The Prison System

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The Prison System

It is debated whether offenders should be put into prison, to be punished for their offences or whether they should be rehabilitated.

Aim of the prison system

The aim of the prison system is to stop people from offending.
It can be seen as a form of punishment or as a form of rehabilitation.

Prison as punishment - in favour

Some people argue that imprisonment is an ideal way of punishing offenders, whereas others see it as a bad idea.
Those who are in favour claim that:
- Criminals should be punished for their actions.
- Prisons act as deterrents to the rest of the population.
- Prison ensures the safety of people from offenders.

Prison as punishment - against

Those who are against prisons argue that:
- Reconviction rates are high, i.e. criminals re-offend.
- Prison doesn’t make them take responsibility.
- Prisons are not effective as they might harm the offenders (.e.g destroy their confidence or affect their future employability chances).

Reform

Reform refers to the attempt made to change conditions in prisons.
It is believed that by making prisons more humane it will lead to the offenders not re-offending.
Some countries that followed this idea are Austria and Norway.

Austria

Austria (Justizzentrum Leoben):
- They put in place a new style of imprisonment where inmates are comfortable and live with minimum security.
- They live in one-bed cells with a TV in their cell.

Norway

Norway (Bastoy Prison):
- Inmates are allowed to go fishing, cycling etc.
- This has led to inmates stating that they are thinking of starting families and getting a job.

Alternatives to Prison

Some people argue that alternatives to prison are better because they provide the offenders with the chance to continue with their lives and they teach them how to be responsible.

What are the alternatives to prison?

Fines.
Community penalties.
Electronic tagging.

Alternatives

These alternatives are better because they provide the offenders with the chance to continue with their lives and they teach them how to be responsible.
The community sentences have proven to be better in reducing re-offending.
The probation system also works better as the offender needs to report back to their probation officer rather than being incarcerated.

Criticisms

Critics argue that these aren’t the best ways to deal with offenders as they don’t act as deterrents since people aren’t afraid of being found guilty.

Violent Crime and Sentencing

Some believe in life sentences while others are in favour of more lenient punishments as they find this too harsh.

Response to violent crime

There are two different points of view about how violent offenders should be punished:
- Some believe in life sentences.
- Others are in favour of more lenient punishments. They find life in prison too harsh.

How are violent offenders sentenced?

There are different possible sentences for violent offenders. For example:
- Jail for first-time offences.
- Jail for first-time sex offenders.
- Community sentences for first-time offences.
- Community sentences for rapists.

Mandatory prison sentences

Mandatory prison sentences are given to:
- Second-time sex offenders (2 strike rule).
- Dangerous criminals.
  - For dangerous criminals a new sentence was put into place which stated that they are to be released once they have served 2/3 of their prison sentence.