Cost Effectiveness In Prison Management Criminology Essay

Cost Effectiveness In Prison Management Criminology Essay It is unclear what characterizes an offender as elderly. The age of 65 as a marker between middle age and old age was based off of social legislation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries for purposes of determining eligibility for social, retirement or other benefits.19 Many offenders are considered by correctional authorities to be a part of the older prison population, despite being aged 15 years or more below societal perceptions of ages traditionally affiliated with being old. States have applied different factors to gauge the true age of elderly inmates as a result of their continuous exposure to the prison environment. Such factors include the stress and anxiety associated with living in an isolated environment, the degree of mental and physical impairment, and the higher risk of victimization due to the offenders advanced Elderly Inmates: A Growing Trend US- Graying Prison, Canada- Japan- HK- Argument against incarcerating the elderly offender Cost of Incarceration Basic Needs and Programs In the US, the courts have ruled that inmates have rights that are essentially dominated by the basic needs of all inmates. Sufficient nutrition, medical care, and safety are a few of the rights determined by the courts to ensure that basic needs are met. Programs have also been initiated for non-basic needs, for example, educational and training program, work programs and therapy and counseling programs. The programs that meet the basic and non-basic needs of older inmates are essentially the same as for younger inmates. However, there is a difference between what is required to meet the basic and nonbasic needs of younger versus older inmates. The discrepancies exist between and inmates needs which result in specialized programs (Wheeler, 1999). To cope with the needs of an increasing older prison population, states corrections departments have been taking steps ranging from developing targeted programs and activities for elderly inmates to providing specialized geriatric care. In a 2001 survey by the U.S. Criminal Justice Institute, approximately 15 of the 44 participating states and territories indicated that they provided supervised recreational programs specifically designed for older and elderly inmates. And other states have established educational programs on wellness and aging issues as part of an overall preventive care program. Ohios hocking correctional facility offers a 50+ and Aging program, which is designed to address the physical, psychological and social needs of older inmates. Such activities as chair aerobics, adult basic education and GED classes are provided as part of the program, as well as specialized recreational options, including bingo, shuffleboard, horseshoes and a walking program. Pennsylvania h as also provided inmate health care education programs, and has even offered a healthy heart food line, featuring low fat, high fiber foods for inmates (Abner, 2006). Accordingly, opponents are convinced that these specialized programs will needlessly consume the limited corrections and tax payers monies. Health Care Needs Another important factor to consider with respect to the incarceration of elderly offenders is the cost of health care. In a survey of the U.S. Department of Corrections in all fifty states, twenty-seven of the thirty-one institutions that responded identified medical needs and related factors as the most important or significant variable attributed to the cost of aging inmates (Wheeler, Connelly, Wheeler, 1994). Most states estimate that healthcare for an elderly prisoner costs roughly two to three times that for a younger prisoner. In some states, like North Carolina, the average annual cost of healthcare for prisoners 50 and older is four times higher than the cost for prisoners younger than 50. Moreover, while only 11% of North Carolinas prisoners are age 50 and older, the $25 million it costs the state each year to provide healthcare to these aging prisoners constitutes nearly 30% of the states total correctional healthcare budget (American Civil Liberties Union, 2012). In Flor ida, prisoners age 50 and older accounted for a disproportionate share of all medical contacts. While 11% of the total prison population was in this age range, these prisoners constituted 38% of all medical contacts for hypertension, 44% for diabetes, 21% for asthma, and 36% for general medicine (ACLU, 2012). As inmates age and the number of chronic illnesses increases, so does an individuals chance of needing hospitalization and geriatric care. Health problems such as strokes, Alzheimers disease, and other form of dementia that increase with age (Atchley, 1994). These illnesses even require specially trained personnel and twenty-four hour care, the type of care offered in nursing homes. Opponents believe just a few of the health care-related costs that currently and will continue in the future to face correction officials and society if we demand incarceration of elderly offenders and do not allow for alternative methods of sentencing. Housing Needs As the age of older offenders increases, whether from aging within prison or entering prison at an older age, their physical, social, and health care needs change. Therefore, modifications must be made with respect to the prison itself. Clearly, most prisons that exist today were not constructed or designed with the needs of older offenders in mind (Wheeler, 1999). Prison are going to have to be designed or renovated to provide elderly-friendly environments that will meet the physical, psychological, and social needs of older offenders. In the years to come, many of Japans 74 prisons will end up looking like Onomichi, an aging prison about 400 miles south-west of Tokyo that first started catering to older prisoners 20 years ago. A handrail runs the length of the corridor, and makeshift wheelchair ramps are kept at the entrance to the communal baths. There is a portable mattress on hand in case anyone feels faint, along with a wheelchair and, placed discreetly behind a desk, boxes of incontinence pads (McCurry, 2008). In the U.S., at the same time, specialized houing for elderly inmates appears to be another trend. At least 16 states provide separate housing facility for older prisoners (Abner, 2006). These examples indicate that with the aging population, there is a growing demand for barrier-free or elderly-friendly physical