The New Penology
The concept of new penology states the importance of creating a new language of penology. While the traditional concerns of it focused on the individual, new penology shifts its focus to actuarial consideration of aggregates. The new penology involves various areas, which allow transformation. First of all, the formation of new objectives will be aimed at reducing the level of recidivism. Second, the deployment of new techniques will target offenders as an aggregate rather than as individuals. This concept results in a decrease in rates of reported crime and victimization. Moreover, it is important to understand that the new penology identifies and manages large groups of offenders. Previously, recidivism was seen as a criterion for the failure of penal programs. The new penology lowers the expectations about the criminal sanction and addresses the system differently.
Social Factors Influencing the Shift Towards a Reliance on Incarceration
An increasing number of people incarcerated is one of the major features of the United States criminal justice system. Several social factors are accounting for high rates of incarceration. Comparing the United States with other western democracies proves the differences between social policies. For example, the level of unemployment, poverty, and violence is higher in the US than in Europe. This may suggest that the problem lies in the tackling of social issues and injustice. Implementing new social policies and spreading awareness of poverty and unemployment may help decrease the level of crimes committed and further incarceration.
The Impact of Bail System on Punishment
The bail system has its impact on the outcome of a case and a trial. It is stated that the decisions made at the beginning of a criminal trial, such as bailing, may influence the entire course of the case. More importantly, such choices often affect the final sentence imposed on the defendants. When defendants are denied bail or cannot afford to pay it, they are held in special local jails during the trial process. This, in turn, results in some detrimental effects, such as unemployment, troubles with physical and psychological conditions, and the risk of recidivism. Various studies conclude that those defendants who were held in local jails, as a result, received longer sentences than those who were released on bail. Logically, the defendants who were released on bail have more opportunities to prove their reliability and safety to the public. Thus, those who could not post bail are automatically seen as a threat and danger to society, which negatively affects their sentencing.
Rehabilitation or Retribution?
In the criminal system, it is very important to understand what can contribute to a more effective stay of the incarcerated. Thus, there is a choice between different methods of punishing offenders. Rehabilitation is one of these methods that has been used for decades. Rehabilitation can include various techniques: job training, psychotherapy, and many others. The rehabilitation system aims to identify the prisoner’s needs and draw out the ways to help them fulfill their necessities. Another method to contribute to a more effective stay of the incarcerated is retribution. The strategy is to endorse limiting retributivism to avoid indeterminate sentences. The experts suggest that this strategy is questionable as it practices the same methods as retribution, thus, does not benefit the system or the country itself. Therefore, it is safe to say that the safest approach is rehabilitation.
Identity Transformation and Psychological Impacts of Imprisonment
Prison is the place that inevitably leaves an imprint on a person’s mental health. Experts believe that the prison situation contributes to the negative effects on the health of the convicted person. Thus, recent studies suggest that the number of cases of suicide, both in prison and after the release, has increased recently. Furthermore, many prisoners acquire different coping mechanisms to manage their current situation. Such means show that they help well in prison, but they might be harmful on the outside. Moreover, in the event of their failures, many former prisoners blame their past and the prison, which leads to a greater stigma. Guilt and stigmatization have a detrimental effect on the personality formation of an ex-prisoner, which can eventually lead to recidivism.
Prison and Military
The term total institution does not necessarily apply to places such as a prison or the army. A total institution is a place where people who are cut off from the outside world work and reside. In this sense, the military and the prison are similar places where people live and work together for a long time. Moreover, both in prison and in the military, there is a strict hierarchy that cannot be broken. In the military, there are commanders and soldiers; in the prison there are bosses and prisoners. On the other hand, the nature of the relationship between people in prison and the military is different. People who join the army often voluntarily agree to a hierarchical relationship. While people who go to prison end up in these relationships against their will.
Ted Conover’s Role in Newjack
Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing is a book written by journalist Ted Conover. This book focuses on his personal experience of learning about the American correctional system by becoming a correctional officer for a year. For a long time, he sought to investigate the United States’ correctional system, but the government strongly rejected his attempts. Thus, he decided to conduct a real journalistic investigation by infiltrating the prison. In the book, he describes the difficulties faced by both officers and prisoners. After special training Conover and his comrades were appointed to a Sing Sing maximum security male-prison. Conover points that the discipline, even among the officers, is non-existent. Moreover, the journalist claims that there was no solidarity among the officers. The supervisors did not mentor the staff: each officer on one shift pushed the duties to the next one. All of the problems mentioned in the book result in inconsistency in the treatment of prisoners.
Power Structure in Prison
The relationship between officers and prisoners in prisons has always been complex and ambiguous. Numerous sources indicate that officers often use violence against prisoners. Moreover, the prisoners themselves often attack the officers for their purposes. In the relations between prisoners and officers, power prevails. Therefore, the control in prisons is carried out through power and coercion. The officers, who are found in a hierarchical order, feel superior to the prisoners. In this hierarchy, prisoners, of course, represent the lowest level, which deprives them of the right to answer. Hierarchy and the cult of force lead to the fact that officers, in performing their duty, often exceed their authority: they use violence, both physical and psychological.
The Similarities Between Military and Prison
Many argue that the prison and the army are similar institutions. I tend to think that these are completely different institutions with different goals and methods. First, one joins the military voluntarily and undergoes special training. Moreover, in the army, people learn to work in a team and rely on their comrades. While in prison, there is no preparation, training, and so on. The purpose of the prison is punishment and correction of prisoners for their misdeeds. Thus, we can conclude that people join the army or go to prison for different reasons. Besides, the goals and objectives of being in the military or prison are completely different and do not overlap with each other.