Criminal Justice/Corrections Essay

Imprisonment is one of the many forms of punishment for commission of crimes in the United States. The length of time of imprisonment depends on the seriousness of the crime committed. The most serious crime of murder and homicide is punishable by life imprisonment and the felon will be confined in federal prisons. Those convicted with less serious crimes like misdemeanor offenses will be sentenced to shorter time in local or county jail or with sanctions in community corrections or halfway house. Overcrowding in jails and prisons has been a common sight in most of the correctional institutions in the United States. The nicnic. org. (2001) through a report from the GRACE Project of Volunteers of America revealed that â€Å"while 500,000 persons are admitted and released from state and federal prisons annually, twenty times that amount – over eleven million are admitted and released from jails annually†. This goes to show that at any given time of the year, the United States is maintaining and or feeding 10. 5 million inmates. The organization further revealed that jail populations grew at a lower rate of 275% since 1980 while the federal prison population increased by 427% in the same period. This unprecedented growth in inmate population is not expected and causing big budget deficit from the state level up to the federal level of government. In as much as the inmate population continue rising and only a small number over the years has left federal prisons due to completion of their imprisonment as punishment for their crimes, a big number of aging offenders which require higher spending due to their geriatric- related ailments complicated the problem. This paper aims to document the extent of the aging offenders population across the U. S. the reasons for the increase and the roblems associated with it. Furthermore, this paper will also offer solutions to the problems based from the documented causes and experiences of the different states in dealing with the problems. A number of states in the U. S. expressed alarm over the inescapable fact that in their effort to rid society of undesirable and lawless elements, their jails and prisons became jam-packed. Feeding and housing these inmates especially the aging offenders cost them a lot more, sacrificing their budget for education. The affected states realize the generally accepted fact that education should be more financially supported than prisoners as this is the proven most effective way to raise a new generation of responsible and law abiding citizens. West Virginia reported that prison population in this state exceeded the national average owing to its 9. 3% incarceration which is the highest among the U. S. states. The non-profit organization further reported that between 1994 and 2004, the inmate population in West Virginia increased from 2,392 to 5,032 or 110% increase. Thegrassrootleadership. org (n. d. reported that the state projected that by 2012, the inmate population will increase by 35% over that of 2004 level or a total of 6,774 inmates to feed and maintain. Although the increasing population of aging inmates is not mentioned, common sense will tell that the population is included since most of the aging population is sentenced to anguish in prisons for life. The state government in order to cope up with the unprecedented increase, spent $100 million to build new prisons. The organization further reported that in the last 10 years, the Division of Corrections of West Virginia tripled its expenditure. To this effect, the state has increased spending for inmates five times the amount for higher education and other social services. In absolute figures, according to grassrootleadership. org, the state of West Virginia appropriated $6,435 per full time college student and $19, 377 per person incarcerated by DOC. Inflation adjusted, the amount per college student is 33% higher than in 1994 while the amount per inmate increased 169% or five times the amount per student The grassrootleadership. g reported that West Virginia government consider the very strict policy of the state regarding sentencing and parole as the cause of this urge in inmate population. To minimize this effect, the state consider â€Å"Implementing a cap on the number of people incarcerated [†¦.. ], along with re-examining sentencing and parole policies in the state that can lead to an end of the soaring number of incarcerations. A thorough re- examination of the recent parole policy of the state is in order† (grassrootleadership. rg, n. d. conclusion, 2nd par. ). In addition to this strategy, the Day Report Center alternative which set aside incarceration for misdemeanor crimes in favor of community service, home incarceration nd boards created for reparation is also put in place. A saving of about $ 42-63 million per year can be realized from seven centers based from the Lee Day Report Center cost experience of $14. 