intro to law, criminal justice, and society - module 8 - u.s. law, policing, and punishment in historical & international context

3 main institutions for adult penal confinement

state prisons, federal prisons, local jails

state prisons

run by state departments of corrections holding sentenced prisoners serving time for felony offenses, usually longer than a year, includes parolees reincarcerated for violating parole terms

federal prisons

run by the US Bureau of Prisons and hold prisoners who have been convicted of federal crimes and pre-trial detainees

local jails

county and municipal facilities that hold incarcerated defendants prior to trial, also hold those serving short sentences (under one year)

3 broad categories of the state prison population

violent crimes, property crimes, drug crimes

main categories of federal crimes

robbery, fraud, drug offenses, weapons offenses, immigration offenses

robbery (federal level)

entails bank robbery involving federally insured institutions

fraud (federal level)

includes violations of statutes pertaining to credit/lending institutions, interstate wire/communications, forgery, embezzlement, and counterfeiting

drug offenses (federal level)

manufacturing, importation, exportation, and distribution of controlled substances

weapons offenses (federal level)

concerns manufacturing, importation, possession, reciept, and licensing of firearms, crimes of violence, drug offense involving use of deadly weapons

immigration offenses

includes primarily unlawful entry and re-entry of the country, transporting and harboring of illegal entrants

trends in jail population

individuals denied bail or unable to pay bail, serving sentences for misdemeanor offenses for less than a year, poor, uneducated, unemployed, and socially detached

probation

supervises individuals in the community who can, following revocation of condition, be entenced to prison or jail

parole

typically supervises individuals who have served part of their sentence in prison and have been released back into the community, subject to conditions such as reporting to a parole officer, staying drug free, and maintaining employment

resocialization and rehabilitation

how the Dutch and Germans view incarceration

incapacitation, deterrence, and retribution

how the Americans view incarceration

German Prison Act

sole aim of incarceration is to enable prisoners to lead a life of social responsibility free of crime (rehabilitation), prison life must be as similar as possible to life in the community

Netherlands 1998 Penitentiary Principles Act

core aim is re-socialization of the offender, the prisoners are encouraged to maintain and cultivate a relationship with others in and outside of prison walls

sentencing practices in Germany and Netherlands

incarceration is used less frequently and for shorter periods of time, rely heavily on non-custodial sanctions and diversions,

sentencing practices in America

incarceration is used frequently and for longer periods of time,

treatment approaches in German and Dutch correctional systems

individual, institutional, and phyiscal basis

individual level

conditions of confinement are not meant to be punitive, offenders are taught skills needed in the community, personal expression and privacy are allowed, no collateral consequences

institutional level

correctional staff undergo extensive training, trained to rely on usage of incentives and rewards (positive reinforcement), solitary confinement is used sparingly and for short durations of time

physical level

prisons are designed with features conductive to rehabilitation such as moderate tempoerature, windows and lights, and wide hallways

adversarial system

the judge acts as an impartial monitor who ensures that the facts are presented by both sides and a jury decides guilt/innocence, relies on the prosection and defense to gather, present, and challenge evidence, highly individualistic and values victory over truth

judicial self-restraint

the judiciary serves as a check on the powers of the legislature and the executive, but it also should restrict its power with strict interpretations of the Constitution

adversarial advocacy

requires that the advocates zealously defend their clients

inquisitorial system

the judge assumes a more active role, police investigate and present their findings to the prosecutor, who is obligated to act neutrally, defense plays a minor role