Punishments and Prisons

Goldie Spira
Criminal Justice 1010-508
Dr. Eric A. Heiser
11/22/2020
 Abstract

The purpose of this research is to delve into the topic of the juvenile system. Specifically,

the issues that were researched are the differences between how men and women are treated

in the juvenile system, the drug addiction problem in the juvenile system and the need to

readdress the rehabilitation process and programs that are offered for those who are

incarcerated. Prior to looking into the literature on these issues, it was important to provide a

brief portion of information on the foundations of U.S. law and the juvenile justice system.

The initial hypothesis was that there are a few aspects of the system that were preventing the

successful outcome upon the inmate’s release. The hope for researching more into this issue

is to come to some idea of how to improve the system. Upon looking at the literature, the

findings show an inequality in the services provided to men and women in juveniles and that

there is a need to address psychological traumas in treatment if improvement wants to be

seen within the juvenile system. Based on the provided research, it is advised that women

and men should receive differential services and the focus of their treatments should differ

from each other. The needs of men and women are different, therefore female prisons and

male prisons should not look the same. In addition to this, it is advised that treatment

programs also focus on any childhood traumas and/or coping skills on how to deal with life’s

stressors.
 Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience going in and out of

juveniles with no success or any feelings of hope that things will get better? With this thought in

mind, imagine being a little girl in her teenage years. To illustrate this, Alisa’s story will be

shared. It all started at the age of thirteen when Alisa began rebelling and stealing her dad’s car.

In the words of Alisa, “I then got put in juvenile. Two weeks after being on probation for that, I

stole another car… I was then placed in a treatment center which did nothing for me. After I got

released from there, I was still on probation. I then started smoking pot, drinking, fighting, and

skipping school. So, I continuously and gradually got into more trouble” (Alisa, 2011). After

hearing about one’s experience going in and out of juvenile, let’s discuss three main issues

within the issue of punishment through juvenile systems. The three points being discussed are

the differences between how men and women are treated in the juvenile system, the drug

addiction problem in the juvenile system and the need to readdress the rehabilitation process and

programs that are offered for those who are incarcerated.

Before we delve into the three points mentioned above, it is important to first discuss the

foundational aspects of the United States law and criminal justice. Understanding U.S. law and

how the criminal justice system works can be difficult, so breaking it down to fewer categories

can make it easier. The structure of the American criminal justice consists of three primary

components; those components are law enforcement, the courts, and the corrections

(criminaljustice.com, 2020). Within each of the three primary components, there are additional

levels with varying jurisdiction, including local, state, and federal levels. Regarding the law

enforcement branch of the United States criminal justice system, its purpose is to “serve the

public by promoting safety and order” (criminaljustice.com, 2020). Moving on to the courts

component of the United States criminal justice system, this portion consists of federal and state
level (criminaljustice.com, 2020). To understand the difference between both federal and state

levels, it can be best stated as, “State courts receive a broad jurisdiction that allows them to hear

cases regarding family disputes; broken contracts; traffic violations; and criminal activities, such

as assaults or robberies. In contrast, federal courts commonly hear cases in which the U.S. is a

legal party; cases dealing with federal law or Constitutional violations; and cases in specific

areas like bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law” (criminaljustice.com, 2020). Lastly,

“while law enforcement and the courts work to identify and intercept individuals involved in

criminal activity, the corrections system serves a variety of simultaneous functions, such as

keeping criminal populations separate, enacting punishments for wrongdoing, and promoting

rehabilitation of wrongdoers” (criminaljustice.com, 2020).

Now that the foundational components of the United States criminal justice system have

been discussed, let’s move on to the first point of how women and men are treated differently

within the juvenile system. Starting with how women are treated, it is founded and based upon

the male population and their needs. The American prison system was built with men in mind;

“The uniforms are made to fit male bodies, about 70 percent of the guards are men, the rules are

made to control male social structures and male violence” (Blakinger, 2019). Statistically, even

though the female prison population has grown twice as fast as the male prison population over

the past thirty-five years, about ninety percent of the incarcerated adults are men (Blakinger,

2019). This reality wasn’t brought into light in society until the year 2013, which is when the

Netflix show, “Orange is the New Black” aired on television. Throughout this show, it provides

viewers a look into the struggles that women in the prison system face (Blakinger, 2019).

