In the video he says that in the 1960s there were only 300,000 people in prison, but today the amount of criminals in prison is increasing. The book says that deterrence is used to prevent crime by punishment but in the video he says that people are being put in prison by the use of incapacitation, which is holding people in prison to keep them away from communities to help reduce crime. When someone gets ready to commit a crime they often do not think of how harsh the crime could be when committing it in different areas, such as if the crime was committed in Illinois it could be a different charge than if it would have been committed in Maryland. I thought it was interesting that 750,000 criminals are released from prison/jail each year and how they end up becoming more angry being let out because they were not taught any life skills so they do not know what to do or how to act when they are let out. Also, it was unfortunate to hear that today police are too focused on finding people with drugs rather than spending more time finding people who are committing dangerous crimes such as murder or rape. -MH789
I agree with MH789 because the focus on drugs are important but not necessarily as important as someone committing murder or rape where they are doing more harm to others than just themselves. They should focus on drugs still but not to the extent as they do today because someone with a drug problem can be rehabilitated and you can make them pay easier. Also drugs will always be there, if a drug user is using drugs today, chances are they will be using them tomorrow so I think the priority of where to focus the toughness on crimes should be moved around. Ramadan789
I agree with MH789. You brought up the key points of the video and info from the book. how the book states we use deterrence to prevent crime, but in reality is the use of incapacitation. The fact that 750,000 people are realesed each year and we still have 2.4 million people in jail is so rediculous.SM789
I also think there is too much focus on drugs. I think that the criminal justice system is trying too hard to keep up an image of being tough on all types of crime and doing the crime means doing the time when police should focus more on the crimes that are truly harmful to citizens, not to say drugs aren’t harmful but that there are more pressing issues to be dealt with. KAM 789
I agree with MH789 that its interesting knowing that around 750 thousand people are let out of prison just so they can end up back behind bars do to the fact that they weren't given the necessary help for a second start. Many of them are let out without knowing how to get a job, without food stamps, or even without a drivers license.This causes most of them to do what they know best, which is the crime that put them behind bars in the first place. How can anyone keep a clean sleight after getting a second chance without the help and means to do so? -CEM789
Within the first minute of this the guy states that the purpose of incarceration is to take someone who has done wrong and intervene in their lives so when they come out better than when they went in. Although this was the primary goal of incarcerated it was never necessarily attempted because of the cost. Instead retribution and incapacitation has taken over most of the focus. We argue that things are for deterrence but the guy even states that criminals do not outweigh the sentencing in one state compared to the other and at some points it is spontaneous not planned out. We say that the war on drugs or other tough on crimes are used as deterrence and they can be associated with it but as we discussed in class why punish someone so severely for a little bit of something especially if it is their first time. The process of sentencing someone needs to look more at the overall picture and needs to focus more on rehabilitation because you can incarcerate someone and make them pay for what they did but that does not make them see what they did wrong especially if they grew up in an environment where everything they saw was wrong to others but not necessarily wrong to them. Ramadan789
I definitely agree with your ideas you brought up. These people need to be fixed. Some are being detained and then being brought back in. They do not change over the period of incarceration. They need to be dealt with and more time and money must be spent on them. NR789
Deterrence is definitely the phrase that is toted around by the promoters of the war on drugs but has obviously not made a mark on the drug crime rate and has only lead to more needless prison filling. It is clear that some of the war on drugs money should be re-appropriated to fund rehabilitation programs such as the Summit of Hope. -EAB789
Well said Ramadan789, the part where you said, "The process of sentencing someone needs to look more at the overall picture and needs to focus more on rehabilitation because you can incarcerate someone and make them pay for what they did but that does not make them see what they did wrong", was easy to relate to. If a first time offender sells some cocaine for some extra cash one time with the possibility of never even seeing coke before, let alone doing it and gets a 15 year sentence for the distribution of illegal drugs is outrageous to me. This scenario might teach that offender a lesson but there are plenty other possible ways that could end in a criminal being released and not getting better or maybe getting worse. A felony conviction on a record will ruin someones life these days and I can see someone being angry or upset for a charge like that. It is corrupt to me that the correctional facilities don't implement a better habilitation program. LF789
