Because of budget cuts, inmates in L.A. County who show no history of violence are being released early, and this negatively affects our society because in rare cases, some released inmates are continuing to commit crimes, sometimes worse crimes than they were originally put in jail for. This not only becomes a major problem for our police department, but it also threatens our sense of security in the community. A functionalist could see this as beneficial to our society because it is balancing out our prisons in order for our society as whole to work more effectively. Released inmates are then able to restart their lives and contribute to other aspects of society.
The budget cuts could signify a decline in the economy, and since crime becomes more prevalent in communities with lower income, I could only see the early release of inmates as a temporary solution to the social problem as criminal activity begins to rise. I chose this topic because I personally know someone who has been to LA county jail and was let out early because of the overcrowding. One obvious solution to this problem would be to build more jails, but that requires expanding the budget instead of cutting it and our state only has so much money to distribute.
I really see the early release of inmates to be showing how much we care about the public's safety.Even if these inmates commit small felonies. Its basically the government releasing evil back in to society. So it ends up being a social problem because the inmates they forget the proper way to act in society. in reality it is a stupid domino effect = getting out early going back a month later. i know its a rookie response but i tried:)
The early release of prison inmates due to severe budget cuts in LA County poses a social problem on many levels. Using Herbert Blumer’s model, all four elements that define a social problem were outlined in this article. On a micro level, an inmate facing early release can be a positive or negative opportunity for him or her to return to society. In the event that an inmate uses his release unproductively and commits more crime, he is affected on an individual level and consequently, his actions also affect society. The controversy and fear that many have at the thought of inmates being released early is that these offenders, non-violent or not will continue to participate in unlawful activity should they be released prematurely. These are the thoughts of many powerful groups in society including law enforcement, county officials, political figures, but most importantly citizens. This social problem will persist as long as the county faces such fiscal constraints and cannot implement better solutions. The solutions that have been proposed so far are many and none have actually addressed the matter at best.
From a conflict theorist perspective, this social problem would be due to the unequal distribution of resources, in this case between public entities and private entities or even inmates and non offenders. Being that the county is short of resources, a conflict theorist could argue that the federal government fails to allocate resources accordingly, particularly its taxpayer’s dollars in a such a way that would allow for more financial leverage to address the problems happening nationwide in county jails. Instead, one could speculate that the government favors private entities, using government resources to aid private interests instead of public interests. On a more basic level, a conflict theorist would argue that there is an unequal distribution of resources amongst the masses with offenders receiving the shorter end of the stick and therefore finding themselves in county prisons. Had they and their families been giving the same equal opportunity financially as non offenders, they may have been able to avoid jail entirely and integrate into society more productively, although this argument has its flaws.
I feel that there should be more discussions about rehabilitation and post-incarceration programs that can help individuals integrate back into society. Statistics show that many first time offenders are likely to return to jail a second time and I believe that this is due to the stigma of jail time and the difficulties that prior offenders have when attempting to return to society. Not only would programs like these be less costly than it would to house inmates, it would positively affect both the individual and society in the long run. Furthermore, I feel that a program like this would receive much support from the community in forms of volunteer work and sponsorship. If this were to fail too, counties should reform their house arrest and ankle monitor programs because this too would be less costly than housing inmates.
1. underlying problem is the bigger effect that happens when you let inmates out before their full sentence. Since they committed a crime and got off early are they more likely to commit the same or worse crime again? This is a social problem, everyone is affected by it. Inmates are suffering due to overcrowding but they are in jail for a reason and if those dangerous people get off early they might not take county jails seriously anymore. Communities become scared that so many inmates will be out before serving time for their crime, might cause panic. 2. Conflict theorist concentrate on the alienation caused by misplaced belief in the profit motive and by societies unequal power structure. The conflict theorist might add that the inmates now have a chance to regain meaning and power once let out of prison early due to budget crunches in jails. They believe that false values of profit and competition are what drives us to mistrust each other which leads to social problems. They see people starting to act as human commodities who sell each other off the social market place, and so with the inmates who have been taken off the social marketplace for a while and thrown back in might have a second chance and advancement to thrive in like without having to serve as another human commodity in today’s society. 3. I think that no matter what mistakes people do in like no one deserves to have to spend their nights on a roof of a jail. One solution I strongly believe in is to spend more money helping, rehabilitating people rather than locking them away for long periods of time and expecting them to be a working member of society when they get out. That is asking too much without helping them.