00 per day per inmate. The state of Florida recognized the increasing number of aging offenders in their prisons. The Florida Correction Commission (n. d. eported that in 2000, The Florida Legislature instructed and required the Department of Corrections to establish and operate a facility for elderly inmates at the River Junction Correctional Institution in Chattahoochee. The Florida Correction Commission (FCC) further reported that the Florida Legislature required the Correctional Medical Authority (MDA) and the FCC to submit an annual report on the medical health status of aging offenders in the state administered and private institutions together with an examination of geriatric policies being implemented in other states. The FCC revealed that the cost of maintaining an elderly prisoner is three times the cost for a younger inmate. The reason for this is the geriatric problems associated with aging specially in a confined environment where depression always linger. The FCC further revealed that age 50 should be the starting point for elderly inmate definition. The FCC reported further that per their observation, there were three basic groups of older inmates, the first time offenders, the habitual or career criminals and those that has grown old in prison waiting for the end of their sentenced imprisonment. According to FCC, inmates 55 years and older on the average were suffering from three chronic health problems that require specialized and expensive treatment as in the case of about 15 to 25% of heir elderly inmates having mental health problems. For this reason, the aging inmates contributed greatly to their huge medical expenses. In the year 2000, the FCC reported that there were 5,082 aging offenders which represent 54. 9% increase from 1995 level. In June 2000 out of a total of 71,233 inmates, the number of 50 year and above offenders increased to 5,605. It is projected that by 2010, the Florida elderly inmates will swell to 8. % of the total inmates. The FCC further revealed from their survey that 62. 8% of the elderly inmates were prisoned due to violent offenses and therefore require longer imprisonment. The state of Florida recognizes the significance of the third type of aging patients or those who grew old in prison in addition to national and state laws requiring longer prison sentences as the contributing factor to rise of their aging offender population. The FCC reported that at present, no geriatric facility except for River Junction Correctional Institution in Chattahoochee is devoted to the aging offender population. The state government plans to segregate the older population according to geriatric health needs and the security level needed so that the number of ail guards can be adjusted especially in minimum security segregated group for economic reasons. The FCC further reported that the Florida Department of Elder Affairs develop a course on elderly abuse, neglect and exploitation to produce certified individuals to carry out preventive medical intervention so that elderly diseases will not become acute and more costly to cure. Studies were also being undertaken to release elderly inmates who does not pose danger to society anymore due to their frail stature. Lastly, the Florida state is conducting survey as to the ost they will incur and the economic benefits if their preemptive programs will be implemented. The state of Georgia is also not exempt in aging offender problem. The Associated Press (2000) revealed that in 1979, there were about 570 convicts aged 50 and up, increased to 3,050 in June 1999 and 5,000 in 2004. The Georgia prison officials estimated that the elderly inmates could swell to 9,000 by 2010. The Associated Press further reported that like in other states, the cost of maintaining the elderly offenders is becoming more and more costly. The newspaper revealed that healthcare cost for average Georgia prisoner now amounts to $8. 25 a day. For an elderly offender 50 years old and above, the cost is $27. 00 a day or about $10,000 a year. The newspaper continue saying that the elderly offenders in Georgia prisons represents about 6% of the whole inmate population but the expense in maintaining them amounts to 12% of the annual health care budget for inmates. This so because the elderly inmates require costly and more specialized health care practices owing to their special geriatric problems. Georgia prison fficials revealed that longer prison sentences, tighter parole approvals and the inevitable aging of those prisoners waiting for the completion of their terms contributed to the swelling population of aging offenders. In addition, the â€Å"The two Strikes and You’re Out† law (Associated Press, Elderly Inmates Swell, 13th par. enacted by Georgia in 1994 which punishes a felon who commit crime of armed robbery, aggravated child molestation and sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, rape and kidnapping to a mandatory 10 year sentence without parole. The newspaper added that a second violation of any of the six felonies or murder, the felon gets a andatory life sentence without parole. All of these resulted to stacking effect of offenders in jails until the whole population get grayer and larger and more costly to handle. Associated Press further reported that John Kerbs, a researcher on criminal justice from University of Michigan suggested selective decarceration to ease the problem of swelling aging offenders’ population in Georgia prison system. This includes more often officials’ parole review of elderly inmates , electronic monitoring of graying offenders in release programs that is closely supervised and edical paroles for chronic and terminally ill inmates. Based from available studies, the states of Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas share the same problem on aging offenders as the states we have discussed. However, not all states in the U. S. look at aging offenders with compassion and understanding. One such state is California. Times staff writer, Warren, J (2002) reported that the California Department of Corrections is well aware of the aging prison population. The state according to the writer is well aware of the fact that the cost of maintaining aging offender is thrice the cost of that of the younger inmates. Longer sentences and substantial decline in paroles were considered as the cause of the rise in