In the video that was shown in class the guy says that in the 1960s there were only 300,000 people in prison, but today the amount of criminals in prison is rapidly increasing. The textbook says that deterrence is used to prevent crime by punishment but in the video he says that people are being put in prison by using incapacitation, which is holding people in prison to keep them away from communities and in turn reduce the crime rate. When someone gets ready to commit a crime very rarely do they stop and think about how harsh the crime could be when committing it in a different state; if the crime was committed in Illinois it could be a different charge than if it would have been committed in Arizona. I found it very interesting that 750,000 criminals are released from prison/jail each year and how they become angry upon being released because they were not taught any life skills during their time in prison so they do not know how to act in society when they are let out. It is also unfortunate that today police are single-minded and focusing on finding people with drugs rather than finding people who are committing dangerous crimes. -Jon789
I agree fully with Ramadan789 that the focus on drugs, while important, should be considered secondary to someone who is committing murder or rape where they are doing more harm to others. The police should continue to focus on drugs but not to the same extent as they do now because someone who suffers drug addiction can be rehabilitated. In addition, drugs will always be around; if a drug user is using drugs now, is a safe bet they will be using them the next day, thus the priority of where to focus on crimes should be moved accordingly to a lower position.-Jon789
The speaker in the video states how the crime rate and people being incarcerated have been rising ever since the 1960's. He also states that the states primary goal was to bring the prisoners out rehabilitated. In other words change their mind coming out of prison so they would not commit the crime again. The speaker includes the subject that incapacitation is the main reason for incarceration at this moment. Which is basically taking away the ability to commit crime. The other subject used for exterminating crime is deterrence which is to stop the criminal from doing the crime again. Also stop to others by seeing the penalty. What is happening is that too much focus and money is being spent on the Drug War. Instead more organizations like the Summit of Hope must be created. These people must be rehabilitated or even habilitated to know how to behave in the real world. NR789
The man in the video says that the original point of the prison system was to take criminals, correct their criminal behavior, and send them on their way. Unfortunately although that was the original purpose was to rehabilitate criminals the system only does a good job of incarcerating criminals not fixing their behavior for the long term. He also said that in the 60’s there were only 300,000 people incarcerated and that was considered too many at the time. Since then that number has only increased while the lack of effectiveness for the prison system has remained the same. The man also mentioned a document from the 60’s that outlined a way to reform the prison system through reforms at all levels of the justice system. Only recently has any headway been made by Virginian senator Webb to create a commission to look at the criminal justice system at all levels including the Federal level. KAM789
It's unfortunate though that in prison these criminals are not taught the life skills that they will need before they are released. He said that once they are released they are often more angry than before because they do not know what to do or where to go since they have been in prison for so long. This issue only leads to the criminals committing crimes again and returning to prison due to the lack of knowledge about today's world. -MH789
The war on drugs is considered by many to be a massive failure and is one of the main reasons why the prison population has been skyrocketing. Nowadays prisons are more focused on keeping individuals away from society rather than helping them integrate back into it, this just perpetuates a cycle of recurring crimes for drug related offenses. When an individual gets out of prison and has no skills or connections to get a job of course he/she will go straight back to selling drugs. The war on drugs is similar to the Prohibition in that it was entirely ineffective at countering people's dependence on it. Thanks to a competitive black market drug related violence, drug use, and drug accessibility have all increased over the years. With the introduction of strict penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing in conjunction with no budget to afford rehabilitation (or habilitation) programs we have effectively created a cycle that will just continue to grow the prison industrial complex to ridiculous proportions and exacerbate the already excessive costs for running the government. With lighter or ideally no punishment for certain drug related crimes we can greatly reduce prison population and upkeep costs to manageable levels where rehabilitation programs will be affordable. -EAB789
