If you’re not a Criminal Minds, Law & Order, or CSI fan, the word contraband might remind you of a cheesy Mark Wahlberg movie. But depending on the way the word is used it can have many meanings. Using contraband as a form of evidence according to California Criminal Evidence Guide can be described as, “items that are illegal to possess, prohibited by statute” (Hill 59). Also, contraband is a word frequently used in correctional facilities, “any item that inmates are not allowed to possess, including items that can be used to escape, are dangerous, can undermine prison physical security or are nuisance items” (Seiter 395). We will look at contraband being an issue nationwide in correctional facilities, punishments of bring contraband into prison, …show more content…
And it is a valid question, you are already in prison, don’t you want to get out not get more time added to your sentence. There are many reasons why inmates decide it’s worth the risk. One is many prisoners are serving life sentences without parole. To be more persist 49,000 inmates according to an article are in prison for life. So to have someone bring in Tabaco, or a cell phone would be for their enjoyment and a since of “having nothing to lose”. Also, some find it a way of life. It becomes a life style to trust no one and to sleep with one eye open. Contraband is worth getting caught for those people instead of risking their life. Others, with easy outside connections get contraband for a trade of money or other goods from inmates. Then, you have the people who go crazy without outside connection, you only get minimal contact with your loved ones so the use of a cell a phone for enjoyment. Lastly, contraband such as pornography is smuggled in also for the lack of physical affection. All these reason are relatable but if we are to be realistic most people don’t use contraband for good. Prison is a system and is a reminder for inmates that it’s like being grounded the outside world is so close yet so far. The use of contraband will always be a problem but how are prison starting to limit that amount of contraband found in …show more content…
With all the contraband being brought in how is the criminal justice system taking measures to limit inmates having contraband. First, when entering a prison everyone must go through a metal detector. That is the first line of defense to stop contraband. Next, tools are classified by their risk to prison security. Class A tool are any tools that can be used as a weapon to other inmates or guards. They are also tools that can be used to escape. “Class A tools are only to be used under the direct supervision of staff and must be placed in a secure storage unit” (Seiter 395). Items that are classified under this category include knives, saw blades, and ladders. Next, there are class b tools that are less of a risky. “They may be stored and used by inmates under less stringent conditions, but still be controlled and accounted for” (Seiter 395). They include items such as light pliers and short power cords. Aside from that all mail and packages are ran through security and checked my correctional members. When visitors come they go through a metal detector to insure no contraband is being brought in. After the visit inmates at searched. And the visitor room is checked before the next set of inmates arrive. The last line of defense is the search through inmate’s cells. As you can tell many measures are being taken to reduce contraband in prisons. The next time you find yourself watching Orange is the New Black, or Beyond
Correctional program writing nowadays is at a level of efficiency that surpasses earlier outlooks. In territories all over the United States, there are several curriculums that use research-based curriculums to teach, instruct, and inspire inmates. Disappeared are the days of hit-or-miss execution of curriculums that seemed good, but over and over again just occupied time for the inmates. The previous evolution happened for several reasons (Corrections Today, 2010). The largest wake-up demands was the claim composed around thirty years ago. The statement made was not anything works in corrections systems, mainly rehabilitation. Even though this commonly revealed report was taken from its context, it did in detail carry some notice to the mystery that several penitentiaries were not operational as change
There are two different kinds of influences on prison misconduct, there is the combined characteristics of the inmates themselves, and the combined characteristics of the staff in control of them (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Prison misconduct has been classified into significant fields related to drug use, violence, property offenses, prison accountability and escapes, security-related offenses, security offenses interfering with daily operations, along with a residual category (Camp, Gaes, Langan, Saylor (2003). Misconduct spoils the effective procedure of the correctional institution, detracting from its capability to present the intentional services to the superior society (Goetting & Howsen (1986).
In 1814 Francis Scott Key described America as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Does that still hold true today? The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population, yet houses roughly a quarter of the world’s prisoners. That means it has 751 people in jail for every 100,000 in population. If you only count adults one in every 100 Americans is locked up. In 2012 the U.S. spent 677,856,000 billion dollars on national defense, that’s nearly 7.5 times the amount spent on education. If more money was spent on education there would be a better chance that people won’t end up incarcerated. About half of the prisoners in the United States are sentenced for non-violent crimes. The population of federal prisons has increased
Locked up behind bars, awaiting trial for drugs. You want to show you’re a good person who didn’t do anything wrong, you were framed. You get your cell and cellmate and learn some vital information about how you are being set up to fail. About how the prison system doesn’t work. Issues surrounding our prison system are that mass incarceration doesn’t work for several reasons, solitary confinement should be abolished, and that the Correction Corporation of America is making money off the prisons.