The early release of prisoners in the Los Angeles county jail system has been an on going problem for several years. Due to budget cuts, several inmates have been appointed to only serve 10% of there sentence and enter the same society they were once excused from. These inmates sometimes go back to their same ways and commit crimes in the same society they have already turned their back on. Many of these inmates receive no rehabilitation and learn nothing from their mistakes; they come back and sometimes remain at a low social economic level and have no support or means to reenter society. The functionalist Robert Merton best explained this through his theory of Differential Access, also called Anomie Theory. Many of these inmates do not have something to fall back on nor have means to attain the goals they want. Merton explains that everyone in society can have the same goals but not all have the same means of getting them. These people who he calls innovators sometimes engage in criminal activity since they have no other means of access. I believe that the early release is a huge problem, which should be diverted with another idea. As I explained through Merton’s approach, many of these people being released could easily go back to their old ways, due to their position in society. If crime isn’t already bad, early release is the complete downfall. I feel that the government or people in charge of these correction departments should find the means to build a backup housing instead of letting them on early release. These inmates shouldn’t be allowed anywhere around the public until they are mentally stable for interaction due to the fact that since they’ve been on the inside long enough, they wont know the right way to act or be civilized when it comes to the community. Once stable enough for interaction, society as a whole will be able to see the light sort of speak on this situation.
The growing population of inmate in the california state prison system has drained the financial budget. Unfortunately the only remedy for this situation is to reduce overcrowding first. The drying budget now allows the criminals who commit "mickey mouse" crimes to leave jail earlier than ever before. The early release of inmates is a social problem in our society today because it has four of the features associated with a social problem. The early release of inmates contributes to social and individual damage by promoting the tolerance of crimes. Instead of being released for good behavior the state is now obligated to release criminals back into the population. Secondly, wave of releases can also affect a number of organizations such as the local police department who has to deal with second offenders like the rapist mentioned in the blog. Another problem that is making the release of criminals persistent is the budget. The reason why inmates cannot be incarcerated is because of the large monetary cost to our government. This is one of the reason early release is a social problem. There are various solutions to fix this problem such as a new revised budget or a different justice system but our society has yet to act upon these proposed answers. This is the last characteristic of a social problem. Using a functionalist's perspective the objective is to understand what is wrong with the release of prisoners that is creating a dysfunction within society. I chose this social problem because it has affected my neighborhood. Around my area there is a disturbingly healthy homeless population that commit crimes and most that get caught are back on the streets in a few days. One solution to this social problem would creating self sustaining prisons since money is the only problem.
The low cut budget of prisons/jails is a social problem because it’s releasing all kind of offenders into society. For starters, most ex cons will reoffend. Second, unemployment will increase due to the difficulty of finding jobs because of their criminal history and so will taxes. Then we will be back to square one with the problem of over populated jails and prisons. In reality the early release is only going to create a bigger unbalance in our community. The solution to this issue is to come up with a better system on how the states budget should be distributed and also new law proposals that instead of punishing small crimes with unnecessary jail/prison time to give offenders community service or something that contributes to the state.
By reading Sharon's blog post, I definitely agree with where she is coming from. I agree with her because inmates who do have that luxury to only serving up to 10% of their jail time, can walk their way back into society and reenact their crimes once again. What stood out to me the most about this blog entry was how she incorporated functionalist Robert Merton into the social problem.
As for my thoughts towards this topic, I think it is unfair that these inmates are let out earlier then their release dates. This is a serious problem for society because it gives the permission to an inmate to go back into society, and continue their crimes that they were committing in the first place.
