What is the Purpose of Jail, Prison and Other Detention in America?

When you think of the purpose of prison, what comes to mind? America's melting pot of philosophies has made it difficult to manage societal institutions. America's correctional system is a prime example of this. There are many philosophies of incarceration. For some the purpose of prison is to protect society from criminals who intend to harm innocent civilians. For others a prison's purpose is to rehabilitate citizens who need skills to become upstanding members of society. Still others believe that a prison provides a way for criminals to be punished and therefore pay their debt to society.

Within the correctional system of America there are varying degrees of incarceration. Probation is when the court orders that convicted persons have supervision while still remaining in society. This supervision often requires the convicted person to follow certain rules. For instance, someone found guilty of driving while intoxicated may be restricted from going out in the evening or consuming alcohol outside of his house. Jails are local and used for people in the middle of legal proceedings, it can also be used as a transitional facility or for individuals serving less than 1 year behind bars. Prisons are State or Federal correctional facilities. Usually if a person serves more than 1 year he resides in a prison. Parole is similar to probation except that it is after a period of incarceration. Parole allows convicts to serve the remainder of their term in society under supervision and limitations.

Protect

Is the current prison system protecting innocent civilians in society? If criminals are segregated from society in order to protect society then that segregation would need to be permanent so long as criminals were a threat to individuals in society. This means that each criminal would either serve a life sentence or be rehabilitated in some way. There are few cases wherein criminals receive the death penalty or true life sentences. In the remainder of cases we can say then that either society is not being protected from further crime, or that criminals have been rehabilitated. If protection of society is coming from rehabilitation then it will be covered in the following section, therefore we can say, in the purest sense of the word protect, no, the current prison system is not protecting innocent civilians in American society.

Aside from the purely logical argument, when we look at prisons we notice that the exact opposite is happening. Convicted criminals are often more likely to commit crimes upon leaving prison as they are going into it. In this economic downturn, it is hard enough for citizens with no criminal record to get jobs. How is someone coming out of prison supposed to convince an employer to hire him when I, as a college educated woman with lots of experience and no criminal record, can't convince one? It will seem like the only options left for employment is crime after one has a criminal record.

Another problem is we fail to protect our prison inmates. A large portion of our prison population are in prison on drug charges. Many of these are not violent crimes and were simply citizens carrying personal quantities of drugs. No matter what your views are on the criminality of drug use, it does warrant some consideration. Such drug charges are not for life, thus the convicted criminal will be leaving prison at some point. How are we protecting society by locking up these non-violent criminals with violent ones, allowing them to be assaulted emotionally, verbally, physically and sexually? By not protecting prison inmates from each other, we end up releasing people with more coping issues than they came in with. After being assaulted in these ways, released persons will have a harder time assimilating into mainstream society and it would be a perfectly normal human reaction to lash out in pain of their experience, thus making a non-violent convicted criminal who was only harming himself into a violent released person who is more likely to cause harm to others.

Rehabilitate

I'll admit my bias, I believe rehabilitation should be the focus of all correctional facilities. I am idealistic and feel that there is good in all people. I believe that most criminals can receive the rehabilitation they need to become productive and non-harmful members of society.

Are criminals being rehabilitated in the current prison system? This is a hard question to answer. There is definitely progress made. Programs have been established to allow inmates to get some educational services. There are programs for inmates to develop emotional, psychological, and discipline development such as Puppies Behind Bars.

Although there are some great programs that are being developed we have to stay one step ahead. While we are trying to provide some rehabilitation services there are other forms of education going on in prisons. Those with gang connections sometimes see prisons as an opportunity to pass on street knowledge in order to be more effective in the life and goals of the gang sub-culture.

The current state of rehabilitation in America is like trying to bale out a sinking boat with a teacup. If we believe that rehabilitation is worthwhile, and the success stories showing the power of people to change, then we need to be pouring our correctional resources into rehabilitation and factors that affect rehabilitation.

Punish

Are criminals being punished by the current prison system in America? Given the demographic of individuals in prison, I'd say that most criminals are not being properly punished by the American prison system. In prison, convicted criminals get a roof over their head, three meals a day, and can even watch television. For some in prison this is a standard of living increase. Criminals also get the time to develop skills that they value, which for those entrenched in criminal sub-cultures outside of prison may increase the likelihood of re-offense. Some prisoners benefit from going to prison. While separation from friends, family and society can be an effective punishment, we need to ask ourselves whether it is the most effective and efficient punishment. Given that we do not properly protect inmates from each other there is also inappropriate punishment administered in prisons. Some people argue that it is part of the punishing process but I disagree. The judge did not sentence the convict to be abused by fellow inmates, that would be considered cruel and unusual. Yet we collude with the system of oppression by allowing it to continue. We allow cruel and unusual punishment to continue without an appropriate level of response.

Some people who focus on the punishment philosophy of incarceration use the phrase "pay their debt to society." When we unpack this phrase we notice the convict has to give something to society in exchange for the crime that was committed. The prison system sees time as a meaningful gift to society but time is only as meaningful as you make it. A prisoner adds nothing to society by sitting in a prison cell. In fact a prisoner takes a lot from society through the taxes that are required to support him while in prison. Time applied to volunteer work is a way to repay the debt to society. I believe that such methods can also help support the rehabilitation efforts.

Statistics

Prison statistics in America are quite disturbing. To bring home the importance of reform in our current American prison system I've included those I find the most disturbing.

In 2007, (most recent data I could find) 2.1% of inmates reported sexual assault by another inmate and 2.9% reported assault by a prison staff member. As with all rape statistics, remember that reported statistics are always lower than actual statistics.

Some states actually use reading scores on standardized tests at the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade levels to project how many new jail cells they will need to build in coming years.

America has 5% of the worlds population and 25% of the worlds inmate population.

Clearly we are doing something wrong. America needs to come together and decide what the purpose of prison is and then support that conclusion logically. I vote for using resources for rehabilitation and preventative care such as increased educational support in poor, urban areas.