Cost Of Justice In The American Criminal System Criminology Essay

Cost Of Justice In The American Criminal System Criminology Essay This paper examines defines the concept of justice in the context of the American criminal justice system. It also evaluates the costs associated with criminal justice and the benefits that citizens experience as a result of state expenditures for the justice system by performing a literature on studies that have performed cost-benefit analysis on particular aspects of criminal justice. The paper showed that the cost of crime is escalating in the United States and some criminal justice policies were proven to be cost-effective while others have not. Introduction Justice is one of the dearly-held tenets of democracy. Philosophically, justice has been associated with moral right, on the grounds of rationality, law, religious, fairness, ethics, and equity (Morrison, 1995). Another popular definition of justice is giving to each what he or she is due (Morrison, 1995, p. 306). In this day and age, knowing what is due has been left to the divisions of criminal justice law enforcement, corrections, and the judiciary to decide. Ensuring that justice is served does not come without a price. The federal government shoulders several tangible and intangible costs of meeting the objectives of criminal justice, restraining known, convicted, violent, and repeat criminals (The New Citizenship Project, 1996, p. i). This paper seeks to address how much justice costs in America in terms of the expenditures of the criminal justice system and analyzes the benefits of investment on justice. A cost-benefit analysis of criminal justice calculates tangible and intangible or social costs as well as social benefits of prisons. Social costs refer to burdens on society in addition to the resources it takes to run a prison system (Piehl, Bert, DiIulio, 1999). Aside from operational expenses of building prisons and running them, the costs of justice should also include variables such as lost labor-market productivity of inmates, the loss to families of having a member away from home, and the loss to communities of having a resident removed (Piehl, Bert, DiIulio, 1999). Benefits include a) incapacitation of offenders; and b) crime deterrence or prevention. Costs of Crime According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were approximately 7.3 million individuals incarcerated, on probation, or on parole in the federal corrections system all throughout the United States. This means that out of every 31 U.S. adults, 1 of them is committed to the prison system (Office of Justice Programs, 2010). For the year 2006, operating the three divisions of criminal justice law enforcement, corrections, and the judiciary incurred a total cost of $214 billion (Office of Justice Programs, 2010). Expenditures have steadily risen since 1986 and for year 2006 alone, the increase was 5.1 percent compared to the previous year. In terms of social costs, a report from the National Institute of Justice (as cited in Piehl, Bert, DiIulio, 1999) presents an outlook on the cost of crime with respect to victimization. The figures presented in Table 1 are based on average compensations awarded by the jury to victims of particular crimes. Rape entails the highest compesation at $98,325 in every victim while drug sales entails compensation of $5. Table 1. Estimates of Social Costs of Crime Crime Social Cost (USD) Rape 98,327 Assault 10, 624 Robbery 8,830 Motoe vehicle theft 3,429 Burglary 1,271 Fraud, forgery, petty thefy 1,271 Drug Sale 5 A more comprehensive study by Moreover, Cohen, Miller, and Rossman in 1994 (as cited in Cohen, 2000) tried to measure the costs of the criminal justice system by comparing costs of crime calculted in several studies. They approximate the cost of justice on a per-crime basis as of year 1987 to be: $5,925 (murder), $2,050 (rape), $1,125 (robbery), and $1,225 (aggravated assault). Another study conducted by Miller, Cohen, and Wiersema in 1996 (as cited in Cohen, 2000) calculated the tangible costs of crime that were derived from surveys of victims. The study showed that cost estimations of private researchers are comparatively higher than the estimates calculated by government agencies. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the average cost of a rape is $234. Miller, Cohen, and Wiersema estimated the tangible cost for rape per victim at $5,100 broken down into $2,200 for lost productivity plus $2,200 for mental health care. Cost-benefit analysis of crime prevention After estimating the costs of crime, a cost-benefit analysis proceeds by comparing cost with the benefits of criminal justice programs measured primarily in terms of the crime prevented. There have been a few studies that performed a cost-benefit analysis of several criminal justice programs. One study was made by Greenwood and his colleagues (1994) to assess what incarceration policies related to the three-strikes rule debate in California would be the most cost-effective. The study calculated that the cost per serious crime prevented amounted to $11,800 for the third violent offense committed and $16,300 for the third felony offense committed. The study concluded through the figures that focusing on the most violent offenders gives the most justice (in terms of cost per crime prevented) out of the taxpayers money. Another criminal justice policy that has been studied for cost-effectiveness is the practice of incarcerating drug offenders, whose population take up most of the space in the prison systems all over the U.S. It has been contended that the state spends too much on the prison beds, facilities, and expenditures for incarcerated drug offenders when the return in terms of compensation is only $5 per drug sale (Piehl, Bert, DiIulio, 1999). In the study conducted by Piehl, Bert, DiIulio (1999), they concluded that the policy of admitting so many drug offenders into U.S. jails is not a cost-effective means of crime prevention. The fact is, the imprisonment of a drug dealer or seller does not deter crime. That jailed seller is simply replaced by another drug seller. Ultimately, the costs shouldered by the state to incarcerate drug dealers compared to the degree of crime prevented suggests that it is not cost-effective. Experts suggest that prison beds occupied by drug offenders instead be reserved to violent and high-cost property crime offenders. Conclusion Studies have shown that crimes indeed pay. The cost of justice, as this paper has stated, is increasing in the U.S. Crime prevention entails gigantic expenses shouldered by the state through taxpayers money. Studies that have conducted cost-benefit analysis show that some criminal justice programs are cost-effective while others are not. Until now, obtaining empirical evidence to measure the cost-effectiveness of the justice system has been difficult, but the fact that such efforts are being are crucial to the development of criminal justice programs that will enhance the delivery of justice in the country.