A conflict theorist with this social problem would say that the jail systems and the government are the ones who are at fault with the early release of inmates. The resources that are being offered in the jail systems, are not being used wisely, therefore, the issue with overcrowding, lack of resources and space, tend to become a huge problem. Being wise about resources and jail space, is something that the government needs to be more aware about.
The solution that Sharon proposed is a great idea. Back up housing sounds like an idea that can definitely be a reality for these inmates, until they are ready for society itself. A solution that I came up with is that each inmate should have a sponsor that he/she is working with in order to make them better for society. These sponsors can set up small housing units for each inmate while being able to reach them at any point in time. Sponsors can set up local jobs for the inmates, such a janitorial staff, a clean up crew, or even cooking. These ideas can go a long way for a troubled inmate. Natalia R.
According to Yessica C. Early inmate release has created a big controversy even among the prisoners. Relative to the crimes that each prisoner is in jail and serving time for, which prisoner disserves the right to a short sentence or be early release just because there is an overcrowdings in the prison system. Society views this as a major problem, with how our prison system is allowing for early release of inmates. This is causing civilians to suggest the death penalty to prisoners that have a life sentence, and for prison to make up for the overcrowding and the stopping of early release of inmates.Like Emile Durkeim a funtionalist would suggest values ,competition, success, and integrated system as a form to revalue, the importance of human value. The release of early inmates would teach the prisoners, the great value of life, and how important it is to indorse, the value of freedom. I propose all early release inmates should be under heavy probation, for four years and prove that they are a good product to society. And provide all types of program accessible to them. MIGUEL P.
According to Yessica C. Early inmate release has created a big controversy even among the prisoners. Relative to the crimes that each prisoner is in jail and serving time for, which prisoner disserves the right to a short sentence or be early release just because there is an overcrowdings in the prison system. Society views this as a major problem, with how our prison system is allowing for early release of inmates. This is causing civilians to suggest the death penalty to prisoners that have a life sentence, and for prison to make up for the overcrowding and the stopping of early release of inmates.Like Emile Durkeim a funtionalist would suggest values ,competition, success, and integrated system as a form to revalue, the importance of human value. The release of early inmates would teach the prisoners, the great value of life, and how important it is to indorse, the value of freedom. I propose all early release inmates should be under heavy probation, for four years and prove that they are a good product to society. And provide all types of program accessible to them. MIGUEL P.
After reading Matthew's blog, I agree with him when he says that the cal state prison system has drained the financial budget, because it has. Los Angeles is one of the most over populated places in the United States. I dont really understand when he says "Mickey Mouse" crimes but I'm guessing that means inmates who have not committed severe crimes. He is right when he says that inmates cant be incarcerated because of the large monetary cost to the government. I also agree with different solutions such as a new revised budget or a different type of justice system which should help out the overpopulated prisons and come up with different sentences for the inmates. I remember in class we talked about why we cant move some of the inmates to different states. We cant do this because different states have different laws and if you move an inmate who committed a crime that happens to be legal in another state then its not fair to the inmate because you're holding them in prison for no reason.
In response to Micaela C’s blog post on the early release of inmates I agree in all aspects with what she had to say. The part that stood out to me the most in her response was her solution. Instead of blatantly dumping inmates out into the streets, I believe with her that there should be more programs out that that help the inmates get back into society and have guidance after they leave jail. My own thoughts on the early release of the inmates are that releasing inmates early from jail only causes more problems to society. Jail sentences become less impactful if they are cut into half. Like Micaela said, this problem touches on all 4 aspects of a social problem. It hits on step one of a social problem the most, as it affects the family and friends of the inmate being release early and on a society level, because of the number of inmates being released has a huge effect on society and how they act after being released.
From a functionalist perspective, they might view the problem as a dent to the system known as society. They view jails as an integral part of society that serves as punishment to the people that violate laws. Releasing inmates early lessens the punishment to the people that violate these laws and jail sentences don’t seem as severe as they are suppose to be.