While there is a noticeable inequality in the quality of services and needs offered among

women, education would benefit the juvenile justice system so that change can transpire. First,
women in the American criminal justice system don’t receive gender-specific services nor do the

prison programs target their needs to lower recidivism rates. In the words of Stephanie

Covington, PhD, co-director of the Center for Gender and Justice in La Jolla, California, “In fact,

in most jurisdictions, women are offered fewer programs than men, and the services provide little

recognition of the traumatic paths that led them into the criminal justice system” (Clark, 2009).

An example of how women are shown less care than men are in the criminal justice system is

shown in a parenting program that is offered at twenty-seven men’s prisons and two women’s

prisons in a state in the eastern United States. The disadvantage that women have at this

program, for example, is that women are only given audio tapes that allowed them to record

bedtime stories for their children whereas men are given video equipment and tapes to record

messages for their families (Clark, 2009). Covington later states that this is more than disparity

and that “it's a lack of care.” In order to improve services provided for women, “psychologists,

parole officers and prison employees need more education on how women in the criminal justice

system differ from men” (Clark, 2009).

Now that there is a better understanding of the unfair treatment that women experience

within the juvenile system, let’s now delve into the issue of drug addictions among the people

placed in the juvenile system. In the United States, the prison population is substantially

connected to drug-related offenses. It can be challenging to measure the exact rates of inmates

with substance use disorders (SUDs), but some research “shows that an estimated 65 percent of

the United States prison population has an active SUD” (NIDA, 2020). In addition, “another

twenty percent did not meet the official criteria for an SUD, but were under the influence of

drugs or alcohol at the time of their crime” (NIDA, 2020). In order to help correct the behavior

of using drugs, “decades of science show that providing comprehensive substance use treatment
to criminal offenders while incarcerated works, reducing both drug use and crime after an inmate

returns to the community” (NIDA, 2020). While in jail or prison, it is critical to receive treatment

to reduce “overall crime and other drug-related societal burdens” (NIDA, 2020). Examples of the

burdens that can be reduced are lost job productivity, family disintegration and a continual return

to jail or prison, which is known as recidivism. When inadequate treatment is offered to those

during their incarceration, what can transpire is the continuation of overdoses and deaths when

the inmates leave the prison system (NIDA, 2020). Some may ponder on why it is so critical to

offer adequate treatment to this population, and to simplify the answer, medication as treatment

for those with SUDs in the criminal justice system can “change their attitudes, beliefs, and

behaviors toward drug use; avoid relapse; and successfully remove themselves from a life of

substance use and crime” (NIDA, 2020). Based on the results of some research studies, it has

been shown that overdose deaths following incarceration were lower when inmates received

medications for their addiction (NIDA, 2020).

Upon viewing the statistics expressed above, it is now important to touch upon the

concern about the lack of quality in the rehabilitation programs in the juvenile justice system.

Typically, when someone is charged and placed into the juvenile system, there is some need for

mental health rehabilitation. In fact, at the midyear mark of the year 1998, sixteen percent of

State prisoners and seven percent of Federal inmates reported having a mental condition (NCBI,

2005). Later, in 2000, the statistics show that thirteen percent of State prison inmates (of the

seventy-nine percent of those with mental disorders) were receiving some type of regular

counseling or therapy from a trained professional. Additionally, approximately ten percent of all

inmates in State prisons were receiving psychotropic medication (NCBI, 2005). With these low

percentages of the number of people receiving prison-based substance abuse treatment, it is safe
to say that there is a need for change in this area surrounding the juvenile justice system. In a

study examining the treatment needs of Ohio offenders, conducted by Lo and Stephens, it was

discovered that “more than half were dependent on at least one substance, and ten percent were

dependent on at least two” (NCBI, 2005). In addition to substance abuse problems, prisons

themselves can be “violent, harsh, psychologically damaging environments; incarcerated people

live in an environment that is both depersonalizing and dehumanizing” (NCBI, 2005). While

these key factors can prevent the success of treatment for an inmate, there is also the sense of

hopelessness and powerlessness. To increase the likelihood of reaching one’s treatment goals

while incarcerated, “the consensus panel recommends that in-prison treatment also address the

trauma of the incarceration itself as well as a prison culture that conflicts with treatment goals”

(NCBI, 2005).