The video covers several aspects of sentencing criminals and the correctional fallacies. The man in the video talks about where crimes are more severe and also how many inmates are held in prison/jail and/or also released. This was very helpful because this clarifies what we covered in class and he makes it a lot easier to understand and relate to our discussions in class and what the book says. He stated that 750,000 criminals are released from prison but end up more angry, bitter and have less money after being released from prison/jail which makes them more vulnerable for more criminal activity. He also states what the correctional systems need to work on to create a stronger and more efficient way to prevent crime outbreaks, whether it's more rehabilitation or actual habilitation which we covered in class or whether its better public housing or just better policing in the high crime areas/environments. LF789
After reading the book and watching the video, the biggest thing that I took away from this was the number of people being released from prisons and the population of the prisons are only going up at an incredible rate. When the man in the video referenced to the 1960's he spoke about the prison population was at 300,000 inmates, which at that time they considered high. Now in 2013 the prison population is more than eight times as high as it was fifty years ago. The attempt to stop the trafficking of drugs only sped up the rate of the population when we implemented much harsher rules for being caught with drugs. I do not believe that putting our focus on drugs instead of other, more serious felonies was a wise choice. Noetzol789
In this video Robert Perkinson explains how incarceration is an expensive and ineffective way in preventing crime. I would have to agree with him on that fact. As he said, most people think it’s responsible for about 10-20% of reducing crime in the United States. That being said we can see that incarcerating people isn’t really helping us and that we are spending far too much money on a method for reducing crime that is for the most part ineffective. There are also about 750 thousand people released from prison a year which aren’t being helped financially and that aren’t rehabilitated or “habilitated” so they become even angrier and go back to doing the same crimes as before since they aren’t receiving the help they need. Besides that fact, there are about 2.4 million people behind bars in the U.S. which we are spending money to keep behind bars which most of them haven’t done that serious of a crime. I feel that there are better ways to spend our money on preventing crime than spending it on incarcerating people. -CEM789
In the video he says that in the 1960s there were only 300,000 people in prison, but today the amount of criminals in prison is increasing. The book says that deterrence is used to prevent crime by punishment but in the video he says that people are being put in prison by the use of incapacitation, which is holding people in prison to keep them away from communities to help reduce crime. When someone gets ready to commit a crime they often do not think of how harsh the crime could be when committing it in different areas, such as if the crime was committed in Illinois it could be a different charge than if it would have been committed in Maryland. I thought it was interesting that 750,000 criminals are released from prison/jail each year and how they end up becoming more angry being let out because they were not taught any life skills so they do not know what to do or how to act when they are let out. Also, it was unfortunate to hear that today police are too focused on finding people with drugs rather than spending more time finding people who are committing dangerous crimes such as murder or rape. -MH789
ReplyDeleteI agree with MH789 because the focus on drugs are important but not necessarily as important as someone committing murder or rape where they are doing more harm to others than just themselves. They should focus on drugs still but not to the extent as they do today because someone with a drug problem can be rehabilitated and you can make them pay easier. Also drugs will always be there, if a drug user is using drugs today, chances are they will be using them tomorrow so I think the priority of where to focus the toughness on crimes should be moved around.
DeleteRamadan789
I agree with MH789. You brought up the key points of the video and info from the book. how the book states we use deterrence to prevent crime, but in reality is the use of incapacitation. The fact that 750,000 people are realesed each year and we still have 2.4 million people in jail is so rediculous.SM789
DeleteI also think there is too much focus on drugs. I think that the criminal justice system is trying too hard to keep up an image of being tough on all types of crime and doing the crime means doing the time when police should focus more on the crimes that are truly harmful to citizens, not to say drugs aren’t harmful but that there are more pressing issues to be dealt with. KAM 789
DeleteI agree with MH789 that its interesting knowing that around 750 thousand people are let out of prison just so they can end up back behind bars do to the fact that they weren't given the necessary help for a second start. Many of them are let out without knowing how to get a job, without food stamps, or even without a drivers license.This causes most of them to do what they know best, which is the crime that put them behind bars in the first place. How can anyone keep a clean sleight after getting a second chance without the help and means to do so?