As I stated earlier, I believe Micaela’s proposed solution is the perfect one. It is a very realistic solution that is very do-able. A proposed solution I have to the problem of early releasing inmates is to simply for the government to hold society’s safety a priority in there budget planning. Jails should receive more money to help keep these inmates in jails for the duration of their sentence. We live in a very populated state, so it only makes sense to have crime and for some of our money to go into making us feel safe as a society.
In response to Micaela C I agree with everything she had to say on the early release of prison inmates.’ One example, is when prison inmates’ returns to society, it can be a positive or negative opportunity for him or her. The prison inmates will either return to crime again or commit murder, theft, a violent or sexual act etc. Or will prove to them or to society that they are not those criminals anymore. However, society looks at what they have done and the early release of prison inmates is very frightful and scary. What stood out to me about her argument is how she hit the points of what a conflict theorist would say. A conflict theorist is about the inequality of a social group that stem from class differences, differing resources, and multiple groups fighting to gain power. She uses the example, “public entities and private entities” and “inmates and non offenders” for unequal distribution of resources. For me, the early release of inmates is a bad idea to jail sentences. This means the terms they serve on account for severe crimes is reduced. With reduced jail sentences, then this means that justice wasn’t served completely and minimizes the impact of what crimes they committed and future inmates who break the law. From an interactionist’s perspective, they look at the micro level approach. They look at the day-to-day interactions between people such as prison inmates facing the general population and public figures and the non-offenders facing society and their families. When prison inmates return to society they will face of what they have done to people such as committing a crime on a daily basis. This day-to-day interaction between them and the general population can become hostile and can lead to alienation for prison inmates. I believe that Micaela’s solution is realistic and feasible. For me, the solution would be separating the violent offenders who committed serious crimes as opposed to non – violent offenders who committed less severe crimes. In other words sending people who have misdemeanors to the county jail because his or her crime is not consistent with a serious felony such as arm robbery, murder, or a violent action towards someone. Therefore, their prison sentence is less severe. Also, they won’t be associated with more hardened criminals who deserve to live in prison to live out there long term life sentence for a serious crime. Alfred R.
By reading sharon's blog post. I chose to comment on it because i agree with what she had to say. The points that stood out the most were the thought of them coming back in to society. because they are thrown back and most of the time they are unstable with out any drive to get back to acceptable standards laid out by society. The only logical solution i can think of is if we wouldn't put money over the safety of the public. it would keep alot of criminals in jail where they should be.
In response to Devin S., I disagree with the comment because some people are out in jail for certain laws that do not affect other individuals but themselves. What stood out to me about Devin’s comment was that even though I don’t agree with the overall point of view, I partially agree with the reasoning of how some of the criminals being released will go back to their olds ways. I chose to comment on Devin’s response because I felt it was only one sided and my response would complete the argument. I think jails have been created to keep criminals out of the streets but some of the laws our government view as criminal defenses should not be labeled in particular categories as they are because that is what is creating the problem. A conflict theorist would say that some of the laws the government has created make it a struggle for inmates because they have been mislabeled with the crime they have committed. A conflict theorist would view this argument as a social problem because the budget for inmates needs to be decreased and if we keep all labeled “criminals” in jails we need to use more government money to create as well as maintain jails. This subject will also be viewed as a social problem because a lot of inmates are the sole provider for their family and they are being put in jail for breaking decriminalised laws. A conflict theorist would look at the individuals who get thrown in jail for committing a felony for driving with a suspended license due to unpaid tickets. I think Kevin's solution to the problem is one sided and even though it is realistic, making more jails would only create a bigger debt. I feel a solution to the social problem would be to change particular crimes to infractions. My proposal would be realistic and would benefit a lot of individuals who have committed small crimes that only affect themselves like driving without a license or being caught smoking weed in your backyard just because you don't have a medical license.
