Crime and SocietyEssay title: Crime and SocietyThe word �prison’ evokes a stream of images of inmates banging on the bars of their cells and armed uniformed guards, but lately it is becoming more of a popular belief that Prisons may be too soft. The basic reason for the existence of prisons is that society expresses its wishes through court and finds it necessary to separate and isolate some people, who have broken the law. The concept of this is as old as society itself although our ides of crime and punishment have changed over time. The Queensland Government’s “Department of Corrective Services” (DCS) has formal goals it seeks to achieve, the strategic plan of the DCS states “As a strategic partner in criminal and social justice for the Queensland Government, our purpose is community safety and crime prevention through an integrated correctional services system delivering humane containment, supervision and interventions for offenders”.
(“Queensland Corrective Services”, 2006) Formal Goals and Strategies stated within the DCS plan include; Identifying and addressing the increasing needs and demands of diverse subgroups within the prisoner population through enhanced prisoner management practice and Minimising the risk of re-offending through targeted and coordinated intervention services by preparing people, who have offended, for successful community integration according to their risk and need.
The DCS goals are closely linked to the 3 main theories of Punishment; Retribution: the offender must be punished so they realise their actions are not acceptable to society, Deterrence: if the offender is given an appropriate sentence they might stop committing similar offences in the future and other people thinking of committing the same offence maybe persuaded not to do so and Rehabilitation: the offender should be given an appropriate sentence involving support for their problems, so that they reform their criminal tendencies. These 3 theories of punishment are similar to the goal of minimising the risk of re-offending through targeted and coordinated intervention services by preparing people who have offended, for successful community integration according to their risk and need. There has been a deliberate shift in emphasis towards Rehabilitation. Prisons were once a place of punishment, but now they are more a place of rehabilitation. There is no more hard labour instead there is paid work, there are also many education and vocational programs available now with better facilities, the education and vocational programs provide offenders in custody with valuable skills and training to help improve their literacy and educational levels, also to improve their employment opportunities. The programs play an important part in the rehabilitation of prisoners. Some of the educational prgorams include; one-to-one literacy education, iteracy and numeracy education ,secondary education and traineeships or apprenticeships. (“Queensland Corrective Services – Rehabilitation”, 2007)
Stakeholders are individuals and groups in the community that affect or are affected by the operations of the Queensland Government’s “Department of Corrective Services” Stakeholders have an interest in whether the Department is delivering quality Prisoner service and whether the Prisoners are satisfied.
(“Queensland Corrective Services – Resources – Stakeholders”, 2006) There are a range of stakeholders with contrasting viewpoints about the вЂ?change in focus’ and the level of prison effectiveness generally. Two contrasting groups are the Victims and the Prisoner’s Family. Many victims of a crime believe that prison is way too soft on the Prisoners and believe they should be punished more then they already are, where as the Prisoners Family’s believe that prison is in some way too harsh on the Prisoners and do not give them as much benefits as they deserve.
There are a number of problems hindering the DCS (Department of Corrective Services) from achieving their goals. Two major problems hindering are, inappropriate relationships with inmates and HIV infection within Prison. Inappropriate relationships with inmates are becoming more and more frequent there have been many investigations related to this problem. In 2006 reports were conducted for the concerns of Maree Barnes-Powell (an employee of DCS) and Johanna Cunningham (an employee of the Corrections Health Service – CHS) and their relationships with inmates. (“ICAC”.NSW. 2006) Ms Barnes-Powell was employed as an Alcohol and other Drug Worker at the Industrial Training Centre, Long Bay. Ms Cunningham was the Nursing Unit Manager at the John Morony Correctional Centre, Windsor (John Morony). Both women had inappropriate, close personal relationships with inmates. In each case their relationships with particular
s of inmates resulted in the inmate being found with a gun, knife, or other weapon or by inappropriate means.
The problems the Department of Corrective Services are facing are:
In a manner of speaking, the Department is committed to improving the system. Our objective is to ensure that the Corrections Health Service (DCS) is well prepared to conduct well-informed, appropriate prison rehabilitation and treatment projects. A number of ongoing changes have been proposed, some of which include, improving mental health treatment, reducing recidivism rates, improving inmate awareness of HIV, addressing the treatment of prisoner sexual and drug use, and improving inmate supervision and training in offender control tactics and procedures. In addition to these improvements, corrections officers will be made aware of, monitor, and improve inmate support services. In a previous report entitled, ‘Out of Control: Assiduous Control of Correctional Institutions With Correctional Partnerships’, the report, with its recommendations, stated that “[H]e had more than one correctional partner, but was not effective when it came to their success” and asked for help in improving these facilities for their staff and inmates. The department plans to improve the care, supervision, and training of all corrections officers and supervising staff and inmates. The Department proposes increasing staff hours by 12 per cent, reducing the amount of time inmates receive between meetings, and adding more staffing to a small group of community and special projects. Further, the Department will review any further proposals submitted by the respective correctional officers within a year, including further changes to the correctional personnel relationship program. The report also recommends the need for a new Correctional Support Centre in each of the following locations: – “Operation Roster”. These locations are the first stop on which all corrections operations would be held; – “Assessments and Management Centre”. These locations are the first stop on which all correctional operations would be held; – “Housing”. These locations are on an area to the North east of the prison that has been specially developed for correctional services.
– “Facilities”. These are located on the east side of the prison where inmates are housed on temporary beds and facilities designed to house them.
– “The Special Site”. These are the first stop where all correctional services would be held and in which some of the inmates are confined.
In February 2016, for the first time, the correctional services will get some support from the Department of Corrections. The Department will be making regular visits to the main facility, where inmates have all access to their supplies, water, toiletries, food, recreation devices, drugs, alcohol, and recreational information. These information will be disseminated to inmates and visitors from these facilities in and around correctional facilities to try and develop an understanding about the prison condition. The Department intends to make this effort one of the focal points of Department operations in the country. The number of correctional staff in our community will rise significantly in coming years and will also rise in numbers in the larger community. As an example, as of 2016, more than 4,250 correctional workers had completed their post-prison term or less for mental illness. The number of correctional beds in our prison rehabilitation centers has increased, with over 7,000 workers of all ages, as of May 2016 being the largest annual increase on record. The number of correctional facilities in our community where prisoners get help, rehabilitate or take medications has doubled in percentage of the population from just over 40% of the population in 1990 to nearly 90% in 2016. The percentage of these who had been placed in correctional facilities has nearly doubled in the past 25 years and is now at an all-