Us Corrections

For many years, governments have proceeded on behalf of society eliminating and punishing criminals with the goal of defending its citizens. Criminals were arrested and locked up in jails and were to wait there until there sentencing date. Once sentenced, they were publically humiliated, tortured, or even killed, this of course were early forms of punishment when punishment was said to be cruel and harsh.

Today punishment is the most utilized correctional strategy of both the state and federal government in result to those which break the law. The purpose of punishment is to protect society, rehabilitate criminal offenders, and reduce repetition. In both the state and federal correctional institutions, their purposes are to use punishment as form of discouragement while incapacitating and, rehabilitating offenders. For punishment to be successful it must be so unpleasant that it will hopefully discourage inmates from returning to such a life and also prevent others from taking part in such activities. Since society is always changing, how we see crime and criminal behavior will change as well, hence the way in which we punish those criminal behavior changes. Early times of punishment were inhumane, unpleasant and horrific, and over time the government had to find relief for what will work best in today's world. There are five types of punishment which are determined by the members of society such as the Judge or Jury. Depending on the crime committed, an offender will fall into one or more of these categories; Fines, rehabilitation, retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation and with judicial officers in today's society having more discretion, they are allowed to adjust that types of punishment an offender will be sentenced to which fits their case and needs properly. Incapacitation may be the biggest issue for most offenders which are being release back into society, most find it hard to cope with and obtaining employment is difficult due to criminal records. Most employers would rather not hire a person with a felony or criminal record. Most offenders find other means to cope with the world by being placed in a rehabilitation program or half-way home and some go back to the criminal life in order to survive because it is the only thing they know of.

The form of punishment is given when the offender is sentenced by a member of the court, the Judge. Once the offender has either pleaded guilty or has been found guilty of a crime the Judge will then determine the type of sentence they will receive and carry out and will refer to the five punishment strategies. Each year, thousands of criminals appear before a Judge to be sentenced for their crimes committed, and it is required that once an offender is arrested, they have 24 hours to be seen by a Judge. The influence of sentencing in today's society has resulted in an increase of inmate population in the state and federal prison systems. Prison populations in the state and federal systems have increased on a yearly basis and a main reason is the Sentencing Reforming Act of 1984. During the 1980s, there was a major increase in the number of prisoners imprisoned and this resulted in overcrowding of the prisons and the correctional staff being overworked due to fear of losing control of the prison and inmates. The correctional officers and other staff among them began to take notice that the demand of the inmates and prisons were becoming ineffective and placing many lives at dangers way. Correctional officers started to begin retraining and regaining confidence in their duties, the state and federal prisons moved aggressively, recruiting