15 comments:
Because of budget cuts, inmates in L.A. County who show no history of violence are being released early, and this negatively affects our society because in rare cases, some released inmates are continuing to commit crimes, sometimes worse crimes than they were originally put in jail for. This not only becomes a major problem for our police department, but it also threatens our sense of security in the community. A functionalist could see this as beneficial to our society because it is balancing out our prisons in order for our society as whole to work more effectively. Released inmates are then able to restart their lives and contribute to other aspects of society.
The budget cuts could signify a decline in the economy, and since crime becomes more prevalent in communities with lower income, I could only see the early release of inmates as a temporary solution to the social problem as criminal activity begins to rise. I chose this topic because I personally know someone who has been to LA county jail and was let out early because of the overcrowding. One obvious solution to this problem would be to build more jails, but that requires expanding the budget instead of cutting it and our state only has so much money to distribute.
I really see the early release of inmates to be showing how much we care about the public's safety.Even if these inmates commit small felonies. Its basically the government releasing evil back in to society. So it ends up being a social problem because the inmates they forget the proper way to act in society. in reality it is a stupid domino effect = getting out early going back a month later. i know its a rookie response but i tried:)
The early release of prison inmates due to severe budget cuts in LA County poses a social problem on many levels. Using Herbert Blumer’s model, all four elements that define a social problem were outlined in this article. On a micro level, an inmate facing early release can be a positive or negative opportunity for him or her to return to society. In the event that an inmate uses his release unproductively and commits more crime, he is affected on an individual level and consequently, his actions also affect society. The controversy and fear that many have at the thought of inmates being released early is that these offenders, non-violent or not will continue to participate in unlawful activity should they be released prematurely. These are the thoughts of many powerful groups in society including law enforcement, county officials, political figures, but most importantly citizens. This social problem will persist as long as the county faces such fiscal constraints and cannot implement better solutions. The solutions that have been proposed so far are many and none have actually addressed the matter at best.
From a conflict theorist perspective, this social problem would be due to the unequal distribution of resources, in this case between public entities and private entities or even inmates and non offenders. Being that the county is short of resources, a conflict theorist could argue that the federal government fails to allocate resources accordingly, particularly its taxpayer’s dollars in a such a way that would allow for more financial leverage to address the problems happening nationwide in county jails. Instead, one could speculate that the government favors private entities, using government resources to aid private interests instead of public interests. On a more basic level, a conflict theorist would argue that there is an unequal distribution of resources amongst the masses with offenders receiving the shorter end of the stick and therefore finding themselves in county prisons. Had they and their families been giving the same equal opportunity financially as non offenders, they may have been able to avoid jail entirely and integrate into society more productively, although this argument has its flaws.
I feel that there should be more discussions about rehabilitation and post-incarceration programs that can help individuals integrate back into society. Statistics show that many first time offenders are likely to return to jail a second time and I believe that this is due to the stigma of jail time and the difficulties that prior offenders have when attempting to return to society. Not only would programs like these be less costly than it would to house inmates, it would positively affect both the individual and society in the long run. Furthermore, I feel that a program like this would receive much support from the community in forms of volunteer work and sponsorship. If this were to fail too, counties should reform their house arrest and ankle monitor programs because this too would be less costly than housing inmates.
1. underlying problem is the bigger effect that happens when you let inmates out before their full sentence. Since they committed a crime and got off early are they more likely to commit the same or worse crime again? This is a social problem, everyone is affected by it. Inmates are suffering due to overcrowding but they are in jail for a reason and if those dangerous people get off early they might not take county jails seriously anymore. Communities become scared that so many inmates will be out before serving time for their crime, might cause panic.
2. Conflict theorist concentrate on the alienation caused by misplaced belief in the profit motive and by societies unequal power structure. The conflict theorist might add that the inmates now have a chance to regain meaning and power once let out of prison early due to budget crunches in jails. They believe that false values of profit and competition are what drives us to mistrust each other which leads to social problems. They see people starting to act as human commodities who sell each other off the social market place, and so with the inmates who have been taken off the social marketplace for a while and thrown back in might have a second chance and advancement to thrive in like without having to serve as another human commodity in today’s society.
