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Assess the relevance of labelling theory as an explanation of crime
Assess the relevance of labelling theory as an explanation of crime
How does the labeling theory contribute to an understanding of crime
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Effect of higher education in reducing recidivism rates.
The United States is leading the world in the number of people incarcerated in prisons. Mass incarceration has become a topic of debate with an estimated 2.3 million people behind bars. All states combined spend over 52 billion on corrections and correction related activities annually (Gorgol & Sponsler, 2011). The US justice system has placed a great deal of focus on locking people up without equally focusing on how to prevent people from revolving in and out of the prison's doors creating an unbalanced system. What can reduce the recidivism rates and help incarcerated individuals successfully reenter society? Higher education is at the forefront of ways to reduce recidivism, and it
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Higher education has the ability to reduce the number of people in prison as well as prison costs. A study conducted by the Department of Policy Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles found that “ a 1 million investment in incarceration will prevent about 350 crimes, while that same investment in [correctional] education will prevent more than 600 crimes. Correctional education is almost twice as cost-effective as incarceration” (Bazos & Hausman, 2004). A better use of tax dollars points to education in prisons. Approximitly 6 percent of all corrections spending is going towards prison programming, with a small portion of that amount allocated to higher education programs. A 50 state analysis of postsecondary prison education concludes that “even if educational programs are expanded, their per-prisoner cost is far less than the total cost of incarceration” (Erisman & Contardo, 2005). Shifting correctional spending to more education in prisons does not only mean fewer costs to taxpayers on housing the incarcerated. It also carries into savings in other publicly funded …show more content…
It is difficult to obtain employment, find housing, participate in their children’s school activities because of criminal record, and ex-convicts are often viewed as a blemish to the society unable to overcome or repent for their past transgressions. Labeling theory is a sociological theory that examines how labeling someone as deviant increases the chance of that person reoffending as they will hold deviance as a self-image. (textbook) Prisoners who participate in higher education programs can break through some of the barriers to being labeled a deviant. Being enrolled in college helps the individual create a positive self-image. In the United States education is one of the opportunities for a person to achieve success but for many, the opportunity seems out of their reach and not accessible. As many prisoners come from low socioeconomic backgrounds pathways to education are not created. Most prisoners participating in higher education will be the first member of their family to go to
That explains the positive correlation between the amount of education a person receives while in prison and the chance they have of securing a fulltime job following their release. A study published by a prison in Minnesota supports this idea by showing that prisoners who had obtained a secondary degree while in prison increased their chances of securing a job within two years of being released by 59%. These odds were increased even further for younger offenders, which shows that educational programs in prisons are even more pertinent for the younger
Today, half of state prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes. Over half of federal prisoners are serving time for drug crimes. Mass incarceration seems to be extremely expensive and a waste of money. It is believed to be a massive failure. Increased punishments and jailing have been declining in effectiveness for more than thirty years. Violent crime rates fell by more than fifty percent between 1991 and 2013, while property crime declined by forty-six percent, according to FBI statistics. Yet between 1990 and 2009, the prison population in the U.S. more than doubled, jumping from 771,243 to over 1.6 million (Nadia Prupis, 2015). While jailing may have at first had a positive result on the crime rate, it has reached a point of being less and less worth all the effort. Income growth and an aging population each had a greater effect on the decline in national crime rates than jailing. Mass incarceration and tough-on-crime policies have had huge social and money-related consequences--from its eighty billion dollars per-year price tag to its many societal costs, including an increased risk of recidivism due to barbarous conditions in prison and a lack of after-release reintegration opportunities. The government needs to rethink their strategy and their policies that are bad
Vacca, James S. "Educated Prisoners Are Less Likely To Return To Prison." Journal Of Correctional Education 55.4 (2004): 297-305. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 3 Feb. 2014
Data from 2007 through 2009 on prisons such as Alexander A. Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex in St. Thomas and Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility in St. Criox provide information on recidivism before and after educational programs were established. This information points out that recidivism was occurring at high rate but after educational programs were established recidivism rates decreased. The data also compares recidivism between uneducated and educated prisoners. Based on this data, recidivism is lower in groups of prisoners who have a high education while it is higher in groups of prisoners with little to no education. Harney and Janney effectively integrate data throughout the journal to reveal how effective and crucial education is in
The prison system is a source of debate and criticism. Many people would agree that prisons are effective because they keep criminals who are deemed dangerous away from society. Of course, there are different levels of offenders requiring a lesser or greater level of security. Moore Solomon, a Criminal Justice Reporter for the New York Times and a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times states, “140,610 out of 2.3 million inmates being held in jails and prisons across the country are serving life terms” (Solomon). Such a high number of incarcerations would indicate that most convicts in prison have-been or will-be released back into society after serving their sentence. With so many ex-convicts going back into society, the US prison system should continue to utilize Education Rehabilitation because it increases the effectiveness of the individuals being reinstated into society thereby reducing recidivism rates and reducing prison costs.
