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A prison can be defined as protected and locked institution where juvenile and grown-up offenders are housed with punishments that vary from one year to life time. Such facilities hold the objective of accomplishing the verdict that the courts impose on the offenders and also of protecting the community and civil society by taking measures to prevent escapes. These facilities are also liable to provide programs and services that are important for taking care of the convicted population under their custody.
The issue of imprisonment has constantly been an intense experience for every individual found guilty of committing offenses. Sometimes the prisons have better aspects, and sometimes they are not as good as others. In few cases, they present a civilized and respectable programming system and concern for welfare and comfort of the offenders. However, the setting up of the prison has presented segregation from relations and society and the dehumanization (a certain component of imprisonment) as the significant features of the institution. The necessity and appropriateness of imprisonment is a debatable issue. Nevertheless, it is an undeniable fact that the situations due to which criminals and lawbreakers are incarcerated (put behind bars) and the conditions under which they go back to the society have an effect on all convicts and the social order (Mauer 613). Rehabilitation is the kind of penalty that has an aim to make changes happen in the causes of crime; be they related to the economy, private life, societal life, etc. Rehabilitation is frequently associated with treatments and actions by the community collectively. It works on the assumption that the crimes are not in the control of criminals and it is therefore required to carefully engineer the amendments in environment and people’s behavior involved in criminal activities (Macionis & Plummer). Thus, rehabilitation promotes the idea that the objective behind punishment must be the application of such treatment and training to the wrongdoer that may make him capable and efficient enough to return to the community and function as a responsible, law-abiding citizen. The question is whether the particular programs and treatments under rehabilitating process work or not. It is unfortunate that most of the rehabilitation programs are not successful due to their ineffectiveness. On the other hand, only a few offenders are effectively rehabilitated by reducing their criminal behavior.
I also believe prisons are necessary to keep the dangerous individuals inside and to let them not to involve in any felonious activity. Although this theory is criticized by many, I believe that it is smart of the law enforcement agencies to keep the dangerous individuals inside the lockups and to protect the society from their evils.
Works Cited
Mauer, M.. "Thinking About Prison and its Impact in the Twenty-First Century." Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 902 (2004): 607-618. Sentencing Project. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_osu_reckless.pdf>.
Macionis, John J., and Kenneth Plummer.Sociology: A Global Introduction. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.