Delete-CEM789
Within the first minute of this the guy states that the purpose of incarceration is to take someone who has done wrong and intervene in their lives so when they come out better than when they went in. Although this was the primary goal of incarcerated it was never necessarily attempted because of the cost. Instead retribution and incapacitation has taken over most of the focus. We argue that things are for deterrence but the guy even states that criminals do not outweigh the sentencing in one state compared to the other and at some points it is spontaneous not planned out. We say that the war on drugs or other tough on crimes are used as deterrence and they can be associated with it but as we discussed in class why punish someone so severely for a little bit of something especially if it is their first time. The process of sentencing someone needs to look more at the overall picture and needs to focus more on rehabilitation because you can incarcerate someone and make them pay for what they did but that does not make them see what they did wrong especially if they grew up in an environment where everything they saw was wrong to others but not necessarily wrong to them.
ReplyDeleteRamadan789
I definitely agree with your ideas you brought up. These people need to be fixed. Some are being detained and then being brought back in. They do not change over the period of incarceration. They need to be dealt with and more time and money must be spent on them. NR789
DeleteDeterrence is definitely the phrase that is toted around by the promoters of the war on drugs but has obviously not made a mark on the drug crime rate and has only lead to more needless prison filling. It is clear that some of the war on drugs money should be re-appropriated to fund rehabilitation programs such as the Summit of Hope.
Delete-EAB789
Well said Ramadan789, the part where you said, "The process of sentencing someone needs to look more at the overall picture and needs to focus more on rehabilitation because you can incarcerate someone and make them pay for what they did but that does not make them see what they did wrong", was easy to relate to. If a first time offender sells some cocaine for some extra cash one time with the possibility of never even seeing coke before, let alone doing it and gets a 15 year sentence for the distribution of illegal drugs is outrageous to me. This scenario might teach that offender a lesson but there are plenty other possible ways that could end in a criminal being released and not getting better or maybe getting worse. A felony conviction on a record will ruin someones life these days and I can see someone being angry or upset for a charge like that. It is corrupt to me that the correctional facilities don't implement a better habilitation program. LF789
DeleteIn the video that was shown in class the guy says that in the 1960s there were only 300,000 people in prison, but today the amount of criminals in prison is rapidly increasing. The textbook says that deterrence is used to prevent crime by punishment but in the video he says that people are being put in prison by using incapacitation, which is holding people in prison to keep them away from communities and in turn reduce the crime rate. When someone gets ready to commit a crime very rarely do they stop and think about how harsh the crime could be when committing it in a different state; if the crime was committed in Illinois it could be a different charge than if it would have been committed in Arizona. I found it very interesting that 750,000 criminals are released from prison/jail each year and how they become angry upon being released because they were not taught any life skills during their time in prison so they do not know how to act in society when they are let out. It is also unfortunate that today police are single-minded and focusing on finding people with drugs rather than finding people who are committing dangerous crimes. -Jon789
ReplyDeleteI agree fully with Ramadan789 that the focus on drugs, while important, should be considered secondary to someone who is committing murder or rape where they are doing more harm to others. The police should continue to focus on drugs but not to the same extent as they do now because someone who suffers drug addiction can be rehabilitated. In addition, drugs will always be around; if a drug user is using drugs now, is a safe bet they will be using them the next day, thus the priority of where to focus on crimes should be moved accordingly to a lower position.-Jon789
ReplyDeleteThe speaker in the video states how the crime rate and people being incarcerated have been rising ever since the 1960's. He also states that the states primary goal was to bring the prisoners out rehabilitated. In other words change their mind coming out of prison so they would not commit the crime again. The speaker includes the subject that incapacitation is the main reason for incarceration at this moment. Which is basically taking away the ability to commit crime. The other subject used for exterminating crime is deterrence which is to stop the criminal from doing the crime again. Also stop to others by seeing the penalty. What is happening is that too much focus and money is being spent on the Drug War. Instead more organizations like the Summit of Hope must be created. These people must be rehabilitated or even habilitated to know how to behave in the real world. NR789
