Behind Prisons Walls

Prisons represent correction facilities in which individuals who confuse violated the law of the land in one expression or an early(a) ar physic eithery re unyielding and deprived of sealed freedoms especially that of movement and free association. The institution of prison house is conventional and puzzle outs an constitutive(a) image of the juridic system of whatever inclined country, incarceration or internment is a penalty which is legal and is imposed by the suppose by way of life of its judicial arm, to persons who have violated the laws.Historically, immurement was not considered as a punishment and as a way of close felons until such a time when the state or the governing governance would be in a position to administer capital or corporal punishment. Biblically there were prisons in Jerusalem used for detention purposes in the Old Testament (Flynn & Hurd, 1998). History purpose and types of prisons Prisons have been in initiation for very many centurie s, history of imprisoning individuals started way beyond the eighteenth coke.The memory of individuals before trial, although not necessarily in building or other structures built specifically as prisons may be in castles is as old as history and have been exercised for several centuries. Private jails were in existence and their history dates back in the year 1166 and their existence act into the eighteenth century they were of importly run backstagely as commercialized undertakings and the prisoners were expected to pay for the food and other services that they enjoyed while in custody.For the past two centuries the history of prisons quite a little be classified into 3 main periods which were all characterized by conflicting rationales for both imprisonment and prisons. In the early nineteenth and late eighteenth centuries, much emphasis was empower on reforming both the prisons and the prisoners. It is during this period that the institution of modern prisons were estab lished, a much oppressive approach was adopted in the nineteenth century.As a go forth of this approach new notions about rehabilitation and reforms emerged towards the finale of the nineteenth century and in the early twentieth century. Prison conditions throughout the century, ride outd to terrible. in that location was no segregation of women, children or men, offenders were not classified and they were all held in c at one timert regardless of the crime committed. These ar some of the factors that were calling for reforms and rehabilitation deep down the prison administration (Federal chest of Prisons, n. d. ).In prisons nowadays, deterrence, retri exception of rehabilitation, be the main elements that argon used by the state through its judicial arm to ply club with justice. Prison is a very important institution to the nine. The members of the ball club who atomic number 18 anchor guilty for violating the rules and regulations governing the members of the host el are confined in prisons and thuds are denied the opportunity of committing more crime to the parliamentary procedure. While in prison the offenders are normally reformed so that they can be split up members of the community once there are out of prison.They are rehabilitated so that in afterlife they can be better members of the society and contribute positively to its growth and development. In to the highest degree prisons the imprisoned individuals ordinarily under go some technical training to enable them get wind some skills which will enable them to make a living once they are out of prison instead of engaging in criminal activities. Such skills will deter them in future from committing crimes in future in an attempt to make a living, and hence prisons receive criminals from the society and gives back responsible muckle to the society.By imprisoning people who have committed legitimate crimes to other people justice is seen to be done, it is perceived to be equita ble especially by the aggrieved party who could not baffle law on their own hands as this would lead to a chaotic society. therefrom prisons provide an orderly way of dealing with offenders and making them become better people (Jachimowicz & Jose, n. d. ). The medium security prisons are used to jail those people who have committed petty offences and are to be imprisoned for relatively a short period.The inmates in medium security prisons are usually held up in cells that accommodates several prisoners. These inmates are deprived of freedom of movement, approach path to education, privileges such as participating in sporting activities, vocational and therapeutic programs. In these facilities the prison officials restrict the number of times an inmate can be visited and communication between the visitors and the inmates is carefully monitored by the officials, while communication the inmate and the visitor have to face each other through a transparent partition made of glass an d they have to fall out via telephone.In some medium security prisons the inmates are given opportunities to work furloughs, forgive and other modes programs which are transitional in nature, but only a small population of the inmates is given an opportunity to take part in such programs (Marsh, 2004). The offenders who are most dangerous and have committed major(ip) offences like rape, robbery with violence, terrorism and murder are imprisoned in maximum security prisons these facilities usually have very many strict obstructions and rules, the inmates in maximum security prisons are in most cases discriminate from each other and they usually spend a lot of time in lonely cells.Very few amenities are usually found in maximum security prisons and the cells are usually sparsely furnished. In most of the developed countries such prisons are usually fitted with video cameras which are used by the prison officials to monitor prisoners in their work areas or in their cells. In most maximum security prisons the inmates are postulate to remain in their cells for as many as twenty triplet hours a day leaving them with only one hour for showering and relaxing.The trinity category of prisons is the super maximum security facilities, which are located in spite of appearance the maximum security prison, they are highly restricted and there is token(prenominal) human contact. Inmates in these facilities are confined in small solitary cells for most of the day. They normally live alone with no single materialize of meeting and socializing with anyone (Marsh, 2004). For individuals who have committed trusted offences which attract imprisonment, but cannot be jailed because they have not attained legal adulthood, the minors are housed in special types of prisons commonly referred to as juvenile correctional facilities.These institutions are similar to dormitories in boarding schools, but more restriction is imposed on the minors in these facilities. Recent Resear ch on Prisons Research shows that in many cases, prisons achieve their main objectives, imprisoning criminals enhances public safety, since they are held in confined places from which it is not possible to threaten the safety of the public. The prisons have also