Modern Prison Incarceration

Introduction

The concept of incarceration has been evolving throughout the changes of time. Besides the intrinsic perspective of punishment to lawbreakers, it also serves as different roles to the society and justice system. In this essay, the effectiveness of modern prison in crime reduction will be examined. And to discuss the utility of modern prison as the means of reducing crime, its main functions also need to be studied, they are retribution, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. And they will be divided into two aspects: the ability to prevent potential offenders from committing crime and the capacity to avoid the prisoners from committing the crime again after the release.

Before the rise of the modern prison, the gaols were

Canadian criminologist Paul Gendreau suggested that there is no proof show imprisonment reduced recidivism. The recidivism rate for offenders who were imprisoned was similar to those who were given a community sanction as punishment and longer sentences were even associated with a 3% increase in recidivism (1999, p.24). Similar research conducted by Michael Mueller-Smith. By examining the court records from Harris County, Texas, the US from 1980 to 2009, he estimated that each year in prison increases the possibility that a prisoner would reoffend by 5.6% a quarter (2015). Even people who went to prison for lesser crimes ended up committing more severe offenses afterwards (Mueller-Smith 2015). Its effectiveness of reducing crime in terms of deterrence, especially specific deterrence, seems not to be

At least, while they are in prison, they cannot continue to commit crimes (MacKenzie 2001). And the incapacitation effect of imprisonment was regard as an effective means in the United States in the 1990s. As the crime rate of the US was sharply dropped in that period of time while the population of adults in prison was in an enormous growth (Levitt 2004). Although imprisonment can keep the offenders away from society, it is not a permanent solution of crime reduction, as most of the inmates will eventually be released from the prison. And mentioned above, the prison sometimes plays the role as ‘school for crime’, the possibility of the released offenders reoffend is still high. Moreover, its usefulness of crime reduction is limited when it comes across organized crime or those crimes taken off the street like drug dealing or gang, as the role of the offender will be replaced by new recruits