Life Choices and Consequences Essay

My Grandfather always said to me â€Å" s3 wo si as3 Ny3 wo d3 a 3h) na wo tafiri† –â€Å"Even if you don’t like the taste in your mouth that is where you will always lick† The diversity of life impinges on us to make a choice in every single decision. Whatever you have done in your life and whatever you will do is simple a bundle of choices you have made or will make. And every single one of these choices serves as a foundation for another choice. But the more fascinating thing about choices is that every single one of our choices reduces the probability of options that are readily available to us . And this is extremely important because the surprising number of us do not realized that all that we are and everything we have are the results of choices . We are in control of our choices and thus our life’s direction and destiny. Our choices and our life go hand in hand . the life you are living is simply a cumulative series of choices you have made. We have gotten used to making choices that we scarcely think of it as the means that unfolds our life before our eyes. Choices are about yielding and resisting. They are about reflections and impulsiveness. They are about the present and future and it is a yes and no affair and a now later business but whatever it is the laws of living demands that we make one in every circumstance in other to live. But every single choice we make comes along with a shadow . This shadow is generally referred as consequence . It is very easy in the choice making decision to conjure our best planning skills to navigate the maze of options that covers the path to wherever we want to go and whatever we want to achieve. However, we scarcely make provisions for dealing with the consequences of our choices . And so consequences of our choices have become more or less a headache in society. More often than not, the consequences of our choices open our eyes to the glitter of all the other options we pushed aside. And then we start to think that the choices we made were poor ones . Sometimes we feel like turning back the clock and rewinding the tape in other to make a better choice. Truth is, it does not matter how hard or how badly you want to change the choice. A choice made is a choice made. The best that you can do about it is to develop a positive attitude about it and face the consequences. The bottom line is this: regardless of the consequences that we are going through now, we are all trying to accomplish increasingly more out of the choices we made with increasingly less resources –whether these resources are money, time, focus or energy. The challenge is not that we do not make rational choices, rather, our refusal to focus and work hard at the choices we have made, make those options we left behind glitter like the twinkling stars. Instead of constantly looking over your shoulder at the glittering options you left behind, your best bet is to live positively with your choices and look towards the future . Looking back means you are dwelling on the past instead of living in the present and being stuck in the past does not help you make any better choices in the future. We can all look at our circumstances and point out instances where different choices could have given us a different way of life . But it only sounds easy in words. In action, they are difficult . For the surprising majority of us, when the consequences of our choices rear its ugly head, we respond in a very predictable way. We turn in the opposite direction and try to outrun it . The only problem is that, before long the consequences catches up with us. And so instead of outrunning the consequences, we actually run into it , maximizing our exposure to it. Or like we say,† Challenges and problems compound when we ignore them , and we end up being exposed to something longer and or worse than what might have been. Our best bet is to wait for the consequences to come right at us and as it arrives, we must charge directly into them. By charging at the consequences of our choices, we run straight through it, which minimizes the amount of negative effect we experience . And why not, in life most of the brilliant options are about doing the hard things you know you should do, even when you do not feel like doing them, but doing as early on as possible. As long as we live, we are going to make a lot of choices. And if we do not want negative consequences, then we have to think about and evaluate our choices differently than we have been doing. It is about giving a lot of forethought to the consequences of the choices we are faced with. And it is about being ready to deal positively with whatever consequences that materializes out of the choices we make.

