An Alternative to Incarceration
Prisons take the nonviolent offender and make him live by violence. Place them in overcrowd cell-blocks, deprive them of meaningful work, and the result is an embittered underclass. This essay will analyze the current problems with our prison system such as economic and social cost. And finally it will propose a solution based on restorative justice, which is a working program for non-violent and low risk offenders.Americans literally pay a great deal for prisons to fail so badly. Like all big government solutions, they are expensive. In the course of my studies dealing with the criminal justice system, I have learned that the federal government spends approximately $80,000 dollars to build one cell, and $25,000 per year to keep a prisoner locked up (Kain 2002). The cost in state prison for example California is significantly lower, $40,000 to build one cell and $15,000 per year. Both figures are higher than it costs to educate a student at the college level. These figures are not getting any lower. There is a better way to deal with crime and punishment in America. Our prisons are currently overcrowded and to maintain our current prison population it is estimated that more than ten billion . . .
Not all programs work the same way. This solution is viable for about 30 % of our non-violent prison population. For example in the text there is a community project known as Daily Reporting Centers or (DRC’s). The cost would be no more to a taxpayer than what we pay today. dollars needs to be spent on construction. Many Americans believe in our current prison system, and also believe that it is an effective form of punishment for the criminal. I am not claiming that these centers can or will rehabilitate any and all criminals. Some people argue the penalties for non-violent offenders should be stiffened. The billions and billions of dollars spent annually as well as the social costs on our society are part of a huge problem. My suggestion is that our government use the money that they would spend on prisons and staffing these facilities and use the money to fund community correction centers. My restorative justice program and other centers like it are restricted in their expansion by many obstacles. The basic concept is that these are low security facilities designed for non-violent criminals.
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Acceptance Essays
