Proposed changes to the prison system

In response to questions from round 2>> What is a peace officer?Peace Officer : “A peace officer is any public-sector employee or agent whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws.” [1][1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_officer>>Are you saying that violence against an elderly person should be dealt with more harshly because of their frailty?My thinking is that unprotected and vulnerable people need special legal protection. >> In terms of rehabilitation and prostitution, who is being rehabilitated, the "John" soliciting the service or the prostitute?My quick thought is to make the one with money and power (the Johns) pay heavy fines and endure public shaming (make arrest records public). Judges should have resources to offer the prostitutes courses or job training.>> Are you referring to someone who suffers from a disorder as described by the DSM IV? Or do you mean people who use drugs?Both! Long term mental health issues (listed in the DSM) and the chronic poverty and dysfunction of those who have moved from recreation use to debilitating substance abuse problems often end up in jail. This is worth considering. “Estimates vary on the prevalence of mental health issues within prison, however the general view is that it is high and has increased in recent years ( [APA], 2004; [CSC], 2009). For example, within the Canadian context, Brink, Doherty & Boer (2001) report that 31.7% of 267 new intakes in federal penitentiaries in British Columbia had a current diagnosis of a mental disorder, with 12% meeting the criteria for a serious mood or psychotic disorder.” [6][6] www.csc-scc.gc.ca/health/092/MH-strategy-eng.pdf Page 4If the 31% statistic (above) holds for the wider population, then many need a mental health intervention as their preliminary treatment before we can assess their danger to re-offend.**I want our correction system to do 3 things. 1. Protect people from criminals. 2. Serve the best interests of society. This includes all citizens and visitors. (Offenders and non offenders alike) This needs to be cost effective. This should make our world a better place.3. Give justice. This includes restitution to those wronged. This includes punishment to the offender.New Ideas.Loss of citizenship.Repeat offenders who cannot live in our society should lose their citizenship.There are countries that would be willing to receive “immigrants” from Canada or the US is the price was right. This protects our people from criminal acts. It removes the problem people from our society. It serves the punishment side of justice because the life they will lead there will be much more harsh than life here with the welfare and service to which they are accustomed.I believe there are many countries that would be willing to receive our problem people, for a price.For example, if we pay $2000 per offender to the country that receives them, this is a far more cost effective situation than spending $100,000 per year on their imprisonment.Military ServiceOffenders who wish to serve in the military could have a portion of their pay go for restitution, and have a highly supervised work release situation. These military workers would likely be lower quality than those who chose military employment from a non offender situation, and the pay rate and rank could be adjusted accordingly. As always, good workers could earn their promotions and early release from the parole/probation system.The military in Canada and the USA also has a different correction system. The UCMJ in the USA [7] and the Military Justice System in Canada [8] have the goal of strong discipline and unit morale which may be new to the offender. I have seen many excell in the highly structured system of the military who did not do as well in wider society.[7] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Code_of_Military_Justice [8] www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=canada-s-military-justice-system/hnea75shRegarding PrisonsCurrently, the time spent in prison is considered the punishment for the crime. I suggest this is not at all effective. It trains prisoners to be idle and lazy. I suggest that all comforts and entertainments be earned by work in the prison, and by accomplishing items on the work release plan tailored to that offender.I see the following benefits and cost saving effects of the changes proposed here.1. Capital punishment. Small cost savings as only a small percentage of inmates are serving life [9][10] These are the high visibility cases, and I suggest firing squad as the most effective method.[9] www.projectcensored.org/number-us-prison-inmates-serving-life-sentences-hits-new-record/ [10] www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2012-ccrs/index-eng.aspx2. Work as punishment. By taking some of the money earned by the offenders, this system could offset some of the costs in making it happen.3. Mental illness Cost to the prison system could be greatly reduced by removing people who need medical treatment from those who need the prison system. NOTE - This would increase the cost of the medical system if done in Canada where medical treatment is coved by tax dollars. It would be very difficult for uninsured American offenders.4. Release Location Urban areas are growing, and rural areas are having trouble keeping a young population. Work release to rural areas for the jobs that people don’t want to do benefits the rural area. Because offenders are only released if they have an employer willing to take them, it makes offenders more complaint with their employer.5. Monitoring. Electronic monitoring in prisons, for people on work programs, and for people on parole or probation can be made cost effective. Our current system of parole officers having limited information about the location of their clients is difficult. Under our current system there are difficulties keeping in touch with clients. An obvious advantage of monitoring programs would be to allow the police to be at any location where an offender they wish to contact is present. It would also allow us to keep statistics on locations that seem to favor repeat offenders (crack houses and pawn shops that deal in stolen goods) and the locations that seem to be part of the lives of offenders who are keeping out of trouble.6. Repeat offense A wider range of punishments should be available to be used with repeat offenders. These should range from capital punishment (multiple homicide) to loss of citizenship and exile. Between these extreme measures we should have corporal punishment for routine misdemeanor infractions. Because repeat offenders show they cannot live by the laws of the land, and they have already made and broken promises about good behavior, harsher punishments that aim to repay damages or let these people serve their time far from society are ideal. If jail time was the punishment for a prior offense, it is unlikely to have value in correcting ongoing crime. Jail time should not be the first choice for a repeat offense.7. Sentencing lengths & early release I am in favor of long sentence lengths with hard labor and unpleasant conditions. This is not because I want to see longer prison terms. Amenities like TV, Internet, Luxury foods or products, Tobacco and even Alcohol should be earned by inmates who are working well towards their release. There are many dangers to the “Arbeit_macht_frei” (work makes you free) philosophy[11], but a major problem with repeat offenders is they do not know how to survive without breaking society’s rules.[11] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeit_macht_frei8. Prisons I am not a fan of prisons. Prison time is expensive for society, and does not help the criminal become a better member of society. If offenders are going to learn how to live in a free society, they need to learn and practice those skills. One approach to this might be work camps for seasonal jobs. Tree planting is hard work with little training required. [12] Highway flagging is a job that work well for many ex-offenders[13]. Construction labor and many others have a low training requirement, but allow workers to earn a living.[12] www.plantingtheplanet.com/tree-planting-jobs/[13] www.jobmonkey.com/uniquejobs/highway-flagger.htmlI suggest a large number of smaller prison facilities in rural areas where the prison contributes to the local economy. If the maximum prison size was 100 inmates, and the maximum prison staff was 5 paid workers there would be a decent ratio of workers to residents. Those who have not yet earned extra privileges would eat basic nutritious food, no TV, no phone, and no entertainments. Those who work towards earning early release and spending money would quickly have far more choice. Because the majority of inmates would be off site at jobs for much of the day, there would be little need for daytime supervision. Some areas would be good candidates for farm or garden labor by the inmates after hours. Recreation facilities could be rented (also giving back to the community) from schools and churches as they earned money and privileges. Because prisoners are earning their privileges through hard work, the loss of those because of some infraction would be a much harsher treatment than a brief removal (2 day solitary confinement) like we do now. My biggest disagreement with prisons is they way they take away freedom of choice from an offender. How will they learn to live in a free society if they have no chance to practice. My biggest disagreement with our correction systems is that we take responsibility for the criminal’s life and upkeep. By having the deportment of repeat offenders as an option, I believe we will pay a small price (morally and economically) to fix a huge collection of issues. If the family, friends or business of a deported person with to petition for citizenship that gives us the option of them posting $100,000 bond as a promise of good behavior. It lets us decide if we want the individual back as a temporary resident or citizen.