Organized Crime

Future of Correction

Team C

CJA/394

March 25, 2013

Future of Corrections

There are many correctional philosophies that are associated with today's correctional facilities. Along with different philosophies; there are also many correctional problems such as; the overcrowding population in today's prison system and the welfare on each convicted felon. As a direct result; there are also many grievances from both the convicted felons as well as the administrators. Factors to consider with an increasing prison population may consist of budgeting and funding from the state or from private owners. There are other future problems that need to be addressed as correctional facilities are on the rise in numbers in each and every prison facility.

Future correctional problems that will need to be addressed include rising health care issues including HIV positive inmates and conjugal visits. An example of a current problem that keeps growing worse in prisons is the issue of health care and medical problems in prison. The get tough attitude has led to many longer sentences for offenders in prison. This means that there is a larger aging population in prison. This in turn leads to more prisoners who develop health problems while in prison (Muraskin & Roberts, 2009). Health care can be very costly and increases the budget of running prisons. One-third of inmates incarcerated report a chronic medical condition. The most common medical conditions are HIV, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, cervical cancer, and hepatitis (Bingswanger, 2009). Administrators must hire more prison health providers and allocate much of their limited resources toward early detection and management toward health conditions among the inmates (Bingswanger, 2009).

Inmates with communicable diseases and in particular HIV must be kept separate from the other inmates. People diagnosed as HIV positive in the prison population is five times higher than in the general population (Calderon, 2006). Segregation reduces harassments of infected prisoners by non infected inmates and allows prison guards to take proper precautions. The problem of segregation for these inmates brings up human rights violations.

Conjugal visits are another current and future problem that prisons have to deal with. Only a handful of states allow conjugal visits and the public generally is against this practice believing that inmates do not deserve the right to conjugal visits (Calderon, 2006). A positive element of allowing conjugal visits is giving the prisoner a safety net for when he or she is eventually released. The prisoner would have a connection to the outside world. Conjugal visits would allow inmates to maintain emotional bonds with spouse and family, which enhances the prospect for return to normal life when release from prison and eliminates the chances of further adult criminal activity, as well as eliminating the chances of delinquency for the children of the inmates. Also conjugal visits will help maintain martial stability, which improves the quality of life for both the inmates and the spouse. This will also reduce sexual tension among inmates and may decrease the incidence of homosexual rape. Conjugal visitation would only be allowed to inmates that maintain good behavior. These visits would also help enhance the administrative control over the inmates and improve the behavior of the inmate, making him more likely to take part in the programs and ultimately benefit from the process of incarceration. The incentive of