environments. Thus, opponents believe that the scare resources will be consumed. Safe Guarding the Older Offender Housing older inmates with the general prison population can place them in an environment that put their safety in danger. Older offenders are outnumbered and more vulnerable to attack. They are viewed as prey by younger, more aggressive inmates (Wheeler, 1999). According to a 2004 National Intelligence Council report (Abner, 2006), the lack of personal protection for elderly inmates, who may be frail and therefore vulnerable to the threats of assault by younger predatory inmates, contributes to the emotional stress and physical deterioration they routinely experience, especially among those who may be already vulnerable owing to chronic or terminal illness and who have few options for change in their environment. Providing housing that will meet the basic needs of older incarcerated inmates or simply providing for their safety is not cost-effective. Therefore, the opponents argue that alternative methods to incarceration should be considered. Training Staff Currently, corrections staff are trained much as prisons have been designed, with young, violent offenders in mind. Older offenders present an entirely different population, with different needs that require special training (wheeler, 1999). Very often, correctional and healthcare staff lack appropriate training and technical expertise and have not been properly trained to treat age-related illnesses, such as hearing loss, vision problems, arthritis, hypertension, and dementia (ACLU, 2012). Therefore, opponents view it is not cost effective to train future and retrain present prison staff to handle a relatively small percentage of incarcerated older offenders. There are less expensive and more effective ways of dealing with these problems. Argument for incarcerating the elderly offender Elderly Inmates Often Are Violent Offenders Studies of elderly offender have tended to categorize older inmates in a number of different ways, such as first time incarcerated and multiply incarcerated (Soderstrom, 1999). Teller and Howell state that first-time incarcerated offenders generally tend to have current sentences resulting from crimes committed against others, often in a spontaneous fashion, and thus do not view themselves as criminals. Conversely, multiply incarcerated offenders typically are locked up for premeditated crimes and do in fact view themselves as criminals (as cited in Soderstrom, 1999). Even the percent of violent crimes among elderly offenders are rather small. In the US, this age group constitutes 5.5 percent of all those arrested. Approximately fifteen percent of those elders arrested involve serious felonies, including murder, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, or drug trafficking (Ronald Jenifer, 2006). Although these percentages are rather small, they do indicate that an identifiable amount of serious crime is being committed by senior citizens, and sometimes these crimes are of a violent nature. Thus, the need to incarcerate some elderly offenders is arguable, given the seriousness of the criminal activity exhibited by at least a proportion of this older criminal subpopulation. Right to Appropriate medical Treatment Already Established The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the rights of inmates to have their medical needs met in Estelle v. Gamble (1976). In this case, the Court stated that deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain proscribed by the Eighth Amendment. Kratcoski Pownall advocated that whether economically practical or not, it clearly has been established through case law that correctional systems must provide a vast array of health care services, including medical, dental, nutritional, acute, and long term care (as cited in Soderstorm, 1999). Therefore, this is not about the cost effectiveness but the responsibility to ensure that the human rights of all inmates are protected. Specialized Programming and Treatment Already Exists for Elderly Inmates Correctional systems increasingly appear to be responding appropriately to the specialized needs of older offenders (Soderstorm, 1999). In the US, the Federal Bureau of Prisons led the way in implementing geriatric care units for elderly inmates, particularly with its creation of a medical unit for male inmates. This specialized unit had 57.6 percent inmates in the 51 or older category according to 1986 figures. Since the late 1970s, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has designated correctional goals to implement these ideal geriatric unit components. Typical programs in such a geriatric facility have included stress management, health wise, drug facts, and positive mental attitude (Kratcoki Pownall, 1989). Thus, it seems that whether economically practical or not, the Federal prison system has accepted the inevitable need to provide extended and specialized services to the elderly inmate. Problems with Age-Segregated Facilities There are a number of arguments against the use of age-segregated facilities, which would be the most costly of methods to handle elderly inmates. Because of the small number of geriatiric inmates that would truly be in need of age-segregated conditions of confinement, the creation of geriatric courts ande other types of age-segregation treatment in the criminal justice system would stereotype all elderly offenders as being feeble and incapable of withstanding regular incarceration conditions (Cavan, 1987). Furthermore, considerable evidence suggests that older inmates actually provide a stabilizing effect on the general inmate population (Rubenstein, 1984). In fact, McCleery (1961) described the inmate hierarchy as being based on seniority. It appears the older inmates serve as unofficial sources of information necessary for successful prison adjustment by younger offenders who tend to be unfamiliar with or unprepared for the rigors of prison life. It has even been suggested that older inmates are respected by younger inmates for their accumulated wisdom regarding the workings of daily prison life, which alleged allows them to manipulate the correctional system to their advantages (Wiltz, 1973). Furthermore, Kratcoski and Pownall (1989) pointed out most federal elderly inmates had been previously incarcerated, so they certainly were not naÃÆ'Â ¯ve about prison life. Therefore, not all elderly really require incarcerated into age-segregated or move toward a separate geriatric justice system.