number of aging inmates. The Times staff writer further stated that the state in this times of economic belt tightening faces a $24 billion deficit mainly because of the health care expenses of the graying inmate population. Despite this, the state of California is hesitant to implement cost cutting strategies unlike the other U. S. states. The felons, young and old are mixed in cells. Although the idea of segregation based on age, health status and security needed is being considered, that never got off the ground due to the fact that the Correction and state officials are against it. A typical day in the life of an aging offender is a struggle against extortion, insult, bullying and disrespect from the stronger and younger inmates. The correction officials claim that segregation require additional upfront cost in terms of new buildings and prison facilities and this have no room in a state with huge budget deficit. The prison officials laim that offenders did crimes to society and so they have to suffer the consequences in prison. The staff writer said that nobody in the state legislature is bent to be soft in treating offenders. They even passed a law called â€Å"Three strike and you’re out† law to address the problem of the habitual offenders. This law sentences a felon to life imprisonment with no parole provision on the third crime conviction regardless of the nature of the wrong doing. The writer revealed that the population of inmate in California federal prison as of 2002 is about 4% of the total inmates f 5,800 men and women. According to the writer California reported an expenditure of $676 million on medical care of inmates but decline how much is for the elderly. The author further stated that California prison officials conceded the fact that the elderly require a 24 hour hospice care, high cost cardiac care, costly organ transplants, expensive cancer treatment and closely supervised treatment for dementia. On the national perspective, the U. S. Bureau of Prisons total inmate health care expenditures from 1990 to 1999 amounted to $2. 7 billion (U. S. General Accounting Office, 000). The GAO office also recognizes the fact that aging inmate population contributed greatly to this expenditure. The BOP also consider the changes in sentencing laws like mandatory minimum sentencing and the habitual criminality conviction as contributory to graying of the federal prisons. To economize on health care expenditures with emphasis to aging offenders’ health care, the GAO consider several options. The GAO encourage the states’ prison officials to obtain discounts through bulk purchases of states’ prison system needs and privatizing health care services in some states. This will involve appointing specialized private hospitals as alternative to government run health care services in cases of mounting geriatric health care problems patterned after the â€Å"Medicare- based cap on payments† ( GAO 2000, Summary, 3rd par). This according to GAO will save the government about $6 million annually. The GAO also proposed payment of $2. 00 per request visit over the usual round of doctors. This co-payment scheme is aimed to reduce unnecessary medical visit requests by the inmate disrupting the busy doctors. The co-payment scheme will generate revenue of about $1 million annually. It has been documented that the most compelling problem of aging offenders is the inability of some states to deliver the needed medical care for their ailment. The Bureau of Prisons admitted that a number of states is not ready to tackle the rising population of elderly offenders in their prison system resulting to huge budget deficits. This is due to the fact that it cost three times higher to maintain elderly offender than a younger one and five times higher than the expense of a college student. The geriatric ailments are more expensive to cure. To check the inevitable increase of aging offenders’ number in the prison system, a systematic approach should be done. The sentencing and parole system should be soft in dealing with the elderly inmates. The prison should start with the segregation of the elderly based from the state of their health and their physical ability and capacity to do crimes to society. The terminally ill, frail and weak should be given medical parole and let them join the main stream of society. They have suffered a lot of physical and mental punishment in jail in exchange for the crime they have committed. Those who are still strong but behaving well in prisons should be given parole but will be required to report to Day Report Centers to determine the progress of their assimilation to the mainstream of society. Those having mental problems should be confined to hospice care centers under minimum security. The sickly but still able bodied should be separated from the rest and should pay $2 per requested doctor visit over the normal doctors’ daily round. The able bodied and wild ones should be housed separately and placed under strict security until they mellow down and complete their imprisonment sentence. The â€Å"two and three strikes and you’re out† law will take care of habitual offenders. Other cost control strategies proposed by GAO can be considered seriously by the states now that the aging offender problems were given full attention to further realize cost savings.. The recommendations are based on the philosophy of win- win strategy in decision making. Considering them will rid federal prisons of unnecessary huge expenses, give freedom to deserving aged inmates and let the states use the savings for education of the youth to produce a new generation of able- bodied and law-abiding citizens.