Essay Sample on Main Issues That Are Facing California's Prison System

According to Newman & Scott (2012), it was reported by an expert that there was, poor sanitation because the expert saw a man who had been imprisoned in a cage. The cage was the size of a telephone booth, did not have any toilet, and therefore, the prisoner had urinated in this cage. All the same, the prisoner had stayed there for a period, which was over a whole day. This cage was like a pool of urine. This prisoner would, in return, suffer from other diseases in the long run. This prisoner was waiting to be taken to a doctor because of poor health conditions.

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Furthermore, violence may increase when criminals are released before their serving term is over. As a result of these releases cost reduction is enhanced and overcrowding in prisons is prevented. However, the act of releasing prisoners before their time is over results in more criminal acts. For example, in a period of one and a half of a year, from January 1993 and June 1994, at Philadelphia, 9732 people were arrested again. These people had been arrested before but were released. However, they were found guilty, within a short period. It was said that this criminal had performed various crimes, such as 959 robbery cases, 90 cases of rape, and 79 murder cases (Newman & Scott, 2012).

Diseases have spread increasingly due to the inadequacy of medical facilities, especially in the case of infectious diseases. For example, assuming we have a coronavirus patient in prison, this disease is likely to spread throughout the prison. Hence, leading to inefficiency in healthcare facilities.

• The highlighted terms, which were learned this week on this course material
• Inmate rights
• Are those rights of prisoners' which they are supposed to enjoy, even though they are detained. They include; protection and personal privacy.

Prison Management

Refers to the ability of prison managers to consider the number of prisoners that the jails can hold before accepting more and more prisoners. Both the managers and the prisoners should be aware that the prisoners have rights they are supposed to enjoy even when they are detained.

2. The early release program by Montana’s (by Turner), article.

Role of Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is carried out to determine the factors that are likely to cause either negative or positive risks. On the other hand, prisoner reentry is the practice of accepting the prisoners back to the society. In the case of Wright and Rosky, it shows that releasing prisoners before they have served their term because what they had done had caused low risks (Turner, 2011). In this case, the crime they had committed is likely to have caused low risks. For instance, the case study of wright and his friend, showed that their crime was not violent; hence, it had posed a lower threat to the societal members because they are made of property offenders and drug addicts.

Problems Associated with Implementing Risk-assessment Tools

Some offenses, such as sexual offenses, should be punished thoroughly, but in this case, when the risk assessment tools are used, some major crimes, like the sexual offenses, are looked down upon.

Pros and Cons of Early Release Programs

Advantages

It enables the government reduces spending since the prisoners rely on provisions given by the government

Prisoners can practice the courses they were trained hence earning a living.

No overcrowding in prisons, since the prisoners are given early release.

Disadvantages

Releasing prisoners to the community may cause the community to feel insecure, because when they see the offenders, what the offenders had done taps at the back of their mind.

Prisoners may take advantage of the overcrowding state and perform more criminal activities.

Personal feelings on this program

I feel that prisons are vulnerable places because there is overcrowding and prisoner rights are never adequately enjoyed. Therefore, the states should find better ways to reduce overcrowding in the prisons and put into consideration, and the research carried out by wright and his friend Rosky. Especially where the law offenders need to be prepared to come back to the community.

3. Electronic Monitoring (by Caiado) article

Electronic Monitoring the Problem of Prison Overcrowding

Prisoners are freely walking out on the streets (Caiado, 2012). This has happened because the prisons are overcrowded, hence, resulting in criminals, walking away before their sentence, has been made. Tracking devices enhances this service. They were thereby leading to the need to have electronic Monitoring to check who is moving where hence preventing prisoners from escaping before serving their term. Additionally, electronic Monitoring has led to a far faster pace than other correctional alternatives because the technological progress determines the speed.

Change in Electronic Monitoring

Prisoners have been served from home as they wear tracking devices, hence not serving the whole term in jail, and as a result, prisons reduce overcrowding. New products have been developed, which have aided both the prisoners and the prison heads. Hence, job opportunities have been created.

Meaning of “Third Way” and How It Improves Prison System

The third way, means, it is the newest form of curbing, prisoners overcrowding in the states. Tony Blair and Bill Clinton in the 1990s as an approach to governing that was neither liberal nor conservative, but borrowed the best ideas from both. For example, prisoners can wear tracking devices to track a prisoner who is serving his term from outside the prison. These devices help to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

References

Caiado, N. (2012). The third way: a plan for electronic Monitoring in the next decade. Journal of Offender Monitoring, 24(1), 5-14. http://www.antoniocasella.eu/nume/Caiado_Portugal_2012.pdf

Newman, W. J., & Scott, C. L. (2012). Brown v. Plata: prison overcrowding in California. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 40(4), 547-552. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/70f2/37d83ef3f90a11a1bd4e88df9d049d0f9f77.pdf

Turner, S. (2011). More than just early release: Considerations in prison reduction policies. Criminology & Pub. Pol'y, 10, 917.

https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/crpp10&section=92.