Now, let’s go back to the initial question that was asked; Have you ever wondered what it

would be like to experience going in and out of juveniles with no success or any feelings of hope

that things will get better? After reading through these statistics, it is likely that little to no people

receive feelings of hope that things will ever be better. Change needs to occur within the juvenile

justice system to instill hope. To illustrate the significance of this need, let’s finish with how

Alisa found that hope. In the words of Alisa, “My judge gave me too many chances. Finally, the

last time I was in there, she placed me in Division of Youth Services custody. I no longer had a

probation officer. I had a service coordinator. I was placed in juvenile [detention] until an

opening at a girl’s facility was open. A grand total of 7 months. From there, I went to a girls’

group in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. I could not leave there, until I completed the program. You had

to start as a level 1 and earn your level 4, which was really a blessing in disguise. Ever since my

first day there, my life has not been the same” (Alisa, 2011). Alisa was able to realize that it
wasn’t that she was just a wild child and that she wasn’t just fighting people because she was

mean. She concluded, “I was acting out because I was a child from a broken home, I was hurt

and lost, and I felt alone…I just needed to talk about everything that hurt me in my life and get it

off my chest” (Alisa, 2011). What Alisa is saying is that, in order to create change in the life of

an inmate, it is important to talk with a professional to process through one’s past traumas and

gain the coping skills one needs to deal with the struggles that life can throw one’s way.
 Works Cited
Alisa. (2011, October 19). Juvenile Justice System: Alisa's Story. Retrieved from JJIE:
https://jjie.org/2011/10/19/juvenile-justice-system-alisas-story/
Blakinger, K. (2019, October 28). Can We Build a Better Women's Prison? Retrieved from The
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2019/10/28/prisons-
jails-are-designed-men-can-we-build-better-womens-prison/?arc404=true
Clark, J. C. (2009, October). Inequality in Prison. Retrieved from American Psychological
Association: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/10/recidivism
criminaljustice.com. (2020). Guide to the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Retrieved from Criminal
Justice: https://www.criminaljustice.com/resources/guide-to-us-criminal-justice-
system/
NCBI. (2005). 9 Treatment Issues Specific to Prisons. Retrieved from National Center for
Biotechnology Information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64123/
NIDA. (2020, June 1). Criminal Justice DrugFacts. Retrieved from NIDA:
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/criminal-justice

Goldie’s ePortfolio: https://718spiragee.weebly.com/cj-1010.html

 Assignment reflection

This critical thinking assignment has been eye-opening. Before conducting the research, I

have thought that the juvenile system was not effective, but I did not know exactly the details of

what was affecting the success for the inmates to see positive change within themselves. Upon

delving into the literature on this matter, it is evident that my assumption is correct to some

degree; the juvenile system needs to address the areas where productive change in the lives of the

inmates is not taking place. In order to come to some agreement as to the protocol for all

juveniles to follow, more facts and data need to be investigated, such as whether there are any

state prisons that have seen successful outcomes and a decrease in recidivism. If there are any, a

more effective program/system can be created for all juveniles to consider and to be on the same

page. I believe that the conclusion that I came to makes sense based on the research I have found,

although the research is limited and needs to be further explored. My conclusion, I believe, is

supported by the information that was researched because it is revealing that there is a lack of

quality in the rehabilitation programs. A possible reason why the recidivism rates are high is due

to the lack of focus on the deeper mental health issues that led to one’s crime that led them to

juvenile. This topic has been very fun to research, so I will likely ask more questions to gain

more information regarding the three main issues that were discussed in this paper. Once I

completed my research for this assignment, I have gained more knowledge and it has definitely

sparked curiosity to learn more on these issues. I truly believe that when you know better, you do

better.