Rehabilitation Of Offenders In British Criminal Justice System Criminology Essay

Rehabilitation Of Offenders In British Criminal Justice System Criminology Essay The modern day criminal justice system in Britain is geared at the rehabilitation of offenders so the prison system is not only a means of incarceration to remove the offender from posing any danger to the public, but also a vehicle for preparing the offender for release and re-integration into society. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (which has been amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008) sets out the criteria for dealing with dangerous offenders and is important to the court for sentencing purposes. Dangerous offenders are identified by reference to the commission of specified violent and sexual offences set out in Schedule 15 of the Criminal Justice Act. That Act says that a court must determine whether there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm by the commission by him of further offences (Criminal Justice Act, S 229). In a recent case the Court of Appeal held that in determining dangerousness the court was not confined to considering only admissible evidence and could consider, as it did in the case, an alleged history of violence although the offender did not have convictions (R v Considine and Davis, 2007). Public protection was enhanced under the Criminal Justice Act by the introduction of a sentence of imprisonment for public protec tion which ensures that certain offenders are not released until the Parole Board determines that it is safe to do so. Problems arise because although the term dangerous offender is used in a general way it is in fact extremely difficult to predict who is dangerous as individuals vary in their behaviour. Not only do individuals vary as between each other so that there are differing degrees and shades of dangerousness but also, on an individual basis, the scope for carrying out dangerous and violent acts may vary on a daily basis. The notion of dangerousness is therefore extremely complex in itself and is capable of shifting on an individual basis whereby assessing and predicting future behaviour can be compared to attempting to mould soft sand into a permanent form. Human nature can be fundamentally and inherently unpredictable even among stable law abiding individuals, so when mentally unstable people are added to the melting pot, the decision as to assessing their dangerousness becomes more complex. In the UK, policies addressing those with dangerous and severe personality disorders (DSPD) has expanded considerably in recent years against a background that people with personality disorders should not be precluded from accessing services available to the rest of society. The DSPD programme deals with patients who have the most severe personality disorders. The DSPD programme offers an intensive multi disciplinary treatment programme based on individual need and comprising a cognitive-behavioural group-based intervention approach with opportunities for social interaction, in ward-based community meetings for example. Specific treatment includes offence-specific groups, such as sex offender group and violence reduction programmes. There has been a shift of policy from placing people with DSPD in prisons into secure hospitals with the National Health Service taking a more active role in providing treatment. A smaller number of medium secure and community places have been programmed, but so far the implementation has fallen behind target and the rehabilitation of DSPD patients back into the community remains extremely challenging. Evaluation of the DSPD programme is a work in progress and the impact of this policy on reoffending rates remains to be deduced. Persons assessed as having DSPD must be detained for treatment and discharge from detention is dependent upon a test of public safety as against favourable responsiveness to treatment. The link between dangerous behaviour and mental illness remains embedded in public opinion despite the attempts of mental health practitioners to highlight the absence of such a connection. A study of public opinion towards schizophrenia found that 70% of respondents view this group as dange rous (Crisp et al, 2001). Regarding treatment in the community following release from prison or hospital, Leung cites the European judgment of W v Sweden 1988, in which compulsory medication on discharge from hospital was not a deprivation of liberty and would not impinge Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Leung, 2002). Prison population has increased dramatically over the last fifteen years from circa 43,000 at the start of the 1990s (Home Office, 2005a) to in excess of 80,000 today. Although there are numerous reasons given to explain this startling increase, the focus of the public on dangerousness is one such explanation. In 2006 a review was conducted which claimed that prison was the best place for dangerous offenders as it stopped them from re-offending (Home Office, 2006a, p. 32). In 2007 with the creation of the Ministry of Justice the preceding approach to detaining dangerous offenders for a long time did not change. On the contrary, the newly formed Ministry reiterated that prison places are available to protect the public from dangerous offenders (Ministry of Justice, 2007, p 4). The 1990s preoccupation with public protection shaped the policies of protecting the public from the risk of serious harm arising from violent offenders and the aim of responding more effectively to the risk of paedophiles and the increase in child sex abuse (Grubin, 1998) Within the UK the population is generally extremely fearful of the level of violent and sexual crime (Ditton Farrell, 2002; Kemshall, 2003). The focus on this type of crime has been exacerbated by the media and even when crime rates are shown to be falling, the public perception is that they are living in a more violent society. Dangerousness has therefore been widely used to describe an increasing amount of offences and has been accompanied with an expectation of more punitive sentences to deal with the increase. Barbara Hudson asserts that there has been a significant shift from doing justice to controlling risks as the goal of law and order and penal strategies (Hudson, 2002; p 101). The modern society is characterised by the increasing scope and influence of the mass media. The far reaching scrutiny of the global mass media means that the negatives of modern society are reported and in terms of criminal justice, its failings can be exposed. Such exposure is accompanied by cynici sm towards expert opinions and the positive effects of legislation (Garland, 2000). Garland (2001, p178) has described the space between the community and prisons as having become more strictly enforced stating that Those offenders who are released into the community are subject to much tighter control than previously and conditions that continue to restrict their freedomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.the community into which they are released is actually a closely monitored terrain, a supervised space, lacking much of the liberty that one associates with normal life. Commenting on a Panorama programme broadcast in 2006, HM Chief Inspector of Probation said he thought the programme made a fair point when he said that general talk of close supervision and monitoring of offenders can give a misleading impression to the public of the extent of measures taken to prevent them (Bridges, 2007). It is clear in the early stages of this essay that there are different views on the nature and extent of monitoring to which dangerous offenders are subjected on their release from prison. Academics like Garland above consider the measures stringent, tantamount to imprisonment within the community, whereas the enforcers of those measures, probation workers, maintain that it is unhelpful to make it sound as if community service is prison in the community which it plainly is not (Bridges, 2007 p 4).