3. I think that no matter what mistakes people do in like no one deserves to have to spend their nights on a roof of a jail. One solution I strongly believe in is to spend more money helping, rehabilitating people rather than locking them away for long periods of time and expecting them to be a working member of society when they get out. That is asking too much without helping them.
The early release of prisoners in the Los Angeles county jail system has been an on going problem for several years. Due to budget cuts, several inmates have been appointed to only serve 10% of there sentence and enter the same society they were once excused from. These inmates sometimes go back to their same ways and commit crimes in the same society they have already turned their back on. Many of these inmates receive no rehabilitation and learn nothing from their mistakes; they come back and sometimes remain at a low social economic level and have no support or means to reenter society.
The functionalist Robert Merton best explained this through his theory of Differential Access, also called Anomie Theory. Many of these inmates do not have something to fall back on nor have means to attain the goals they want. Merton explains that everyone in society can have the same goals but not all have the same means of getting them. These people who he calls innovators sometimes engage in criminal activity since they have no other means of access.
I believe that the early release is a huge problem, which should be diverted with another idea. As I explained through Merton’s approach, many of these people being released could easily go back to their old ways, due to their position in society. If crime isn’t already bad, early release is the complete downfall. I feel that the government or people in charge of these correction departments should find the means to build a backup housing instead of letting them on early release. These inmates shouldn’t be allowed anywhere around the public until they are mentally stable for interaction due to the fact that since they’ve been on the inside long enough, they wont know the right way to act or be civilized when it comes to the community. Once stable enough for interaction, society as a whole will be able to see the light sort of speak on this situation.
The growing population of inmate in the california state prison system has drained the financial budget. Unfortunately the only remedy for this situation is to reduce overcrowding first. The drying budget now allows the criminals who commit "mickey mouse" crimes to leave jail earlier than ever before. The early release of inmates is a social problem in our society today because it has four of the features associated with a social problem. The early release of inmates contributes to social and individual damage by promoting the tolerance of crimes. Instead of being released for good behavior the state is now obligated to release criminals back into the population. Secondly, wave of releases can also affect a number of organizations such as the local police department who has to deal with second offenders like the rapist mentioned in the blog. Another problem that is making the release of criminals persistent is the budget. The reason why inmates cannot be incarcerated is because of the large monetary cost to our government. This is one of the reason early release is a social problem. There are various solutions to fix this problem such as a new revised budget or a different justice system but our society has yet to act upon these proposed answers. This is the last characteristic of a social problem. Using a functionalist's perspective the objective is to understand what is wrong with the release of prisoners that is creating a dysfunction within society. I chose this social problem because it has affected my neighborhood. Around my area there is a disturbingly healthy homeless population that commit crimes and most that get caught are back on the streets in a few days. One solution to this social problem would creating self sustaining prisons since money is the only problem.
The low cut budget of prisons/jails is a social problem because it’s releasing all kind of offenders into society. For starters, most ex cons will reoffend. Second, unemployment will increase due to the difficulty of finding jobs because of their criminal history and so will taxes. Then we will be back to square one with the problem of over populated jails and prisons. In reality the early release is only going to create a bigger unbalance in our community. The solution to this issue is to come up with a better system on how the states budget should be distributed and also new law proposals that instead of punishing small crimes with unnecessary jail/prison time to give offenders community service or something that contributes to the state.
By reading Sharon's blog post, I definitely agree with where she is coming from. I agree with her because
inmates who do have that luxury to only serving up to 10% of their jail time, can walk their way back into society and reenact their crimes once again. What stood out to me the most about this blog entry was how she incorporated functionalist Robert Merton into the social problem.
As for my thoughts towards this topic, I think it is unfair that these inmates are let out earlier then their release dates. This is a serious problem for society because it gives the permission to an inmate to go back into society, and continue their crimes that they were committing in the first place.
