Policy Brief Draft



CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY

POLICY BRIEF

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COMMUNITY REENTRY FOR MALE INMATES

Morlene Stephens

May 04, 2009

SWK 300: SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY

PROF. MICHAEL A. DOVER

SPRING 2009 ETC.

1. GOAL STATEMENT

The goal of my policy is to look at the problems that have plagued the very system meant to protect its citizens. Crime happens when people are plagued trying to make their ends meet from day to day. If crime is on the rise than it’s up to the law makers are to ensure that the policy carries the weight of it attended penalties. The reviews of policies are to look at the outcomes that have change laws according to the punishment. Like any other policies a re-review is given time to see if there’s a development of policy match the needs of the people. The adoption of S.714 The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 is a fine example of how legislation can evolve and help force the evolution of a broken system.

2. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

The Criminal Justice enterprise in the United States has increased dramatically since the mid-1970s. The incarceration rates for state and federal prisoners has almost double in the last decade, increasing from 135 per 100,000 US residents in 1978 (Steen and Bandy, 2007). We are no closer to solving or correcting the problem of inmates returning to communities setting.

The United States has the highest reported incarceration rate in the world, imprisoning higher percentages of its population than any other country. The American incarceration rate is five times the world’s average incarceration rate. A total of 2,380,000 people are in prison. Although criminal justice laws and legal procedures depend heavily on State and local law, and although a majority of those imprisoned in the United States are held in non-Federal institutions, the condition under which American are incarcerated and the manner in which former inmates reentry society is a compelling national interest that potentially affects every American citizen and every locality in the country.

New communities are rising within our systems across the States. These communities are not likely to be considered as normal by standard of resources relief. Jails and prisons were ideal for making one to pay restitution for crime they have afflicted on others. But today these systems are becoming housing institution for criminals that are not being rehabilitated from a life of crime. Instead, many have become dependent on the system that has incarcerated them for years. Most times new criminal behaviors are learned before many are released back into society. Not offering help for these individuals usually puts them at greater risk of becoming a repeat offender.

The number of ex-offenders returning to their communities from federal and state prisons rose to 750,000 in2007, an increase of 19.9% since 2000, and a more than doubling in the past 2 decades. On average, 2 out 3 released from prison will return within 3 years of being release. The system breaks down the spirit of the person by attaching a number to them and calling them by that number which is their inmate identification is long as they are behind bars, their name has been transform from what now will be what they will hear to until they leave confinement (Spencer 2009). As the level of crime have change the level of criminal activities’ has as well, the only thing that has not change is the policies that were made to ensure that criminal get the help they need. We see that government has not understood the concept of rehabilitation versus confinement.

Our criminal justice system is broken. Senator James Webb has been working on a bill to reform the criminal justice system, saying that we need to take a holistic plan of how to solve it. 5% of American population is either in jail or prison of some kind, Webb calls for a bipartisan commission to be carries out over 18 months. The National Criminal Justice Act of 2009 to create a blue-ribbon commission charge with conducting an 18-month top to bottom review of the nation’s entire criminal justice system and offer concrete recommendation for reform. Five percent of the nation population, our country house twenty-five percent of the world’s prison population.

Senator Webb also called for mandated board to examine issues like drug treatment, effective parole policy, racial injustice, education for inmates, and reentry programs. How can mental illness be a crime? How can addiction be a crime? We need to make a strong distinction between violent offenders and people who are incarcerated for non-violent crimes, drug abuse and mental illness. Then raise public awareness for criminal justice reform and look for viable solutions.

Our nation has become “the nation of jails and prison” are we so out of the loop of how to deal with criminals? Webb said, “it’s believe that we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.” What are we to do when the system is not holding up to its promise to ensure safety for all? I believe that Senator Webb’s idea of reforming the policies for criminal justice has an impact on where and when we should be concern about the well being of those that are not capable to do so for themselves.

Senator Webb called for the high-level commission creates by the National Criminal Justice

Commission Act of 2009 legislation will be comprised of experts in the including criminal justice e, law enforcement, public health, nation al security, prison administration, social services, prisoner reentry, and victims’ rights.

3. PAST POLICY

In the case Furman v. Georgia in 1972 and Gregg v. Georgia in 1976, looks at how to distribute punishment on crime and what role on retribution the punishment. Rehabilitation is no longer the concerns of dealing with the criminal behaviors but how to make them pay for the crime that was committed. Crime is viewed from two point the ‘passionate desire to punish’ (expressive in nature) and the ‘rationalistic concern to manage’ (instrumental in nature). Both of these key pieces working together to divide the system into what is right for an individual facing either side of the law.

In the 1970’s, all state and federal systems were based on indeterminate sentencing. In an indeterminate system, decision-makers (both judges and correctional officers) have a great deal of discretion, allowing them to tailor sentences to individual offenders. During the mid-1970’s, the laws of how we viewed the correctional system started to change. People start to mistrust the system and start looking at new avenues to reforming punishment. At this time there was a call for new policies that would ensure the punishment fit the crime at both state and federal level.