Jim Crow Laws in the United States Essay -- essays research papers

Imagine living in a world where you are harassed because of your skin color. Imagine knowing that is all you can look forward to. That is all your children and grandchildren can look forward to. Discrimination has been around for a long time, even before prehistory. Someone always thinks that they are better than others because of their skin color, sex, race, etc. Social classes and slavery are just two examples of discrimination. Even though our Constitution is based on freedom, our own Constitution allowed for discrimination of African Americans for around 100 years. It allowed White people to harass Black people. If we base our country on giving freedom to everybody, shouldn?t it include everyone? Discrimination against Blacks was called Jim Crow laws. The laws made sure Blacks and Whites had limited contact, and different lifestyles. They made sure Blacks stayed in different section of trains, restrooms, restaurants, buses, and much more. Jim Crow laws said that everything had t o be ?Separate but equal?. However, most places weren?t equal for blacks. Take a look into the past, and learn when the Jim Crow laws started, its life, and how it was challenged by courageous people. Jim Crow Laws started in the South after the civil war. The laws started around 1865. The term Jim Crow came to be because of a famous minstrel show in 1828 written by Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice about a Black farmer named Jim Crow, ?Klarman 5?. Jim Crow Laws are often confused with Black Codes. Jim Crow laws are different from Black Codes because the Black Codes started before Jim Crow Laws, and ended during the civil war. The Jim Crow Laws became extremely popular in the South and in the West, however, the North wasn?t that big into the Jim Crow Laws... ...y, this law only affected schools ?Brown versus Board of Education 1&2?. Jim Crows laws had a major impact on United States history. The Jim Crow Laws were preceded by the Black Codes. Because of the Jim Crow laws, Blacks were taught that they were inferior to Whites, and it was accepted fact that they were inferior. There were many cases to trying to stop the Jim Crow laws, and some of them were successful. Sadly, there were many cases in which the right thing weren?t done. However, during the 1960?s the Civil Rights movement came around, and a new wave of change was in the air. With John F. Kennedy as president, Martin Luther King Jr. as a prominent Civil Right Leader, a new chapter began in American history. The segregation was over, at least in the eyes of the law. Sadly, it took some more time for segregation to be really over in the heart and mind of people.

