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Essay / Punishment and Rehabilitation in the United States: Researching Their Effectiveness
Table of ContentsSummaryIntroductionConclusionSummaryAlthough all kinds of crimes are unforgivable, especially to victims and their families, not all cases are treated equally and severely. The punishment depends on the circumstances of the crime committed. Sometimes it also depends on the condition of the abuser, including their mental health or psychological state. This means that not all people who commit crimes are perfectly sane, and not all crimes are planned or manipulated. They are sometimes caused by impulsivity and are committed by people suffering from mental disorders. So, as an alternative to punishment, these people undergo rehabilitation in the hope of treatment and change. Although others express sympathy for mentally disordered perpetrators, some also question the effectiveness of rehabilitation and seek justice through punishment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIn this article, rehabilitation and punishment will be discussed in depth and comprehensively. The rehabilitation process will be clearly discussed as well as the conditions under which a criminal can follow this process instead of spending time in prison. The pros and cons of rehabilitation and punishment will be considered. More importantly, the researcher will express his or her preferences and opinion on this issue and explain why one is better or more justifiable than the other.IntroductionThere has been a long debate about the better option between rehabilitation and punishment. Basically, people who often undergo rehabilitation are drug addicts, sex offenders, and people with mental illness. Some believe that rehabilitation is the key to treating these people and preventing them from committing the same crimes when they are released from prison. On the other hand, there are people who doubt the effectiveness of rehabilitation and prefer to punish the guilty, regardless of their condition. For them, punishment is the only way to teach criminals a lesson and even after rehabilitation, there is still a high probability that these people will repeat their crimes. Society's resentment towards criminals increases as the number of crimes in different parts of the world increases. However, different countries have different perspectives on crime and justice and have different ways of treating prisons. In the United States, however, prisoners are punished more than they are rehabilitated. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world because most Americans believe that criminals will always be criminals. The concepts involved in punishing crimes are massive and punishment has different purposes. On the one hand, the punishment for a crime is applied as retribution that satisfies the instinct for revenge. Retributive justice is imposed based on the perception that the perpetrator deserves to be punished. Another objective of the suppression of crimes is deterrence, which consists of preventing the criminal from reoffending and also making him a good example for people who tend to commit crimes. Likewise, prevention aims to prevent the criminal from committing the same crime, but this time, it must prevent him from doing so. Finally, reform aims to improve or change the criminal by providing him with training and education that he can use after his release. These efforts aim to help criminals become better people and prepare them to face the outside world withoutbreak the law. Rehabilitation is a part of reformative justice where those in prison have the opportunity to change and improve their lives once released. They also learn and are trained to perform certain tasks that they can use outside. Because they will be ex-convicts at that time, they are unlikely to find employment in businesses and various industries. So they are taught how to make crafts inside the prison and other useful things so that they can still earn money once they are released. Substance abuse rehabilitation. There are many types of treatment in criminal justice and rehabilitation can be applied depending on different circumstances. The common type of criminal rehabilitation is drug rehabilitation. Offenders who can benefit from this type of rehabilitation are those who have committed drug crimes or crimes due to drug addiction. In this type of rehabilitation, prisons will undergo different therapies such as private counseling with a psychologist and group therapy with other people suffering from drug addiction. Treatment may begin in prison and continue in a halfway house also called a work release center. This place is a therapeutic community where inmates are encouraged to change negative behaviors and thought patterns and help others achieve this goal. Another type of rehabilitative treatment for inmates is mental health treatment. It is important to note that not all offenders with mental illness suffer from substance abuse; some of them suffer from serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder and affective disorders. Criminals with serious mental problems can be dangerous and therefore cannot be mixed with ordinary prisoners. Additionally, they need to be treated to have the opportunity to improve their behavior and stop thinking about committing crimes again. Psychiatric units are necessary for inmates with mental illnesses so that their mental state and emotional problems can be evaluated by mental health professionals. Although this type of rehabilitation is not implemented in many prisons; it is still an option for inmates who have committed sexual offenses. Sex offender treatment is a serious process and aims to stop a person's sexually abusive behavior. During treatment, sex offenders learn that they are responsible for the crime they committed and that they must take responsibility for it. Therapists analyze inmates' sexual behaviors and also provide them with advice to help them improve their behavior and thinking. Adults are not the only ones capable of committing crimes. Unfortunately, children can now become criminals and some children are susceptible to this for a variety of reasons. Because they are too young to understand the seriousness of their crime and perhaps its consequences; minors who commit a crime cannot go to an adult prison. However, they are still eligible for rehabilitation. Juvenile detainees follow a program during which they receive psychotherapy and education. They are treated with strict discipline to learn more and help them apply it in the future. Regular prisons, on the one hand, benefit from educational counseling where they receive the basic education they need to find employment. Since not all prisons are well educated, some of them must at least have vocational training or aGED certificate. Inmates also receive spiritual guidance from priests or pastors; help them repent of their sins, especially the crimes they have committed. Educational and spiritual counseling helps inmates become better members of society in the future. In addition to educational counseling, the government also provides life skills training to inmates, particularly basic tasks they can use to acquire employment, including writing a resume, budgeting, and paying bills. . Often, prisons are classified according to their individual needs and they receive the education and training necessary to meet their individual needs and achieve self-improvement. The increasing crime rate in the United States makes the country even more punitive. Being a democratic country, people are free to do whatever they want and some of them think that they can easily escape their crimes. For this reason, the US government has been very strict when it comes to punishing violators. In the 1990s, legislatures across the country allowed youth prosecution and prison time. Even today, many states still apply this law to child offenders aged 13 or 14. Whether the crimes are violent or not, they always follow this rule to punish delinquent children and also to prevent other children from committing crimes at a young age (Neke, 2011). On the other hand, adult criminals are treated more harshly, especially those who have committed serious crimes such as rape and murder. In the United States, many people seem to accept the application of retributive justice given the number of crimes committed each year. Regardless of the perpetrators' age, health, and condition, some people find it difficult to empathize with these people. For them, crimes are crimes and criminals are criminals. The only way to achieve justice is to punish these criminals. It is easy to believe that criminals do not deserve the cost and effort of rehabilitation because they broke the law and hurt or deceived weak and innocent people. Essentially, the main benefit of criminal sanctions is to keep people safe because these criminals will not be willing to commit more crimes. This is also beneficial for the families of the victims, as the incarceration of the offenders will bring them peace, thinking that they have obtained justice for the victims. Serious criminal offenders can be sent to correctional facilities as punishment, but this can be more costly than sending them. to community rehabilitation facilities. It is important to note that rehabilitation costs less than punishment for juvenile crimes. Public opinion on rehabilitation and sanctions may vary, but this opinion may change if the public is informed about the cost and effectiveness of both policies. With this in mind, Piquero and Steinberg (2007) conducted a study on the public's willingness to pay for specific policies. They asked people if they were willing to pay additional taxes for prison rehabilitation and found that, despite the tax increase, more people prioritize rehabilitation over punishment. They were willing to pay more for prison rehabilitation without additional incarceration. While some people want additional incarceration for serious crime offenders and believe that rehabilitation will only lead to more or even worse crimes in the future, many former inmates, too, have proven that rehabilitation is..