Criminal Justice Trends Paper

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Apr 3, 2024

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Criminal Justice Trends Paper 1 Criminal Justice Trends Paper CJA/484 Lori Madison University of Phoenix Criminal Justice Trends Paper

Criminal Justice Trends Paper 2 `New philosophies are being developed to assist in the future development of corrections as a result of trends from the past and present. Overcrowded prisons and their decreasing budget are the concerns and issues surrounding the criminal justice systems section of corrections. If the concerns and issues are not dealt with, they will persist to affect the future operations of corrections and its effectiveness. Community justice programs and restorative and are alternatives ideas for the future of corrections as legislators, activists and administrators discuss philosophies which deal with these concerns and issues resulting from the past and present trends. There are many concerns and issues that have affected one component of the criminal justice system, known as the correctional system. Some issues that has surrounded the correctional system for several years is the increase in inmate population within several prisons,which is causing many prisons to be heavily overcrowded, as well as the constant decrease in budget cuts. There have been new philosophies that have been developed in order to help aid in the evolving future of the corrections system through the past and current trends within the system. If these issues continue to progress and they are addressed effectively they will continue to disrupt the effectiveness and progress of the future operations of the correctional system as a whole. Many legislators, administrators, and activists have looked toward community and restorative justice programs in order to help combat the issues of overcrowding prisons, by the use of the past and current trends. Past The“get tough” approach against crime from the past was favored by the national political climate.It was thought that treatment programs would not cut down recidivism.It was also assumed that punishing offenders of crime would deter crime and keep the national crime rate low and protect the public. For that reason,reforms such as three-strike legislation and

Criminal Justice Trends Paper 3 truth-in-sentencing were put into practice.These reforms were aims at individuals who were repeat offenders of crime and involved with drugs.The reforms fueled a raise higher conviction rates, a rise in arrests and longer periods of incarceration triggering the rates of incarceration to climb. “We have an incarceration rate in the United States that is five times higher than the rest of the world. With 5% of the world’s population, our country now houses 25% of the world’s reported prisoners”(Webb 2009) Present Currently, past trends created the current concerns and issues inside the criminal justice system on the part of corrections. A current concerns and issues the criminal justice system on the part of corrections has is an enlarged correctional population which has grow to be abundantly overcrowded. Many problems are caused due to prisons being overcrowded. Overcrowded prisons are one of several major concerns due to limited space when housing offenders. Offenders are allowed a certain amount of space while being incarcerated; many of them have to be double-celled since there is not proper spacing to house offenders. Legal issues have a raised by not possessing the required amount of space. In 1981 a legal case was presented having to do with the “overcrowding as potentially cruel and unusual punishment”(“Prison Overcrowding is a Growing Concern in the U.S.”, n.d) Overcrowded prisons have also caused stress among offenders as well as staff. This causes stressful situations between officers and offenders, which often leads to inappropriate reactions between both increasing the risk of violence jeopardizing the safety of staff. The staff’s safety is jeopardized because of being out numbered in the offender to officer ratio. The ratio of offenders to officers is important because it can cause the officers to be overwhelmed by offenders increasing the chances of a violent act to occur. As a result of longer periods of incarceration, health care cost has also escalated. In the private and Federal sector, health care

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Criminal Justice Trends Paper 4 costs throughout the United States are expected to rise between eight and ten percent in the coming year, largely due to increased prescription drug costs, health care personnel shortages, and efforts of private insurers to increase their profits (Mechanick & Nelson, n.d.). This trend is expected to continue and double in the future. Because of overcrowded prison populations and budget decreases, offenders are not receiving proper treatment or rehabilitation. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2005), the most common reasons indicated by the prisons for the limited availability of treatment were budgetary constraints accounting for 71% and limited space accounting for 51%. Future Future trends to look forward to because of the past and current trends are the use of restorative and community justice programs. Community justice and restorative programs are alternative being regarded as the future of corrections.Both programs believe that crime harms relationships, communities and individuals and suggest alternative approach to reaction to crime and the viewing of the justice system. Community justice and restorative programs investigate solutions which encourage reconciliation,reassurance and repair between the community, the offender and the victim. The key components to community corrections are to increase the bond between the community and law enforcement, try to transform the lives of offenders through neighborhood, family and personal interventions and providing a full-service model of care that includes both surveillance and services.Rather than managing “offenders in the conventional case load model, supervision agents are responsible for more actively supervising offenders;problem-solving to initiate changes in offenders; and helping offenders obtain employment, social support, and needed treatment” (Mackenzie, 2001). Budget and Managerial Impact

Criminal Justice Trends Paper 5 Future trends of budget implications Correction facilities have to look forward due to past and current trends are cuts across virtually all government functions. Several departments of corrections have to be cut from this. To handle the diminishing budgets,correction agencies are cutting back on operating efficiencies, developing reconsidering policies and recidivism reduction strategies. Criminal justice system is cutting back on operating efficiencies to save money. One way this is taking place is through decreasing staff, services and benefits. According to Scott-Hayward (2009), states are “reducing healthcare services or joining in purchasing agreements to lower the cost of inmate pharmaceuticals. Many states have reduced corrections staff, instituted hiring freezes,reduced salaries or benefits, and/or eliminated pay increases”. Another way the criminal justice system is handling the decreasing budget by creating recidivism strategies. States are strengthening their community corrections systems to reduce recidivism rates. “High rates of failure among people on probation and parole are a significant driver of prison populations and costs in most states” (Scott-Hayward, 2009). Finally, the criminal justice system biggest change to deal with the decreasing budget is by modifying policies like sentencing. “The biggest budget savings come from policy changes that impact how many people come into prison and how long they stay” (Scott-Hayward, 2009) Conclusion In conclusion past and current trends resulting from reforms such as reforms truth-in- sentencing and three-strike legislation has tremendously affected corrections leading to issues of overcrowding and a decreasing budget. Fueled by increased arrests, a higher conviction rates, and longer periods of incarceration, the correctional population has increased causing prisons to become severely overcrowded and funds becoming very limited. These issues have caused huge concern for administrators, legislators, and activists about the future of corrections. They have the difficult task of developing new philosophies to aid in the future progress of corrections. Shifting in philosophy from the preference of punishment, administrators,

Criminal Justice Trends Paper 6 legislators, and activists are leaning toward the preference of treatment as a disposition for criminal offenders. References Harwood, M. (2009, July). Panel: Prison Overcrowding Jeopardizes Guard and Inmate Safety. Retrieved From http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/panel-prison-overcrowding-jeopardizes-guar d-and-inmate-safety-005904 James, N. (2013, January). The federal prison population buildup: Overview, policy changes,

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Criminal Justice Trends Paper 7 issues, and options. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42937.pdf Prison overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S.. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/ccj-careers-resources/criminal-justice-resources/news/prison-ov ercrowding-is-a-growing-concern-in-the-u-s-800675443/ Mackenzie, D. L. (2001, July). Sentencing and corrections in the 21st century: Setting the stage for the future. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/189106-2.pdf Muraskin, R. & Roberts. A.R. 2009. Visions for Change: Crime and Justice in the Twenty-First Century, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Scott-Hayward, C. S. (2009). The Fiscal Crisis in Corrections Rethinking Policies and Practices Retrieved from http://www.vera.org/files/The-fiscal-crisis-in-corrections_July-2009.pdf. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2005). 9 Treatment Issues Specific to Prisons. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64123/ Webb, J. (2009). Now is the Time to Reform our Criminal Justice System. Criminal Justice Ethics, 28(2), 163-167. doi:10.1080/07311290903181184

Criminal Justice Trends Paper 8

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