A conflict theorist with this social problem would say that the jail systems and the government are the ones who are at fault with the early release of inmates. The resources that are being offered in the jail systems, are not being used wisely, therefore, the issue with overcrowding, lack of resources and space, tend to become a huge problem. Being wise about resources and jail space, is something that the government needs to be more aware about.
The solution that Sharon proposed is a great idea. Back up housing sounds like an idea that can definitely be a reality for these inmates, until they are ready for society itself. A solution that I came up with is that each inmate should have a sponsor that he/she is working with in order to make them better for society. These sponsors can set up small housing units for each inmate while being able to reach them at any point in time. Sponsors can set up local jobs for the inmates, such a janitorial staff, a clean up crew, or even cooking. These ideas can go a long way for a troubled inmate.
Natalia R.
According to Yessica C.
Early inmate release has created a big controversy even among the prisoners. Relative to the crimes that each prisoner is in jail and serving time for, which prisoner disserves the right to a short sentence or be early release just because there is an overcrowdings in the prison system. Society views this as a major problem, with how our prison system is allowing for early release of inmates. This is causing civilians to suggest the death penalty to prisoners that have a life sentence, and for prison to make up for the overcrowding and the stopping of early release of inmates.Like Emile Durkeim a funtionalist would suggest values ,competition, success, and integrated system as a form to revalue, the importance of human value. The release of early inmates would teach the prisoners, the great value of life, and how important it is to indorse, the value of freedom. I propose all early release inmates should be under heavy probation, for four years and prove that they are a good product to society. And provide all types of program accessible to them.
MIGUEL P.
According to Yessica C.
Early inmate release has created a big controversy even among the prisoners. Relative to the crimes that each prisoner is in jail and serving time for, which prisoner disserves the right to a short sentence or be early release just because there is an overcrowdings in the prison system. Society views this as a major problem, with how our prison system is allowing for early release of inmates. This is causing civilians to suggest the death penalty to prisoners that have a life sentence, and for prison to make up for the overcrowding and the stopping of early release of inmates.Like Emile Durkeim a funtionalist would suggest values ,competition, success, and integrated system as a form to revalue, the importance of human value. The release of early inmates would teach the prisoners, the great value of life, and how important it is to indorse, the value of freedom. I propose all early release inmates should be under heavy probation, for four years and prove that they are a good product to society. And provide all types of program accessible to them.
MIGUEL P.
After reading Matthew's blog, I agree with him when he says that the cal state prison system has drained the financial budget, because it has. Los Angeles is one of the most over populated places in the United States. I dont really understand when he says "Mickey Mouse" crimes but I'm guessing that means inmates who have not committed severe crimes. He is right when he says that inmates cant be incarcerated because of the large monetary cost to the government. I also agree with different solutions such as a new revised budget or a different type of justice system which should help out the overpopulated prisons and come up with different sentences for the inmates. I remember in class we talked about why we cant move some of the inmates to different states. We cant do this because different states have different laws and if you move an inmate who committed a crime that happens to be legal in another state then its not fair to the inmate because you're holding them in prison for no reason.
In response to Micaela C’s blog post on the early release of inmates I agree in all aspects with what she had to say. The part that stood out to me the most in her response was her solution. Instead of blatantly dumping inmates out into the streets, I believe with her that there should be more programs out that that help the inmates get back into society and have guidance after they leave jail. My own thoughts on the early release of the inmates are that releasing inmates early from jail only causes more problems to society. Jail sentences become less impactful if they are cut into half. Like Micaela said, this problem touches on all 4 aspects of a social problem. It hits on step one of a social problem the most, as it affects the family and friends of the inmate being release early and on a society level, because of the number of inmates being released has a huge effect on society and how they act after being released.
From a functionalist perspective, they might view the problem as a dent to the system known as society. They view jails as an integral part of society that serves as punishment to the people that violate laws. Releasing inmates early lessens the punishment to the people that violate these laws and jail sentences don’t seem as severe as they are suppose to be.