Being Educated and Trained

Author Albert Jay Nock discusses what he termed as the change in the purpose of American education. Instead of concentrating on â€Å"training,† which is supposed to provide individuals with proficiency, education today centers on the intellectual gains. Nock compares the purposes of training and of education: that is, he states that in the past, training had a vocational focus that, â€Å"bore directly upon what he could do or get, while his education bore directly on neither; it bore upon what he could become and be† (par. 2).However, as Nock stated, the differences between the two were â€Å"practically wiped out† (par. 3). One major disadvantage of education, according to Nock, is that it prevents people from cooperating and working with each other, thus encourages competition and leaves the educated human a â€Å"solitary figure† (par. 5). Training, on the other hand, tends to do the opposite as it brings people together. In addition, training typical ly encourages individuals to live a simple life and be happy with what they have attained, either in skills or earning power.Education, in contrast, tends to encourage a person to live an unsatisfied life, continuously seeking for more than what he or she already has. Looking at Nock’s perspectives and standards, I feel that I am both an educated person as well as a trained person. I value the processes of learning things as having its own rewards in the end and the importance of intellectual growth and development in my life. However, I also feel that I can do the things that I have been taught to do with a degree of competency and proficiency through the training I have received in school.I value individualism, personal satisfaction, and happiness, as much as I value collaborative effort or cooperation in work and activities and simplistic living. Moreover, as Nock contended, education calls for educated humans to like and value thinking, one that is critical and objective that is. As what the Columbia University president said, very few people like to do this because they do not like thinking per se and it disrupts or hinders them from what they are doing.As for me, critical and objective thinking is also one hobby or vocation that is difficult to come by. Only when crucial times call for it or when it is truly needed does thinking take over. This is because most of the time, I am more focused with my physical, emotional, and psychological well-being that critical and objective thinking only surface for academic purposes. In addition, I am more of a feeling-based person than a thinking-based one since my relationships and emotions stand above in the decisions I make.I do not see anything wrong with this because as a trained individual, this is how I value things in my life and the choices and rights I have. However, as an educated individual and as Nock held, I choose â€Å"to cultivate a sense of history† (par. 9) in my life. Learning the pas t for me is learning how to cope with the present and the future. There are a lot of life lessons we can all get from the experiences of people from the past and their mistakes serve as our guide in our personal and societal undertakings.It is part of our responsibility as educated or trained citizens of this nation to look back and know how our forefathers have fought for our democracy just so we can enjoy this freedom we currently experience. But I do not go â€Å"all the way back to the politics of Rome and Athens† (par. 9) all the time to evaluate the present times. Because as a critical, objective, and educated individual, I should know that there are instances in the past that cannot be applied in the present because of the differences in time, in people, in places, and in technology.This is why history is essential for an educated society, but it is not the only factor that an educated person should consider in the present. In conclusion, I can say that I am both an ed ucated and trained individual in that I value the boring intellectual learning I have to pass through, as well as the direct training I need in attaining true education. There are prices to be paid and sacrifices to be made in attaining education, but it will be worth it in the future when I â€Å"could do and get† and â€Å"become and be. †