In 1980s though1990s, the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 only allow trail judges to sentenced for probation and maximum statutory punishment. Which trails judges are not aware of the intense of the laws that applies for what sentencing actual went with what crime. This law then turns into the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, which look at how to understand and control the crime rate at state and national level.

4. CURRENT POLICY

The effect of incarceration on former prisoners has been a very common topic of discussion for many years. In most cases, it is believed that many prisoners will find themselves right back where they started, in jail. In the United States, sixty-eight percent of males and 58% of females are rearrested, and 53% and 39% respectively are re-incarcerated (2003).

In recent history, the rate of incarceration in the U.S. has increased dramatically, resulting in prisons being filled to capacity with bad conditions and environment for inmates. In many prisons, crime continues on the inside instead of stopping it like they usually do. Gangs exist and flourish on the inside, often with many key tactical decisions being made by leaders who are in jail. According to a national study, within 3 years almost 7 out of 10 released males will find themselves back in prison. The study says this happens due to personal and situation characteristics, including the individual’s social environment of peers, family, community, and state-level policies (Fowles and Wilson, 2009).

Many other things need to be taken into consideration as well, such as the individual’s circumstances before incarceration, the things that happened while they were incarcerated, and the period after they are released from prison, both immediate and long term effects.

One of the main reasons why they find themselves back in jail is because it is difficult for the individual to fit back in with ‘normal’ life. They have to reestablish ties with their family, return to high-risk places and secure formal identification; they often have a poor work history and now have a criminal record to deal with. Many prisoners report being anxious about their release; they are excited about how their life will be different “this time” which does not always end up being the case (Visher, 2003).

The current policies of the penal system are not use to incur the value and rights of the inmates. The rights of the individuals are to be non-existing because of their current circumstances with the penal system. The system break down the spiritual being of a person by attaching a number to them and calling them that number and their names are no longer what identify them as human. We have allow the system to becomes how we treat lives in the U.S, government has already given you one number to identify you, but now you occur this new number that carry a negative value of who you are.

5. PROPOSED SOLUTION(S)

The national criminal justice act of 2009, proposed that we start to view the laws that have occur over the years so that we do not make the same mistakes again. The laws should hold Commission to refocus incarceration policies to reduce the overall incarceration rates while preserving public safety, cost-effectiveness, and societal fairness.

Improve prison administration , including Federal standard of competence and the creation of a career path for prison administration, institute the use of policies and practices proven effective throughout the spectrum of criminal behavior; established a system for the reintegration of ex-offenders that provides productive skills and opportunities and improve communities ability to assimilate former offenders.

This new bill calls for a long line of reform to ensure that we look that every aspect of how we treat criminals in and out the systems. From mental illness to drug smuggling and distribution and sales should be look ate on higher level than laws should curtail how use punishment to incarcerate these criminals.

This bill will help identify these the problem of the focus areas need to start so that we can start to see improvement within the systems until everyone starts to take the responsibilities’ for how we got in this shape in the first place we will still see the systems fall apart. I have reviewed this bill and can understand why and how important this bill would be.

6. KEY ORGANIZATIONS/INDIVIDUALS

Senator Jim Webb

756 Park Avenue, N.W

Norton, VA 24273

P.O Box 1300

Phone: (276) 679- 4925

Fax: (276) 679- 4929

Karen J. Larkin-Nation

Assistance Director

Community, Trade, Economic Development

906 Columbus St.

SW, Fl 5

P.O. Box 4313

Olympia Washington 98504-317

Phone: (360) 725 3110

E-mail: pubicdisclosure@cted.

Web site: cted.

Khalil Osiris, M.A

Psychology

Columbus, Oh

Contact: (614) 939- 1533

E-mail: Osiris@

Web site:

Organization

Council of State Government/Eastern Regional

100 Wall Street

20th Floor

New York. NY 10005

Tel: (212) 482-2320

Fax: (212) 432-2344

ATT: Marshall Clement

Project Director

CSG Justice Center

Lobbyists

Mary Amos Augsburger

50 West Broad Street

Executive Director

7. GLOSSARY

Rehabilitation: to restore to a condition of good health, ability to work or the like of.

Confinement: to imprison while awaiting trial or as a punishment

Bipartisan: representing, characterized by or including members from two parties or factions

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

FOWLES, T., & WILSON, D. (2009). Penal Policy File No. 118. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 48(2), 205-22

Hess, J. (2009). Stand Tall for a Long Time! American Jails, 23 (1), 4-4.

Petteruti, Amanda, & Walsh, Nastassia (2008) A Justice Policy Institute Report: Jailing Communities

Specter, A. (2009) Crime and Punishment. Daily News: Posted Thursday, April 9, 2009.



Steen, S., & Brandy, Rachel (2007). When the policy becomes the problem: Criminal justice in The new millennium

Visher, Christy A. (2003). Transition from Prison to Community Understanding Individual Pathways. “The Urban Institute of Justice Policy Center”. District of Columbia, Washington 2003-7

Webb, James A. (2009) The national Criminal Justice Commission Acts of 2009.

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