Goals of Punishment Worksheet PDF

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A paper talking about the goals of punishment in the justice system...

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JUS-330 Topic 2 Benchmark - The Goals of Punishment Part I: Explore a correctional agency in your state. In 350-500 words, explain how ancillary entities support the legal system in carrying out justice. (comp. 2.5) The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is the main correctional agency in California. Their headquarters are located in the city of Sacramento (the state’s capital) and was established in 1912. According to their website, there are thirty-five adult facilities, four youth facilities, conservation fire camps, parole units and offices, and community correctional facilities (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2021). This agency is responsible for managing the prison systems so that they run effectively and smoothly, while also rehabilitating inmates to help them transition back into society. The agency manages an institutional custody of around 170,000 adult offenders and 2,600 juvenile offenders with various types of services such as substance abuse treatment, mental health care, and transitional aftercare housing. The agency also offers education training, vocational training, and special education programs for all inmates. The department forms partnership with other agencies so that parolees' have and maintain a successful reintegration into the community (California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 2016). Ancillary entities are officials that support the institution, such as food service workers, maintenance workers, correctional officers, transportation officers, etc. Correctional officers play a significant role in the prison system and are utilized to monitor inmates every day. They can even be used as transportation officers to safely transport inmates to different locations such as to and from court/prison without incident. Prisons tend to incorporate inmates as part of the food services but still have professional employees to overlook the kitchen and everyday operations to ensure the safety and security of inmates. Skilled workers are used for maintenance to ensure all

mechanical and safety features are up to date and working properly. These workers risk their lives every day because working on the inside can be very dangerous and there is a high risk of employees getting injured on the job. These employees are critical to the prison system because they help maintain order (Seiter, 2017); so without them, prisons simply could not work or exist. Part II: Write a summary and analysis of the arguments supporters of restorative justice use to convince society of restorative justice’s advantages over incarceration and other punishments. Which approach is the better model for a system of corrections? Support your rationale with research. Restorative Justice is a system that focuses on rehabilitating offenders by reconciling with victims and the community. Those who believe in this type of justice, think that reconciliation is the better option instead of locking up offenders in prison as a result. They also believe that restorative justice would help decrease mass incarceration rates and taxpayer money that goes into incarceration. In San Francisco for example, an average cost to send only one juvenile through the justice system is $50,000 while for the restorative justice system, an average cost is $4,500 (Belden, 2012). The prices for one juvenile alone are already high and with a mass incarceration rate for adult offenders altogether, costs taxpayers approximately $80 billion every year (Mass Incarceration, 2020). For the sake of economic prosperity, restorative justice would be very beneficial in saving millions of dollars. The controversy of the restorative justice process is that, it’s not meant to punish the offender but for them to listen to the victim and understand what their actions have caused them; that the process would be justifying enough to convince the offender from committing another crime. The better model for a system of corrections is what is currently placed since restorative justice still contains too much theoretics and potential with not enough

consistent results (at least with adult offenders). Restorative justice should be placed more upon juveniles instead of adult offenders as a way to reduce recidivism and improve restitution rates (Newton, 2016). If the crimes are minor or misdemeanor level, restorative justice would work great in being able to help shape the lives of many individuals to prevent them from committing more crime. If crimes are felony level, then those offenders do not deserve restorative justice and should serve their sentence in prison as the appropriate form of justice. If the crime consists of drug abuse or theft, then they deserve all the help they can receive in order to stabilize their mindset and condition. In jail or prison, they will not fully get the help they need, rather they should be sent to mandatory programs and reconciliation institutions. Also, if minor offenders were supported by their local communities, it would make it more of an incentive for them to seek out help for their issues. On the other hand, if someone had raped or murdered another individual, the crime has already done too much damage for it to be fixed. Not only did they cause massive harm towards the individual, it would also impact their family and friends as well. The restorative justice process is too soft on adult offenders who’ve committed felony type crimes because as adults, they typically understand that their actions have consequences. Restorative justice would only be a gateway for recidivism to happen and allow them to bestow harm onto another innocent individual. That is why restorative justice should be implemented for either minor crime offenders or juveniles because it allows them to fully understand that their actions have the potential to making things worse. Putting a stop to them reaching a point where it’s too late to turn back.

References Seiter, R. (2017). Corrections: An introduction (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN-13: 9780134164113Seiter, R. (2017). Corrections: An introduction (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN-13: 9780134164113 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (2021). The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - CDCR. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/

California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation. (2016). In Hoover’s Company Profiles. Newton, D. (2016). Restorative Justice and Youthful Offenders. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 14–18. Belden, D. (2012). Controversies Around Restorative Justice. Tikkun 27(1), 27-68. Mass Incarceration. (2020). American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/issues/smartjustice/mass-incarceration...