Incarceration (punishment, service)

[Lightkeeper]

Does putting criminals in jail work? What do you think are better forms of punishment and/or rehabilitation for criminals?

[t3gah]

Originally Posted by Lightkeeper

Does putting criminals in jail work? What do you think are better forms of punishment and/or rehabilitation for criminals?

I remember this one study that showed that many criminals who had spent time in jail, the smaller term for incarceration, went out to repeat their crimes so they could get back into jail.

[Rex]

Studies show that "Punishment" doesn't work. But it's all we got.

[Unedited]

I don't think any man can change his ways unless he really wants to. I don't think jail does anything but keep people off the street for awhile. When they get back they rarely change. Most get worse.

[Fluffy]

If the reasons for why a prisoner commited a crime are identified whilst he is in jail then steps can be taken to sort out these problems before he is released. This would surely lower the rate of reoffense considerably.

[huajiro]

Most of the guys living in the jails had it worse on the outside. By putting them in jail, we only take the element of them having to provide from theirselves. So, in essence, as taxpayers, we are paying for their existence to keep them from committing crimes.

Add to this, some up and coming lawyers who want to make a name for themselves by representing people they know are guilty, and winning (example: OJ Simpson)

This is teaching them nothing, but how to use the system.

[desi]

Jail works by protecting society for a time. As most prisoners reoffend despite all known efforts, other than capital punishment, the answer appears to be lobotomy or banishment.

[robtex]

The justice system is a very complex machine. For the most part most people who commit crimes don't go to jail but instead pay fines do probation or other forms of restitiution. The two major groups that are incarcerated are either violent offenders and drug offenders. Of the types of incarcerations there are prisions and jails. Jails is where the ligher short-term offenders go and prision is where the heavier offenders go.

Much of the justice system is in the hands of public but very few laymen realize this or attempt to learn about it. Many cimminal laws on the books are voted on and judges are elected officals. The judges are in my opinion the most overlooked public officals who run for offices. They have a huge impact on how the laws are interpreted and how the penalty ranges are played out.

Really asking, "Does putting crimminals in jail work?" is a question that will yield answers both ways as there is so much dept and area to cover and some areas will have much more pros than others and some are still in experimental stages.

If LK you meant jail as in short-term (not prision) than from what I have seen yes it does.

The longest sentence in Texas one can get jailed for is about 2 years I believe. It may vary from state to state but not by much I would guess. Heavier sentences are prision sentences. The majority of them are in jail for 6 mohths or less for drug charges or smaller crimes of violence. I realize there are many on here that think that drug crimes should not be jailed but as society feels different I think that unless there is a reversal in the majority of public opinion that jail time has potential to be a deterient for those types of crimes.

A person who gets jail time is usually getting it tacked on to a sentence involving probation (parole is associated with prision). The city gets money back on the probation from commuity sevices and fines. Most crimminals pay their own court costs lawyer fees and community supervsion fees. If they cannot pay they are given the more jail time in lew of probation. At this point removing their jail time would mean they would stay on probation that they could not pay and society would still pick up the tab for their community supervsion. This is not any different than society paying for their jail time except that many crimminals wil go to great links to avoid jail but not as the same links to avoid probation.

Jail is not a pleasant place. I know this because I met people in jail eveyday when I worked at probation and nobody liked being there. Not a one. I met hundreds of them and none of them liked it. The fact that they didn't like it makes it a useful deterient.

You brought up rehabs..there are rehabs in prision but in jail not as much because the time is too short. The communty supvervision handles alot of the adminsterting of rehab work. I think most people are doing a few months in jail and I am sure they have some programs but most drug rehabs are measured in years not months so really it is not the right medium for rehab. They are not mutually exclusive. More intensive rehab is just done later after jail .

[mrscardero]

I knew someone that was in jail for 5 years. I really thought that he would have changed. I was wrong.
He informed me that when he was in jail, he got to use the gym and exercised every day. He got to play basketball, football and baseball. He read a lot and watched TV. He did some work in the shop like make license plates and book shelves. He did a lot of things that he enjoyed doing. He even made friends. He got out sometime last year and has not changed one bit. He still has the same attitude and has pretty much gotten himself into trouble again. He was on probation and was pulled over by a police officer and he didn't even have a license. I am not sure if he is in jail right now. He probably felt that his life in jail was a lot better then the life he had outside.

[w00t]

Gaol doesn't work, but community service doesn't either. I really don't know the answer to the problem