Essay Sample on German Penal System: Minimizing Issues, Maximizing Success

Introduction

For decades, the penal system has been implemented as a tool for dealing with criminals, even though the role has been to subject the offenders to substantial transformation over time. The penal system has been a fundamental body for controlling and containing antisocial behaviour in society.

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The country I chose to discuss is Germany. The reason behind wanting to discuss the German penal system is because it exhibits a system having minimal issues compared to the United States, yet they are both ranked among the high-income countries. Germany has enacted fair systems for offenders, including eliminating convictions of life sentences and death penalties. In Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands are among European countries which uphold the value for human life and respect that by arguing that criminals deserve a quality life as well. In these countries, the inmates are not caged like wild creatures; they have bars, no lethal electric fences, no violent activities and have safe jails/prisons. This is unlike the USA, where death penalties and life sentences have been passed on from time to time, and the conditions are unfavourable.

The penal facilities in Germany look like homes and college dormitories rather than jails or prisons because they realise that normalisation aims at bringing prisoners close to healthy life on the outside. Such a system is beneficial to both the inmate and the system itself, and recidivism is reduced when normalisation is endorsed in the prisons/jails. Recidivism is a measure of the success of a criminal justice system, and it happens that the U.S performs poorly when such an indicator is used. Germany offers prisoners control over their lives as prisoner uniforms are not even used. In some prisons, the prisoners are also allowed to prepare their meals. Nonetheless, convicts are given access to education and vocational programs to improve their lives. There is respect for prisoners' privacy by the correctional officers, and this has cultivated smooth relationships. This proves that there is well-training of the correctional staff and their motivation is the slogan which states "If you treat inmates like humans, they will act like humans."

The German penal system generally focuses on resocialization and rehabilitation, whereas the U.S gives incapacitation and retribution as its primary goal instead of rehabilitation. Germany has made rehabilitation to be a law within the correctional facilities, and according to their prison Act, the aim of incarceration is "to enable prisoners to lead a life of social responsibility free of crime upon release, requiring that prison life be as similar as possible to life in the community." The organisation of this penal system makes re-integration into society much more natural and realistic.

From the documentary, it is captured that the U.S exhibits a country with the highest incarceration rate. Unfortunately, with all the correctional facilities put up, the crime rate has not decreased, and the safety of the communities is still at stake. There are ways in which crime can be successfully tackled in the U.S. Adopting strategies similar to those of Germany can at least eliminate the negativity often associated with convicts. Quality of life in prisons can be improved by reducing the overcrowding in jails. Minor offences do not necessarily have to guarantee a sentence as a conviction is not necessarily about incapacitation but rehabilitation. As for me, I find no better laws or policies to be enacted in a country like Germany because the state of their penal system is beyond average. The challenge remains to be in the U. S penal system as it contains ills that cannot be compared to any other nation. As seen in the documentary, the 13th by Ava Du Vernay, the U.S penal system is rotten, and it requires a thorough overhaul.

References

Messner, C., & Ruggiero, V. (1995). Germany: the penal system between past and future. Western European Penal Systems: A Critical Anatomy, 128-148.

Pratt, J. (2007). Penal populism. Routledge.