In today's world, it seems like all too often we have woken up to another mass shooting, terrorist attack, or hate crime. However, the injustice does not end with the perpetrator. These acts of violence and hate are terrifying and receive a lot of media attention, yet there are many injustices that continue to permeate our society that are not often discussed. One of these is our incarceration system. The system is flawed and oversaturated with nonviolent drug offenders. Out of the approximately 2.2 million people in our nation’s prisons and jails, about one in four are locked up for a nonviolent drug offense (Criminal Justice Facts). According to the Department of Corrections, the largest single category of offense among prisoners is “drug
It is said that prison should be used for more serious crimes such as rape, assault, homicide and robbery (David, 2006). Because the U.S. Prison is used heavily for punishment and prevention of crime, correctional systems in the U.S. tend to be overcrowded (David, 2006). Even though prisons in the U.S. Are used for privies on of crime it doesn 't work. In a 2002 federal study, 67% of inmates that
...also states that the trouble begins with staffing, they do not have enough guards (PGRD) to keep up with the prison population which puts their life’s at risk because they have no backup. With all the contraband that is being brought in, the guards cannot keep up with what all of the inmates are doing, so they typically don’t realize contraband is coming through.
In 21st-century America, detainment is turning into a multibillion dollar industry every year, and will keep on increasing in extension in the coming decades. The “prison industrial complex" incorporates not just those organizations specifically included in conveying discipline (courts, adjustments,
...sons have higher rates of positive detection rates for unauthorized substances compared to public prisons (Camp & Gaes, 2002). This is likely to indicate a pattern of poor security practices within private prisons. Escapes from prison are often a rare occurrence. In 1999, BOP had one escape from their facility while private prisons accounted for 23 escapes. When an escape does occur, it is likely to indicate loopholes in security practices. In Ohio, five murders escaped a maximum-security private prison. The food budget can easily be manipulated compared to other parts of the budget. As a result, it is important to examine the food quality in prisons. In a case study of Taft Correctional Institution (a private prison), this private institution ranked the worst in quality of food, variety of food, and amount of food compared to all BOP facilities (Camp et al., 2002).
Prison population has dramatically risen over the past two decades due to increased incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. [See Figure 1] The United States’ population is only 5% of the world’s total population, accounting for 25% of the world’s prison population. The total number of drug arrests overall reached a peak of more than 1.9 million in 2006. [See Figure 2] Additionally, “…nearly half of all prisoners in state prisons are sentenced for non-violent offenses.” In 2010, Texas had the second most arrests for marijuana offenses of all states – over 74,286 adults. That is the equivalent of putting nearly four times the number of students currently attending Collin College in jail. Evidence shows large-scale incarceration is not the most effective means of achieving public safety.
The “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” policies of the 1970s – 1980s have caused an over populated prison system where incarceration is policy and assistance for prevention was placed on the back burner. As of 2005, a little fewer than 2,000 prisoners are being released every day. These individuals have not gone through treatment or been properly assisted in reentering society. This has caused individuals to reenter the prison system after only a year of being release and this problem will not go away, but will get worst if current thinking does not change. This change must be bigger than putting in place some under funded programs that do not provide support. As the current cost of incarceration is around $30,000 a year per inmate, change to the system/procedure must prevent recidivism and the current problem of over-crowed prisons.
“Doing projects really gives people self-confidence. Nothing is better than taking the pie out of the oven. What it does for you personally, and for your family 's idea of you, is something you can 't buy." - Martha Stewart. Rehabilitated prisoners programs, for example, in the prisons are one of the most important programs in prison to address the causes of criminality and restore criminal’s self-confidence. Therefore, many governments are still taking advantage of their prisoners while they are in prison. However, some people believe that prison programs ' can improve and develop the criminals to be more professionals in their crimes. In addition, rehabilitated programs help inmates in the character building, ethical behavior, and develop
Incarceration has been the center of the United States justice system ever since the opening of the nation’s first prison. In order to understand how the aspects of the first corrections institutions correlate to later correctional practices seen today. Whether it was temporary or permanent, there has always been some form of detainment for offenders, and they were always held against their will. Imprisonment of offenders in earlier times was done primarily to hold the accused until the authorities determined the offender’s actual punishment. Jails and prisons create a vicious and expensive cycle of crime that usually just end up overcrowding correctional facilities.
Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.
In many prisons there is some corruption but in the movie there is an exceptionally large amount. It appears that it is very easy for the prisoners to smuggle contra ban into the prison. Morgan Freeman’s character “Red” is able to get just about anything, posters, cigarettes, etc. In todays prison system it is not something that is openly discussed, but it is not nearly as easy as it appears to smuggle things into the prison.