Issues related to Corrections and Best Strategies to meet its goals

Issues related to Corrections and Best Strategies to meet its goals

Introduction

In criminal justice, corrections of correctional strategies are the terms related to the variety of functions carried out by the governmental authorities, which involves punishment, supervision and treatment of the persons who have been convicted of crimes (Stohr et. al, 2008). The functions related to corrections normally involve probation, parole or imprisonment. A classic correctional institution is known as prison. A correctional system is also called as panel system, it refers to a bunch of agencies that look after the jurisdictions, prisons and other community based schemes such as probation and parole (Garner, 2009). This system is a fraction of a larger criminal justice system, thus includes additional agencies namely: police and courts.

There are specific department in United States which looks after the issues and initiatives related to the correctional programs. As a matter of fact, there are many issues related to prisoner correctional programs which are lingering over a period of time. These issues range from lack of rehabilitation programs to increasing the capacity of prisons and ineffective monitoring of parolees. The primary objective for any criminal justice agency is to prevent any repetition of antisocial behavior, and in order to fulfill this objective, it is mandatory upon competent authorities to devise strategies to better cope the issue. My thesis statement is alternate correctional plays vital role in reducing the crime rates.

History of Correction by Era

The history of prison can be traced back to 200 years ago. It first materialized in the United States of American after Europe and its premature developmental stage was in 1789-1848, in compliance with what a grand historian Eric Hobsbawn has called it “The Age of Revolution”. Until 1780, punishment by incarceration was not known in Europe or in its colonies. The concept of jail can be traced back to antiquity, it was used only for the purpose of detention, and a temporary place until corporal punishment is given to him/her. As a matter of fact, corporal punishment was often given to the people belonging to the lower class because the wealthy class was able to pay large fines instead. The death penalty was considered to be the final punishment to pay off for all the faults of the criminal justice system.

The Massachusetts Assembly in 1736 promulgated a ruling that a thief, on initial conviction, be fined or given physical punishment (whipped), thus the concept of capital punishment started to fade off (McChesney, 2001). The notion of using prisons as the way forward for punishment and building on the workhouse model had been initiated by the John Howard - English Reformer. This first institution was on the rise not only in Britain but also in its American colonies. Establisher of the Pennsylvania, the Quakers, under the guidance of William Penn, was among those who opposed the concept of capital punishment along with corporal punishments (McChesney, 2001).

Ironically, one of the early analyses ...