Needs of Various Stakeholders Essay

As we already discuss about the important of the stakeholders. A stakeholder does not exist but makes demand of the organization. The reason why stakeholders are important in strategic analysis is because of they want something from the organization. The demand of different stakeholders may become conflict to each other. For example shareholders of Tesco want maximum returns from the organization whereas the management team may retain profits for long term investment. Also the employees of tesco want higher payment or simply keep employee during the economy crisis, but the management may with to go through the difficult time by cutting posts and costs. Because of the individual needs are various, the conflict exists. And it will change along with times, macro-environment change and organizational changes: The government:- The government has power on influence the daily operations of tesco. Now days the government may give more support to the business because of the global economy downturn. Customers:- The small change of social communications behaviors and the innovation of high promotion may lead more demand on the services and products provided by tesco. This is very important power for the tesco to continue developing to satisfy the customer. Shareholders:- Shareholders may have the less expectation on returns during the crisis in the stock market. However, when the economy blooms again, say after several years, shareholders will expect more returns from the organization. Employees:- Who could be considered as dependent stakeholders. They are willing to retain the same pay level in order to keep employed during the recession period, but when things gets better, the staff will wish to increase their pay and other welfares. Suppliers:- The operation of the business is very difficult and complex with the effects of globalization. Small changes in the country would have direct and indirect impact over the business operations. Local community:- Local community may wish tesco help improving the quality of local environment. They may wish the organization perform better and give the full satisfaction to the customer.

Should Abortion Be Legal - 1594 Words

Abortion has been an ongoing issue for many years and over the years this issue has grown in importance. This issue is widely argued over many subjects and like many other aspects of the human life, this is an issue which is definitely up for open interpretation. If the word abortion isn’t clear than here is a little definition of it, the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a fetus that is incapable of survival. I don’t think that because a fetus is unborn, that fetus does not have any rights, actually that organism is in development meaning it should hold equal human rights, again it is definitely up for debate. Abortion is a subject which could be considered as a debatable gray area in life which no matter how much is argued will never be clear as to what really is right or wrong. There are many people out there, me included, would go against abortion because we believe that it is a form of murder because even though the organism is helpless is n onetheless a living organism forming to become a human being. There are those who would argue against this and say that it is ok to abort an unborn baby and that a woman has the right to choose what she does with her body and anything which grows and lives inside of her. If she claims that she is not fit to bring a life form into the world than they would argue that abortion is the best way to go without any hesitation. A few questions come up when this issue comes up for debate, for example is abortionShow MoreRelatedAbortion Should Not Be Legal1647 Words   |  7 PagesOne of the most highly debated topics is abortion and whether or not it should be legal. 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