In the present day, prisons may be regarded as the critical components of the federal criminal justice system. They started their history from the end of the war with Great Britain when Pennsylvania’s legislature revised the penal system and indirectly replaced slavery with disciplinary authority (Manion, 2015). Although original correctional practices relied predominantly on physical punishments, subsequent reformation established penitentiaries under the influence of the enlightenment’s fundamental ideas (Melossi & Pavarini, 2019). Several penitentiary models existed – the Pennsylvania System (communication between prisoners was not allowed), the congregate system ( congregation in workshops was required), and the lease system (prisoners’ labor was used for business). The next step in the prison system’s development was the Reformatory Movement that emphasized the significance of education for the reformation of prisoners. In general, the rehabilitation model is currently accepted across the country after the failure of a severely punishing crime control model.
From a personal perspective, the rehabilitation model with the focus on community correction will remain its relevance in the future. In addition, the specific period of primary rehabilitation may be specified in order to avoid prison overcrowding and reduce the negative influence on people’s health and lives without strong reasons. The criminal punishment system of the United States exacerbates “social ills ranging from trauma, mental illness, homelessness, unemployment, family dissolution, and substance abuse” (Westcott, 2015, p. 273). A prisoner may mitigate his or her punishment by the demonstration of appropriate law-abiding behavior. Moreover, all system requires constant improvements as “well-written policy and the procedure is core of modern correctional operations” (“Correctional policy and procedure,” n.d., para. 2). In other words, correctional agencies should provide concise and clear directives for prison staff, criminals, and the community in general.
References
Correctional policy and procedure (n.d.). National Institute of Corrections. Web.
Manion, J. (2015). Liberty’s prisoners: Carceral culture in Early America. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Melossi, D., & Pavarini, M. (2019). The prison and the factory (40th anniversary edition): Origins of the Penitentiary System (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Westcott, K. (2015). Race, criminalization, and historical trauma in the United States: Making the case for a new justice framework. Traumatology, 21(4), 273–284. Web.