As I stated earlier, I believe Micaela’s proposed solution is the perfect one. It is a very realistic solution that is very do-able. A proposed solution I have to the problem of early releasing inmates is to simply for the government to hold society’s safety a priority in there budget planning. Jails should receive more money to help keep these inmates in jails for the duration of their sentence. We live in a very populated state, so it only makes sense to have crime and for some of our money to go into making us feel safe as a society.
In response to Micaela C
I agree with everything she had to say on the early release of prison inmates.’ One example, is when prison inmates’ returns to society, it can be a positive or negative opportunity for him or her. The prison inmates will either return to crime again or commit murder, theft, a violent or sexual act etc. Or will prove to them or to society that they are not those criminals anymore. However, society looks at what they have done and the early release of prison inmates is very frightful and scary.
What stood out to me about her argument is how she hit the points of what a conflict theorist would say. A conflict theorist is about the inequality of a social group that stem from class differences, differing resources, and multiple groups fighting to gain power. She uses the example, “public entities and private entities” and “inmates and non offenders” for unequal distribution of resources.
For me, the early release of inmates is a bad idea to jail sentences. This means the terms they serve on account for severe crimes is reduced. With reduced jail sentences, then this means that justice wasn’t served completely and minimizes the impact of what crimes they committed and future inmates who break the law.
From an interactionist’s perspective, they look at the micro level approach. They look at the day-to-day interactions between people such as prison inmates facing the general population and public figures and the non-offenders facing society and their families. When prison inmates return to society they will face of what they have done to people such as committing a crime on a daily basis. This day-to-day interaction between them and the general population can become hostile and can lead to alienation for prison inmates.
I believe that Micaela’s solution is realistic and feasible. For me, the solution would be separating the violent offenders who committed serious crimes as opposed to non – violent offenders who committed less severe crimes. In other words sending people who have misdemeanors to the county jail because his or her crime is not consistent with a serious felony such as arm robbery, murder, or a violent action towards someone. Therefore, their prison sentence is less severe. Also, they won’t be associated with more hardened criminals who deserve to live in prison to live out there long term life sentence for a serious crime.
Alfred R.
By reading sharon's blog post. I chose to comment on it because i agree with what she had to say. The points that stood out the most were the thought of them coming back in to society. because they are thrown back and most of the time they are unstable with out any drive to get back to acceptable standards laid out by society. The only logical solution i can think of is if we wouldn't put money over the safety of the public. it would keep alot of criminals in jail where they should be.
In response to Devin S., I disagree with the comment because some people are out in jail for certain laws that do not affect other individuals but themselves. What stood out to me about Devin’s comment was that even though I don’t agree with the overall point of view, I partially agree with the reasoning of how some of the criminals being released will go back to their olds ways. I chose to comment on Devin’s response because I felt it was only one sided and my response would complete the argument. I think jails have been created to keep criminals out of the streets but some of the laws our government view as criminal defenses should not be labeled in particular categories as they are because that is what is creating the problem.
A conflict theorist would say that some of the laws the government has created make it a struggle for inmates because they have been mislabeled with the crime they have committed. A conflict theorist would view this argument as a social problem because the budget for inmates needs to be decreased and if we keep all labeled “criminals” in jails we need to use more government money to create as well as maintain jails. This subject will also be viewed as a social problem because a lot of inmates are the sole provider for their family and they are being put in jail for breaking decriminalised laws. A conflict theorist would look at the individuals who get thrown in jail for committing a felony for driving with a suspended license due to unpaid tickets.
I think Kevin's solution to the problem is one sided and even though it is realistic, making more jails would only create a bigger debt. I feel a solution to the social problem would be to change particular crimes to infractions. My proposal would be realistic and would benefit a lot of individuals who have committed small crimes that only affect themselves like driving without a license or being caught smoking weed in your backyard just because you don't have a medical license.
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