achieved significantly as far as rehabilitating criminals is concerned as they are deterred from committing similar offences in future.They have also played a significant role in reinforcing about right and wrong which are basic social values and norms (Tonry & Petersilia, n. d. ). Despite all these achievements some researches imply that prisons have consistently been used by the prison officials and the state to continue to abuse the human rights of the prisoners. Various researches show that the prisoners are denied basic necessities such as good clothing and enough food.Studies have also revealed that imprisonment has a negative effect on the spouses and the dependants of the person imprisoned. Imprisonment affects the financial stability of the prisoners and their families, during the imprisonment period and after. Such families also suffer from the society as they are perceived by the members of the community as alleged(prenominal) families and in most cases people avoid to associate with them. This affects the ex prisoners, their spouses and children psychologically making it difficult to socialize with other members of the society.Such negative altitudes usually affects the ex prisoners even financially as they are unable to secure any form of employment as members of the society do not intrust them, this is likely to increase their observes of involving themselves in criminal activities in future so as to be able to maintain themselves financially (Jacobson, 2005). In most countries the cost of running prisons is fully met by the state through the revenues it collects in form of imposees from its citizens. The governments are responsible for the management and the running of prisons they support their terrace arms financially to administer justice.The judges, prison officials and other workers in the judicial system are remunerated from the government c pleads, since they are civil servants. In some cases the prison departments are expected to raise some coin by the government, through running some commercial enterprises from where they are in a position to partly fund them and the government meets the remaining part of their budget (Krause, n. d. ) Such enterprises are usually in the form of cultivation activities where the prisoners are the main source of labor. The cost of running prisons for any given country runs into millions of dollars each year.Thus there is need to minimize the expenditure of the prison departments so as except on these cost but at the same time meeting the goals of imprisoning individuals. Some of the proposed methods of reducing the burden on prison cost on the government are through the privatization process. some other method of r educing prison costs is by placing the petty offenders on probation instead of confining them, such offenders can be required to offer some services to the community under the supervision of some flirt officials or community leaders.By dealing with such offenders in this manner a lot of cost will be saved and the offenders will be given an opportunity to serve the community which they might have wronged in one way or another (Brown, 2009). Privatization of Prisons Studies have shown that governments can save substantially on costs through privatization and thereby tame the emergent costs of running prisons. The officials of the state should consider taking advantage of the benefits that are likely to be realized by once they outsource their prisons to private enterprises, this will enable them improve prisons and also save on the tax payers money.However, the state should ensure that the quality of the prisons and their intended objectives are not compromised by such a move, hence they should conduct privatization carefully and include all the required stakeholders so as to seal off any enlace hole that might be used to compromise the standards of prisons in their states (Mackinac ticker for Public insurance, 2004). A study that was done in the year 2003 in New Mexico showed that the state saved up to $9600 per prisoner in 2001 as a result of effective privatization. Through privatization the state officials alter the native structure in future government funding of the prisons.A study in Michigan indicated that it was very difficult in coming up with a balanced budget on its prisons since much of its expenditures are law mandated. This therefore, means that it does not matter how much well the economy might be performing, or the amount of money treasury is receiving, the state is under cartel to meet certain expenses (Nguyen, 2008). Conclusion Prisons are very important and form an integral part of the society, they should therefore, be accorded as much support as possible so as to enable them meet their objectives effectively.Prisons should not be perceived as places where law breakers are punished but as rehabilitation center where criminals are given a chance to reflect on their lives so as to be better members of the society once they are through with their prison life. The authorities managing the prisons should under take a reform process which should be aimed at deterring the offenders from committing similar offences or other related offences in future. Their efforts should be aimed at ensuring that the prisoners leave the prison facilities as better people than they were when they joined them.The prison departments should equip the inmates with certain technical skills that will enable them to contribute positively in the society after the imprisonment term is over. It is also very important for the prison officials to educate the public on the need to assist criminals and ex prisoners so that they can be more responsible . Reference Brown, J. (2009) Cost of running prisons riffle high, Retrieved on second whitethorn from, http//www. timesrecordnews. com/news/2009/apr/18/cost-of-running-prisons -sky-high/. Federal Bureau of Prisons (n. d. ) Prison Types & General Information, Retrieved on 2nd May from,http//www. bop. gov/locations/institutions/. Flynn, N. & Hurd, D. (1998) Introduction to prisons and imprisonment Prison Reform Trust (Great Britain), ISBN 1872870376, Waterside Press. Jacobson, M, (2005) Downsizing prisons how to reduce crime and end mass incarceration, ISBN 0814742742, NYU Press Jachimowicz, H. P. & Jose, E. S. (n. d. ) Jails and Prisons Types and Kinds, Retrieved on 2nd May from, http//criminal. findlaw. com/articles/1452. html. Krause, M. (n. d. ) Prison costs are running out of control, Retrieved on 2nd May from, http//www. i2i. org/main/article. php? article_id=1311. Marsh, I.(2004) Criminal justice an introduction to philosophies, theories and practice ISBN 0415333016, Routledge . Mackinac Center for Public Policy 2004) Prison Privatization A Growing National Trend, Retrieved on 2nd May from, http//www. mackinac. org/6504. Nguyen, L. (2008) Cost of running adult prisons, jails rises to nearly $3B, report finds, Retrieved on 2nd May from, http//www. canada. com/ottawacitizen/news/story. html? id=5c3617b3-74c6-4b b7-b5e3-fae38f504a6e. Tonry, M. & Petersilia, J. (n. d. ) Prisons Research at the Beginning of the twenty-first Century, Retrieved on 2nd May from, http//www. nc