ReplyDeleteThe man in the video says that the original point of the prison system was to take criminals, correct their criminal behavior, and send them on their way. Unfortunately although that was the original purpose was to rehabilitate criminals the system only does a good job of incarcerating criminals not fixing their behavior for the long term. He also said that in the 60’s there were only 300,000 people incarcerated and that was considered too many at the time. Since then that number has only increased while the lack of effectiveness for the prison system has remained the same. The man also mentioned a document from the 60’s that outlined a way to reform the prison system through reforms at all levels of the justice system. Only recently has any headway been made by Virginian senator Webb to create a commission to look at the criminal justice system at all levels including the Federal level. KAM789
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate though that in prison these criminals are not taught the life skills that they will need before they are released. He said that once they are released they are often more angry than before because they do not know what to do or where to go since they have been in prison for so long. This issue only leads to the criminals committing crimes again and returning to prison due to the lack of knowledge about today's world. -MH789
DeleteThe war on drugs is considered by many to be a massive failure and is one of the main reasons why the prison population has been skyrocketing. Nowadays prisons are more focused on keeping individuals away from society rather than helping them integrate back into it, this just perpetuates a cycle of recurring crimes for drug related offenses. When an individual gets out of prison and has no skills or connections to get a job of course he/she will go straight back to selling drugs. The war on drugs is similar to the Prohibition in that it was entirely ineffective at countering people's dependence on it. Thanks to a competitive black market drug related violence, drug use, and drug accessibility have all increased over the years. With the introduction of strict penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing in conjunction with no budget to afford rehabilitation (or habilitation) programs we have effectively created a cycle that will just continue to grow the prison industrial complex to ridiculous proportions and exacerbate the already excessive costs for running the government. With lighter or ideally no punishment for certain drug related crimes we can greatly reduce prison population and upkeep costs to manageable levels where rehabilitation programs will be affordable.
ReplyDelete-EAB789
The video covers several aspects of sentencing criminals and the correctional fallacies. The man in the video talks about where crimes are more severe and also how many inmates are held in prison/jail and/or also released. This was very helpful because this clarifies what we covered in class and he makes it a lot easier to understand and relate to our discussions in class and what the book says. He stated that 750,000 criminals are released from prison but end up more angry, bitter and have less money after being released from prison/jail which makes them more vulnerable for more criminal activity. He also states what the correctional systems need to work on to create a stronger and more efficient way to prevent crime outbreaks, whether it's more rehabilitation or actual habilitation which we covered in class or whether its better public housing or just better policing in the high crime areas/environments. LF789
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book and watching the video, the biggest thing that I took away from this was the number of people being released from prisons and the population of the prisons are only going up at an incredible rate. When the man in the video referenced to the 1960's he spoke about the prison population was at 300,000 inmates, which at that time they considered high. Now in 2013 the prison population is more than eight times as high as it was fifty years ago. The attempt to stop the trafficking of drugs only sped up the rate of the population when we implemented much harsher rules for being caught with drugs. I do not believe that putting our focus on drugs instead of other, more serious felonies was a wise choice. Noetzol789
ReplyDeleteIn this video Robert Perkinson explains how incarceration is an expensive and ineffective way in preventing crime. I would have to agree with him on that fact. As he said, most people think it’s responsible for about 10-20% of reducing crime in the United States. That being said we can see that incarcerating people isn’t really helping us and that we are spending far too much money on a method for reducing crime that is for the most part ineffective. There are also about 750 thousand people released from prison a year which aren’t being helped financially and that aren’t rehabilitated or “habilitated” so they become even angrier and go back to doing the same crimes as before since they aren’t receiving the help they need. Besides that fact, there are about 2.4 million people behind bars in the U.S. which we are spending money to keep behind bars which most of them haven’t done that serious of a crime. I feel that there are better ways to spend our money on preventing crime than spending it on incarcerating people.
ReplyDelete-CEM789