... higher education attainment is critical to sustain employment in the 21st century market. Certain decision makers may not fully understand how allowing former incarcerated individuals to advance their education may actually benefit the workforce, stimulate growth, and possibly minimize poverty cycle. The Department of Justice, education, and business leaders must recognize that it will be beneficial to provide rehabilitative services, rather than simply punishment, depending on the nature of their conviction. Workforce agencies that work with this group must collaborate with educational programs that offer GED and other growing industry certifications so they can attract employers to gain trust in hiring their clients. Education can actually show indication that this group is serious about improving their lives and is capable of competing in the global economy.
Tulman, J. B. (2008). Time to Reverse the School-to-Prison Pipeline. (Cover story). Policy & Practice (19426828), 66(1), 22-27.
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.
When prisoners are released, they have two options. They can resume their previous lives of illegal acts, or they can take their second chance at life and create a better life for themselves. In Tracy Mumford’s article, “Should Prisoners Have Access To A College Education?”, Lois Davis, a senior policy researcher at the RAND corporation, is quoted, saying, “It's important for people to understand that when we send people to prison, they don't stay there forever. 95 percent of individuals eventually come back to your community...part of it is thinking about: What do we ultimately want them to do when they come out?" In other words, it isn’t a matter of will they get out, but rather, when they get out and what is it that we want them to be spending their time on. If they have a legal source of income and a job that will keep them occupied, they won’t need to chase after unlawful careers that only cause chaos and end them right back in prison. Instead, we should be trying to teach them skills that will help them contribute positively to their communities. Whether that is caring for their families, doing service activities within their neighborhoods, or working diligently in their jobs. Mark, a previous prisoner, gives testimony to this. After being locked up for using illegal substances, Mark had decidedly chosen that he wouldn’t allow his time in incarceration to change the way he was living, but Mark was given the opportunity to take some college education courses while still in prison, which changed his outlook on life. He says, "Here I am 5 years later, and I'll be graduating with a bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering come next fall. I'm a contributing member of society now." (Davis) His education offered him a second chance to someday work in an honorable job that pays a decent salary instead of returning to his past ideals. The question we have to ask
For instance, in the article Academic Remediation, Parole Violations, and Recidivism Rates Among Delinquent Youths, Teara Archwamety discusses the effects of education on inmates as well as the parole violators role in corrections (Archwamety, 1999). The article states that dropouts are 3.5 times more likely than graduates to be arrested. A study was completed that looked at males, ages 12 to 18, which were admitted at a state correctional facility and evaluated educational levels of these certain offenders. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the link between education and recidivism among delinquent youth. The results indicated that youths in the lower end of the educational spectrum were “twice as likely to be parole violators or recidivate at much higher levels” (Archwamety 4). All in all, education is an essential lifestyle that all citizens should be granted regardless of race, gender, or nationality. Education must not be denied since it promotes a healthy and law-abiding
America has little tolerance for crime or for offender improvement. Most significantly, incarceration increases the likelihood of reoffending and does not prohibit, deter or lessen the possibility of an offender continuing criminality (Cullen, Johnson, & Nagin, 2011). Reducing recidivism is a complex problem that includes sentencing strategies and opportunities in prison that ensure the least probability of return to the criminal justice
Minority individuals, specifically black individuals, have had to face the unjust system since they were children and in many ways it is the systems fault for them ending up in jail. The majority of inmates in prison are in prison due to drug dealing. In many neighborhoods throughout the U.S. drug dealing is the only way to improve the standard of living and thrive. In order for individuals to deracialize or not ever get radicalized is for them to be place in a system that actually helps them and gives them faith after jail. President Obama has initiated various programs to improve the education system in prison. Currently 32 out of the 50 states provide formal education to inmates and the presidents administration is set to restore the Pell grant which would allow inmates to get a secondary education. By them receiving access to college, estimates show that there would be a decrease of returning inmates, which make up the majority of the prison
Esperian, J. H. (2010). The effect of prison education programs on recidivism. Journal of Correctional Education, 61(4), 316-334. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/871418247?accountid=38223
The problem that my research tries to bring awareness is the need to bring back college programs to state prison by providing a bridge that connects local universities to local state prison to teach non-credit college courses as a way to invite convicts to attend college after parole. The current problem that state prison faces in not being able to provide college courses to state prisoners, this current issue is associated with two important laws that were passed by congress in the early 1990’s. In 1993 the Violent Crime Control and
Issues that involve prisoners that were brought into prison and are released usually end up returning, but provided with the education then they have an advantage to gaining a job or doing more once they are out of prison (Lennon). This also reduces recidivism, a relapse of criminal behavior that involves a criminal to come out of prison only to end up back in prison again, especially since it would give “positive effects… and on making more ex-prisoners more productive members of our society” (“A College Education for Prisoners”) as mentioned from Brandt. Prison education can be of use for recidivism prevention that gives prisoners the convenience of being a productive member of society and preventing prisons from overcrowding especially with prisoners that end up returning after being released for a certain amount of time. Another man named Stanley Richards, a former prisoner, was given the opportunity to enroll into classes that changed his life drastically and with that he became a tax payer (“A College Education for Prisoners”). This shows that given the education that the inmates in prison that are willing to take up the offer can help improve and change for the better therefore when released, it will give the former prisoners the convenience of a successful future and contributing to society with the education that they’ve gained during the time in