Corrections: Last Step in Criminal Justice System - Essay Sample

Introduction

Corrections is one of the three major components that form the criminal justice system. It works in cooperation with the police and courts. They entail jail, parole, prisons, and community-based sanctions. Corrections serve the purpose of rehabilitating criminals through various methods that include incarceration. These facilities strive to ensure that the criminals change their behavior and get allowed back into society (Siegel). Corrections form the final step of the criminal justice system, where offenders end up after going through law enforcement and the courts. This component aims to enhance public safety and promote behavior change among criminals. Also, corrections strive to reduce the recidivism rate among rehabilitated offenders by using alternative forms of incarceration. Corrections face the challenge of overpopulation and financial strain to maintain correctional facilities ("Criminal Justice System"). Also, there are cases of racial discrimination regarding this component of the criminal justice system since those in incarceration are predominantly African-Americans.

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The correctional population falls under two main categories: community corrections and institutional corrections. The U.S. has the highest number of prisoners in the world. As of 2016, there were over 2 million people in incarceration (Siegel). The figure shoots to over 6 million when including those in probation and parole. This population, together with that of those in probation and parole, generates a cost of 81 billion dollars, which is incurred by the U.S. taxpayer (Fraser & Weidner). Female offenders form about 6 percent of the total number of offenders in the U.S. Before 1870, authorities in the United States used to house women in the same correctional facilities as men (Siegel). The U.S. corrections include juvenile placement to incarcerate youths that engage in criminal activities. The country has the highest number of juvenile incarceration in the world, just like its prison population. A high number of those in prison belong to those aged below 55 years. This number is despite the increase in the population of the number of prisoners aged above 55 years (Fraser & Weidner).

Incarceration

Criminal law in the United States is a concurrent power whereby there are state and federal prisons. State prisons are for those who violate state laws while federal prisons are for those who United States federal law. Statistically, state prisons have grown to hold more prisoners than those contained in federal prisons. In a federal court, a point system is used to determine the housing branch that an inmate is placed. There have been efforts to reduce the human element in determining the duration of sentences. Applications of methods such as mandatory minimums, guidelines-based sentencing, and determinate sentencing.

Probation

The court provides alternatives to incarceration to offenders depending on the nature of the crime. One of these alternatives is probation. Probation refers to the period where an offender is supervised. The term also includes community sentences such as suspended sentences in some jurisdictions. Offenders under probation are required to follow conditions set by the court and are supervised by a probation officer ("Criminal Justice"). Some of these conditions entail: participating in an educational program, refrain from firearm possession, abide by a curfew, not to leave a specific jurisdiction, and remain employed.

Additionally, the offender should maintain law-abiding conduct. Other conditions in probation include not making contact with victims, for instance, in cases involving domestic violence. In some cases, the offenders are fitted with an electronic tag that helps to signal their movements to officials (Fraser & Weidner). During this period, the offender faces the threat of being sent to prison if found violating the rules set by the court or the probation officer.

The decision to grant probation follows a background check on the offender to establish whether they are a risk to the public. The investigation is conducted correction officials who submit the report to the courts to base the sentencing on. A probationer might face a prison sentence if found in violation of probation. After a hearing of the probation violation, the prosecutor might decide to impose additional conditions on the probation, determine a period of incarceration, or extend the probation period (Siegel). Probation might be revoked when the violation is severe. There are various types of supervision that offenders face. The first one is intensive probation that entails close monitoring of the offender. Secondly is standard supervision, where offenders report to a supervision officer ("Components of the U.S. Criminal Justice System"). The third form of supervision is unsupervised probation that does not involve a probation officer. There is also informal supervision where the probation occurs without a conviction. Lastly is the shock probation, where an inmate might be recalled from jail and put on probation.

Parole

Parole is another form of corrections where an offender is released from prison after agreeing to abide by certain conditions. It is a continuation of serving a sentence, and the offenders might be returned to prison if they violate parole terms. This form of correction was introduced to manage prison populations and help rehabilitate those that had been incarcerated. Parole has two formats one being parole releases and the other intermediate sentences. The latter follows a determination of how much prison time an offender serves before they are eligible for parole. This time often ranges from 15 to 25 years or 15 years to life (Frase & Weidner). The 15 years to life sentence is usually referred to as an indeterminate life sentence. In most states, the parole board has the power to determine an inmate is paroled. Before receiving parole, an inmate is interviewed by a parole board, undergoes a psychological examination, and agrees to abide by the parole conditions. Also, the inmate signs a parole contract while still in prison. After release, the parole goes to a parole office where they are assigned a parole officer.

Recidivism

The impact of corrections is measure in terms of recidivism rates among past offenders. A higher recidivism rate indicates that the rehabilitative actions that are being taken on criminals are not effective enough to bring change. For instance, incarceration has, over time, proven to be costly since, despite the huge budget to run the programs, it has high recidivism meaning that criminals do not change their behavior (Siegel). Therefore, alternative forms of incarceration, such as probation, have often proven to be effective in helping to rehabilitate criminals. The government should, therefore, consider using alternatives to reduce the burden of cost on taxpayers and to reduce recidivism rates hence safer communities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, corrections are one of the components of the criminal justice system. Law enforcers apprehend criminals, courts process them, and then corrections rehabilitate these offenders. Corrections have three types one being incarceration, the other parole, and finally, probation. The categories have a common goal of ensuring behavior change among offenders and promoting safer communities. Also, the departments seek to reduce the rate of recidivism among released offenders.

Works Cited

'Criminal Justice.' CliffNotes, https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/criminal-justice/the-criminal-justice-system/the-structure-of-criminal-justice. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

'Components of the U.S. Criminal Justice System.' Criminal Justice Programs, https://www.criminaljusticeprograms.com/articles/three-components-of-criminal-justice/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

Frase, Richard S, and Weidner, Robert R. "Criminal Justice System." Law Library - American Law and Legal Information, https://law.jrank.org/pages/858/Criminal-Justice-System.html. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

Siegel, Larry J. Corrections Today. Cengage Learning, 2016.