Crime is a worldwide problem. It is a drain on resources. It is an injustice against its victims. It is…a problem that needs to be understood and fixed. There are many complaints that come to mind when the topic of “crime” is discussed: crime hurts people, too many inmates in our jails and prisons, the programs are not working, taxpayers’ money is being wasted, and there is just too much crime in our society.
Crime affects everyone: the victims, the criminals, the state/country, and the taxpayers. Victims are left with a troubling memory and possibly physical side effects, depending on the type of crime that was committed against them. For the most part the victims are able to move on with their lives after a substantial amount of time has passed. Other times the crime has serious implications, such as death, a sexually transmitted disease, a child, a physical or mental handicapped, etc. Crime needs to be controlled so that we can protect people from becoming victims. Criminals can be affected both positively and negatively by crime. They can be affected positively if they get away with the crime and its spoils. Or, they can be affected negatively when they are caught and receive punishment for the crime they committed. The state/country is affected because they need to provide facilities where the criminals can do their time, or complete any other punishment meted out. Finally, the taxpayers are affected because they monetarily pay for the implications of crime – they pay for services that relate to the victims, they pay for the incarceration/punishments for the criminals, and they pay the state to pay for and build everything that is needed for the victims and criminals.
On a more positive note, since taxpayers are paying, there are services available to help every type of victim. This money can also help inmates and released prisoners turn their lives around, if they are willing to put in the hard work.
There are too many inmates. There is such a high number of inmates that there is not enough space for them in the current facilities, thus the overcrowding. In 2005, there were 2.2 million inmates in the United States alone. With this many people/criminals incarcerated, shouldn’t the crime rate have gone down? Incarceration is taking petty and violent offenders off the streets, but it seems incarceration is not fixing the problem but pushing it off to be dealt with in the years to come. In a 1994 study of recidivism, the US Department of Justice found that within three years, 67.5% of the prisoners released recidivated. Recidivism, according to this study, is defined as rearrests, reconvictions, resentencing to prison, and being returned to prison with or without a new sentence. Incarceration is a temporary fix that serves a few purposes, such as making the victim feel safer, but released prisoners recidivating does more harm than incarcerating them helped.
However, it should be noted that the government is continually trying to reduce the recidivism rates, even if those efforts are not always successful. The Department of Justice states that on Jan. 5, 2011, the Inaugural Cabinet-Level Reentry Council, which is made up of members from numerous federal agencies, gathered to discuss reentry. It is said that, “The council will address short-term and long-term goals through enhanced communication, coordination and collaboration across federal agencies. The mission of the council is threefold: to make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization; to assist those returning from prison and jail in becoming productive, tax paying citizens; and to save taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration.” This council has quite a task ahead of them, and their success would change many aspects of our criminal justice system. The Second Chance Act, established on April 9, 2008 is a huge step towards bettering our society and lessening crime. This Act’s purpose is to “improve outcomes for people returning to communities from prisons and jails. This first-of-its-kind legislation authorizes federal grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services that can help reduce recidivism.” The National Reentry Resource Center, established by the Second Chance Act, is also helping released prisoners. On the Center’s website, their goal is to provide “education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local government, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and corrections agencies working on prisoner reentry.”
Yet, the crime prevention programs and the crime control programs do not seem to be working. The taxpayers are paying for services that they cannot see helping our society. The taxpayers are not against paying for programs, but are against paying for programs that do not help. Programs have been tried in the past, but most seem to end in failure. According to Isabel Sawhill, “Since 1990, there have been 10 instances in which an entire federal social program has been evaluated…nine of these evaluations found weak or no positive effects…what the evaluations make clear is that much of what the deferral government funds through theses large funding stream programs is not working as intended.” Some of the evaluated programs were following: Job Corps (job training for disadvantaged youth), Upward Bound (academic preparation for at-risk high school students), and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (after-school programs for disadvantaged youth).
The taxpayers’ complaints about their tax money not being effective seem to have reached the government’s ears. New federally funded programs will have a new way of managing funds and results. A New York Times article stated that this new “idea goes by one of two names: pay for success bonds or social impact bonds. Either way, nonprofit groups like foundations pay the initial money for a new program and also oversee it, with government approval. The government will reimburse them several years later, possibly with a bonus – but only if agreed-upon benchmarks show that the program is working. If it falls short, taxpayers owe nothing.” If this new way of managing programs works, our society will be better off because programs that work will be found and the taxpayers will not have to pay for the trial-and-error stage.
At this point, the problem of crime and trying to control it has been discussed briefly, but what should be done? From here on out, the discussion will center on different topics that relate to how our society tries to control crime. The pros and cons of these different topics will be broached and evidence will be given that supports both sides. Hopefully what the readers of this blog will come away with is a new way at looking at controlling crime. And, possibly, one of you will find a method that allows our society to control crime.
As should have been noted, the terms “crime” and “control” are used in relation to each other quite often. In this blog, when and if these words find themselves in the order of “crime control,” what is meant is the literal sense: the controlling of crime. This phrase is NOT to be confused with the Crime Control Model. This model is a theory that “places emphasis on reducing the crime in society through increased police and prosecutorial powers…[and] prioritizes the power of the government to protect society, with less emphasis on individual liberties.” A differentiation needs to be made as both sides of the issue, more individual liberties vs. more government control, will be discussed.
Sources:
Published Dec. 2006. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011 http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_newfigures.pdf
Published May 1, 2010. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011
Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
Published Jan. 5, 2011. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
Published Feb. 8, 2011. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
Accessed Feb. 8, 2011.
I think this is a fascinating topic and one that should be on a lot of people's minds. Crime control is a tough subject, but if we can somehow master it will help many of our current problems in the criminal justice system including prison overcrowding and most importantly, crime rates in general. If we can somehow find a way to prevent and/or control crime we will be able to finally make a dent in improving life for everyone in this country and serve an an example for other countries around the world. I look forward to reading your analysis of various crime control policies throughout this blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on my blog. If we do find a way to control crime, like you said, it will make a dent in our country. I think it begins with the parents and the environment the child grows up in. If we can target the younger generations, I believe we have a chance to change our future.
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