Within the United States Criminal Justice System there's a staggering number of inmates in both state and federal prisons. “About 2.2 million people are incarcerated in state and federal prisons in the United States, and more than 60% of those people are people of color. One in five people are incarcerated for drug-related crimes, and those who are incarcerated for murder encompasses the rare group of serial killers, with people who committed acts that are unlikely for reasons of circumstance or old age to ever happen again, with offenses that the average American may not considered to be a murderer at all.” (Wagner, Sakala). As seen in Purpose of Prisons from stoptheaca.org,“Prisons have four major purposes: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation.”(stoptheaca.org). Retribution is described as “punishment for crimes against society. The deprivation of freedom that criminals face, helps them pay their debts that are owed back to society. Incapacitation refers to removing criminals from everyday life so they are no longer a threat to others, and to themselves.” (stoptheaca.org) Deterrence is a means to “prevent any future crime to be committed.” (stoptheaca.org). It is hoped that prisons provide insight about committing those crimes, and that the fear of potentially going to prison will prevent any other crimes from being committed. Rehabilitation refers to “activities designed to transform criminals into law-abiding citizens. These may include educational resources such as receiving a GED or obtaining a degree in a vocational career field, teaching valuable career skills, as well as offering mental health services such as counseling or meeting with a psychologist.” (stoptheaca.org). There are many other reasons why people become incarcerated. One of the main focal points would be safety. When someone is incarcerated, it promotes Public Safety. It promotes Public Safety in a way that those criminals who commit the more treacherous crimes are not in any position to harm any other innocent people. There are programs in place within both federal and state prisons that enable those incarcerated to be isolated from the rest of society, or be an area with other like inmates. Safety does not only prevent those incarcerated from committing crimes within the prisons, it also encompasses the guards, and other people who help facilitate these high security prisons.
In my opinion, Public Safety is extremely important when dealing with those incarcerated, as well as when they get out. There are many different components that need to be dealt with when we talk about Public Safety. Public Safety not only deals with those incarcerated, but also deals with those who are working within the prisons, as well as those who the inmate may encounter once they are released. The ideas of different stages of incarceration, including different tiers of security is important. Within this paper, I will be discussing the different stages of incarceration, how the length of someone's prison sentence greatly affects their outcome when they are released, and how the concept of rehabilitation plays a key role in the safety of the public as well as the person formerly incarcerated once they are released into society.
There are several different stages to be incarcerated, as well as many different types of security for those who commit certain crimes. This includes minimum security, low security, medium security, high-security, complex, and administrative. Each of these categories have their own specifications, and are quite different from one another. Within minimum security institutions, also known as federal prison camps . These include “dormitory housing, including a relatively low staff to inmate ratio, and there is limited to no perimeter fencing. These institutions are more work and program oriented. A number of these type institutions have small, minimum-security camp that are adjacent to the main facility. These camps are often referred to as a satellite prison camps and they provide inmate labor to the main institution and to off-site work programs” (BOP.gov). Next we have low Security Federal Correctional institutions, or FCI's. They have “double fence perimeters, mostly dormitory or cubicle housing, and they have very strong work and program components. The staff to inmate ratio of these institutions are higher than minimum security facilities. “Medium security FCI’s have strengthened parameters, they're often double fences with electronic detection systems, they have mostly cell type housing, a wide variety of work and treatment programs, and an even higher Staff to inmate ratio than low security” (BOP.gov) High security institutions also known as United States Penitentiaries have “highly secured perimeters featuring walls or reinforced fences, multiple and single occupancy housing, and the highest staff to inmate ratio as well as close control over inmate movement” (BOP.gov). Out of these three types of security prisons there are more medium security prisons as opposed to minimum, low, and high. Federal correctional complexes are institutions that have “different missions and security levels and are located in close proximity to one another. They increase the efficiency through the sharing of services, able staff to get experience at institutions of various security levels, and enhance his emergency preparedness by having additional resources within close proximity” (BOP.gov) Last but not least, administrative facilities are “institutions that have special missions such as the Detention of Pretoria offenders, the treatment of inmates was serious or chronic medical problems, or the containment of extremely dangerous, violent, or escape prison inmates.” (BOP.gov) These facilities are capable of holding inmates in all security categories. These different categories of incarceration, are very influential because they enable those who have committed more severe crimes to be in higher security, so that they do not pose a threat to anybody around them. Proper placement of inmates is crucial because if an inmate is placed in a lower security than what fits their crime, they are at a higher risk of harming other inmates, as well as prison guards, and other staff who assisted facilitating the prison.
