact that subjection to torture and ill treatment is not an element of changing an offender but rather hardening him/her, the individual would still commit criminal activities and end up in prison again. Conclusion It is important for Irish prison department to tackle the problem of recidivism through a Penal policy that can actually lessen this particular problem. The essential part is strategic implementation of proposed policies in order to make an in depth analysis of permanent ways of solving the problem not just in the present society but also to the future generation. References http://humanrightsinireland.wordpress.com/category/penal-policy/ Richard Harding. Private Prisons and Public Accountability .London; Oxford University press.1997 Read More