SolutionstoBullying

GE problem for parents and teachers, because stopping bullying is a hard task and they often don't know t he best ways to go about it. There are three key elements to stopping bullying: educating the bullies, Punic sighing the bullies, and protecting the victim. The reason that bullies must be educated is that many of them are not aware of exactly how much they are hurting their victim.Most bullies wouldn't want their victim to become as sushi deal as they have made them. Bullying can come in all sorts Of forms and one that affects girls in particular I s a group of scalded friends excluding them from everything. In cases like these if the bullies understood t hat they had become bullies picking on a victim, they may think twice. The second way to deal with the bullies is to punish them. This could be the o only thing that works for incredibly bad people, because they will only care when it begins to affect the m.Bullying often isn't taken recourse enough, for example, if you punched a person in the middle of the s tree you would probably be arrested, but if it happens in a case of bullying, the perpetrator might only get a detention. The final main way to deal with bullying involves working with the victim. Victim ms of bullying need to their self worth so that they don't just let people bully them. All in all, there is no one is Engle solution for bullying, but it's not good enough to ignore it just because it's hard to deal with. But by SSI nag a combination of these three tactics we maybe able to stop it.

Opening Sequences of Frankenstein by James Whale and...

Opening Sequences of Frankenstein by James Whale and Kenneth Branagh Frankenstein Compare the opening sequences of Mary Shelleys novel Frankenstein filmed by James Whale (1931) and Kenneth Branagh (1994). Describe and account for the major differences and similarities between the versions. The gothic horror novel, Frankenstein, was written by Mary Shelley during the Industrial Revolution, which was a period of dramatic change. It was a groundbreaking and controversial novel, exploring subjects previously considered taboo and even more shocking was that this was done by a female author. Frankenstein is a very complex novel illustrating the disastrous consequences when man messes with nature. It is about a young†¦show more content†¦Frankenstein showed tenderness to his creation but it was soon obvious that he had made a mistake and created a horrible creature. He fled the laboratory and on his return found the monster gone. Victor spent the next few months being nursed back to health from a nervous fever by his friend, Clerval. When he returned home he lea rned of his brothers death. He caught sight of his creation and realised that it was responsible for his brothers murder but let his family friend, Justine, carry the blame and was ridden with guilt when she was hanged for the murder. He left his house and went searching the Alpine valleys for his creation. When Frankenstein found the monster it told him of what had happened after it had left Frankensteins laboratory. He had gone to the village where frightened villagers attacked him. Eventually he found refuge in a hovel next to the house of the De Lacey family, which consisted of a blind man and his two children. By observing and listening to the De Lacey family he learnt to speak and read. He felt compassion for the family and did anonymous chores for them. Longing for kindness and compassion, he reveals himself to them and talks to the blind man but when his children return home, terrified by such a monster, they drive it away in horror. Lonely and neglected the monster becomes aggressive and vowsShow MoreRelatedA Comparison of Film Techniques of Two Film Versions of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1861 Words   |  8 PagesA Comparison of Film Techniques of Two Film Versions of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Mary Shelley wrote her novel Frankenstein when she was just a young girl of nineteen. She wrote it in 1816, when she went on holiday with her friend, Byron. Byron was already a famous poet, and it was him who suggested that whilst they were away, they should both write a ghost story. At the time it was just a way of passing time and having fun for Mary Shelley, but little did she know thatRead MoreThe Opening Sequences of James Whales 1931 Frankenstein and the Opening sequences of the 1994 film Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1882 Words   |  8 PagesThe Opening Sequences of James Whales 1931 Frankenstein and the Opening sequences of the 1994 film Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Mary Shelley, creator and author of Frankenstein. Mother to thousands of different versions of the original text, first put pen to paper in 1818. Thousands of directors have since embarked upon producing their versions of Frankenstein. James Whale. Kenneth Branagh. A mere two directors to produce their versions of the gothic horror taleRead MoreMary Shelleys Frankenstein Different Film Techniques Essay1849 Words   |  8 PagesMary Shelleys Frankenstein Different Film Techniques Compare and contrast the way in which the directors of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1994) and Frankenstein (1931) use different film techniques to build up atmosphere in their opening sequences: The two films I will be addressing in this essay are Kenneth Branaghs and James Whales versions of Frankenstein, a horror novel written by Mary Shelley in 1816, when the author was 19. The incentive for it was