Based on however long someone's prison sentence is, can determine how well they react when being outside of the prison, as well as how they acclimate to normal daily life. In Sentencing, Incarceration, and Parole from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the topic of sentencing comes into play, and the what happens after someone is sentenced. “Once sentenced to CDCR, the offender is sent to a reception center for processing and transfer to an institution. Processing includes computing a classification score based on such factors as length of sentence, stability, education, employment, and behavior during a prior incarceration.” (cdcr..ca.gov). These guidelines are put into place to determine how a person will be sentenced after their incarceration. This classification also helps to determine where the inmate will be transferred to, however, the score that they receive may change depending on how well or poor their behavior is, as well as other specific case factors. Once the inmate is released, they are either sent to a state or county level supervision also known as post-release community release supervision. “The type of supervision is determined by the California Penal Code. More serious and violent offenders as well as high-risk sex offenders are released to state parole and the non-serious, non-violent, and non-sex offenders are released to county-level supervision.” (cdcr.ca.gov) These various types of systems allow those who are a higher risk to society to be dealt with by the state, as they pose a more serious risk to society based on their crimes. The non-violent offenders are dealt with at a county level because they don’t pose as high of a risk to society, and safety isn’t as big as a concern as opposed to those who commit more serious crimes. Safety is a key concern when dealing with sentencing because the safety of the general public is of utmost importance. If those who committed more severe crimes aren’t punished appropriately, who’s to say that they won’t commit those severe crimes again?
One of the main areas that prisons focus on is Rehabilitation. In an article entitled Division of Rehabilitative Programs by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, it talks about the different rehabilitative services provided, as well as the rehabilitative process that does incarcerated in California go through. Some rehabilitative in-prison services include comprehensive pre-release rehabilitative programs and services for offenders while they are in prison and also work closely with community reentry services to become acclimated in society and not to become a repeat offender. “The focus of these programs include cognitive behavioral treatment, pre-release education, planning, and skills; and acquiring a California identification card. California state prisons also focus on community reentry services. These services provide comprehensive post-release rehabilitation programs and Services located in communities throughout the state of California these are delivered through residential, outpatient, as well as a drop-in centers. The focus of these programs include housing, life skills, and family unification; educational programs including acquiring a GED, academic training, as well as vocational training; and finally, employment assistance and placement.” (cdcr.ca.gov). The state of California also includes a rehabilitation process for incarcerated inmates. “When the inmate is incarcerated, the inmate’s risk to recidivism rate and their criminal genic needs are assessed, then the offender meets with their correctional counselor and is placed in appropriate programs based on their rehabilitative needs. Once the offender is nearing their parole they are placed in various educational programs including academic and career technical education. The offender may receive behavioral treatment including alcohol and substance abuse treatment, anger management, criminal thinking, and family relationships. Once the inmate is on parole there are specialized programs that are available for offenders who are receiving long-term sentences. With the offender may apply to receive a California identification card, and they are also able to enroll in some community-based programs that are designed to help them re-enter the community successfully and safely” (cdcr.ca.gov). The successful rehabilitation of the inmate, ties into safety because once the inmate is properly helped, then they are hopefully no longer a threat to themselves or others within society. Rehabilitation is also a key component to the success of the person who was incarcerated to have a successful, safe future.
In conclusion, safety plays a very important role in the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system provides many different tiers of prisons, that are responsible for holding the most severe criminals, to the least. Rehabilitation ties into safety because once they are properly rehabilitated, then they are safe for not only for themselves but for others. With proper safety while within the prison walls, and teaching proper techniques as far as anger management, or criminal thinking goes it will inevitably cause those incarcerated to have a different frame of mind when they get out, and they become less of a threat to society, and are less likely to become incarcerated again.