Psychology of Body Language

Navarro, Joe. (2008, January 1). Fast forces of attraction. Retrieved from http://www. psychologytoday. com/articles/200712/fast-forces-attraction | â€Å"Pitch correlates only loosely with height, but is closely tied to hormone levels—meaning it's a good indicator of fertility or dominance, as well as health and attractiveness. â€Å"In general, people with attractive voices have attractive faces,† says David Feinberg, a psychologist at McMaster University. † (pg. )| This is interesting because well one the use of the word correlation in this statement made me think of the correlation research method. Did they do actual research? And then I continued to where David Feinberg made his statement, and I believe this is untrue because again each person’s perception is different, I then continued to think of the saying â€Å"you have a face for radio† it just seemed contradictory. | | | â€Å"Accents affect our perceptions, as do speed and pitch. We jud ge fast talkers to be more educated, and those with varied inflection to be more interesting. Men prefer higher voices in women, and women like deeper voices in men (especially when ovulating or looking for a short-term relationship)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 1)| When the word â€Å"perception† came about I immediately thought of the Cognitive Prospective. | †¦Ã¢â‚¬ That's why our brains have set us up to draw instantaneous inferences from tiny nuances of behavior, what psychologists call â€Å"thin slices† of judgment. We form first impressions of another's attractiveness in a tenth of a second, generating a symphonic burst of desire in which everything from voice to wit plays a part†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( pg. ). | This section made me think that they used the Biological Prospective to explain the reasoning and help make it easier to see. | â€Å"People like people whom others find attractive. You might be inclined to think it's because socializing with (or sleeping with) the It girl enhances your own status in the crowd. † (pg. 2)| Right here is a great example of the Socio-cultural Prospective. It’s all about where you stand in our society today, and by this statement it is easy to see because it is very true. Its seems most evident in college students, seeing it firsthand. | â€Å"Most of us are drawn to those who hail from our own side of the tracks, and men and women are marrying within their social class much more than ever. † (pg. 2)| Again a perfect example of Sociocultural Prospective. | â€Å"†¦But ask 5,000 people and clear patterns emerge. Some traits have universal sex appeal because they're markers of good genes, health, and fertility: a fit body, clear skin, a symmetrical face with average-sized and -shaped features, and traits that mark sex hormones†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. )| Now this section exemplifies the Evolutionary Prospective because people, even unknowingly, look for these traits because they want they’re offspring to be the strongest the fittest, which made me think of Darwinism. ‘The strong will survive. † The stronger, healthier, smarter, and most attractive evolve, the stay alive and most importantly pass their genes on. | Summary: this article was quite interesting, it talked about all aspects of attraction and explained from various prospectives of psychology. It talked about physical attributes such as looks, voice, health ect, to the mental part of attraction. | |

Macbeth, By William Shakespeare - 1831 Words

Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare where the main character Macbeth makes his way from battle and comes across three witches that call him upon his future before it actually takes place. Later in the play Macbeth notices certain changes that start to come true just like the witches told him and tries to take advantage of what he was told and chases his ambition to be the new king. He achieves his goal to be crowned the new king by tragic events that will take place in the play and with the help of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth seizes power and will do his best to fulfil his goals by doing what he can to maintain his position by the help of supernatural elements in the play. The three supernatural elements used in the play Macbeth that†¦show more content†¦Macbeth fears that there will be consequences for his actions but he had chose to kill the king anyways for his own benefit after taking what the witched told him in consideration. Another example of the three witches motivat ing Macbeth’s actions is when they tell Banquo that his kids will be future kings but Banquo would not be king. For example, the third witch says, â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none: so, all hail Macbeth and Banquo!† (1.3.67). Banquo had a son named Fleance and Macbeth remembers that the witches had told Banquo that his children will be kings so, to stay in power to fulfil his own ambition, Macbeth decides to send three murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance, doing anything he can to maintain his position as the king. Macbeth believes that so far whatever the witches have told him has started to come true and therefore what may happen in the future will also come true so, by taking matters in his own hands Macbeth kills Banquo. The last example of the witches motivating Macbeth’s actions is when Macbeth realizes that what he has been told by the witches has impacted his future in an honorable way because he was able to snatch the crown from Du ncan and was made the Thane of Cawdor. As these actions became legitimate Macbeth become more motivated to see the witches again to find out his future. For example, Macbeth says, â€Å"I hear it by the way, but I