Evaluating the Obsoleteness of Prisons in Australian Criminal Justice

This essay critically examines the concept of whether jails and prisons are obsolete, specifically within the context of the Australian criminal justice system. Drawing upon Angela Davis's perspective, the essay evaluates the impact of incarceration on inmates, considering issues such as forced labor, sexual harassment, and drug use within prisons. It analyzes the importance of imprisonment in Australia, assessing its role in maintaining social order and punishing offenders. The essay explores the increasing prison population in Australia, as well as the potential for discrimination within the system, and the arguments for and against the effectiveness of imprisonment. It also considers the effects of incarceration on prisoners' mental health, family networks, and the broader community, referencing studies and statistics to support its arguments. Ultimately, the essay concludes by highlighting the complex impacts of imprisonment and its continuing relevance in the Australian context.

PERSUASIVE
ARGUMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
CRITERIA 1....................................................................................................................................1
CRITERIA 2....................................................................................................................................1
CRITERIA 3 ...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Legal process, justice, and punishment play a major role in the criminal process and
activities. The report will critically evaluate Jails and Prisons are obsolete. They are designed to
break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo- obedient to our keepers, but
dangerous to each other- Angela Davis. Moreover, it will analyse the importance of imprisoning
offenders in Australian Criminal justice. It will evaluate the Impact of Incarceration in inmates in
which the criminals sometimes become aggressive because of internal punishments' system like,
forced labour, sexual harassment and forced drug which impacts the stability of society. Thus, the
report will critically examine the view of jails and prisons are obsolete which will evaluate that
imprisoning individual is a correct way of giving justice or not.
CRITERIA 1
According to the views of Angela, 2010, jails and prisons are obsolete, as they are
designed to break the emotions of individuals to turn the prisoner population into specimen in
zoo where prisoners are obedient to their jailers but dangerous to each other. This directly states
that the system of imprisoning criminals is old is the reason of aggression among criminals.
Therefore, the justice of court should analyse different ways to punish the criminal instead of
prisoning them. The punishing policy becomes old and the criminals are aware of this and that is
why are not even scared of getting punished. For instance, the criminals can be sent for
rehabilitation in which offender will be able to learn control which can help the court in
preventing crimes and establishing safety. Imprisonment is been heading towards dangerous
situation in jails like the people are discriminated and forced to work as slave labour because of
their poor back ground. However, in contrary, Lee and et.al., (2015), Has stated that, the
imprisonment has worked since ages and is the best way of punishing individual involved in
crime activities. Imprisoning criminals assist the country in removing threat, ensuring safety,
teaching lesson, and establishing social welfare by setting an example for society and people
who are involved in criminal activities. It is done by the court to set the standards for the people
who are even thinking to break the regulation implemented by government to secure the living
rights of society. In imprisonment prisoners are not bounded but jailers make them learn values
which are necessary to be followed in outside world.
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CRITERIA 2
It is necessary to plan imprisonment policies and regulations for the individuals who are
found breaking legal and social rules. Therefore, it is same with Australians, because there are
major number of prisoners in Australia and further increasing continuously. The growth of
incarceration and offenders set a high level record in the country if compared to considerable
margin. According to Lee and et.al., (2015). Imprisoning the offenders still plays major role in
punishing the criminals as it set the standards for the society that no individual is allowed to
break the regulations which are made to protect human rights. Increasing criminal activities need
a decision which aims at establishing standard for the society that the justice system is trying to
maintain social welfare. In contrast, from past 10 years adult imprisonment is increasing
continuously in Australia which is generally based on discrimination such as, caste, sex, religion
and many more. The justice system of Australia believes that if the offenders are not punished on
time than it is possible that criminal can repeat its activity and can harm the stability of the
country. Further, the imprisonment rule is may be obsolete but it assists the Australian court in
maintaining stability and social welfare in the country. All the citizens believes that Court should
punish the offender in order to create threat and fear among all the individuals who are even
planning crime. According to Prisoners in Australia (2016), it can be demonstrated that the
number of adult prisoners in Australia has been increased by 8 percent that is 36134 in 2015 and
reached to 38845 till 2016 Jun which states that graph of prisoning criminals is increasing on
continuous basis.
Source: (Prisoners in Australia 2016).
Todd R. C. 2008, has stated that, Australian justice system is still using obsolete way of
punishing criminals because it establishes the standard for all wrong doings. Moreover, Further,
it is still followed because according to past crimes it has been proved that imprisoning offenders
plays the best role in making them realize their crimes and consequences. Furthermore, sending
jails to offenders assist the Australian government in maintaining safety of the country. Beside,
Australian justice committee feels that imprisonment may be obsolete but he assists the court in
setting example in the society for all the crimes. The justice of Court have its own set time span
of imprisoning criminals according to their crimes. Thus, Criminal justice system of the country
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directly aims at teaching lesson to offender for breaking the riules and hurting the individuals
human right. Australian police basically targets and punish the members of racial, ethnic minority
groups which is the major reason behind criminal activities. Besides, it states that not punishing the
offenders like this affects the humanity of individuals who are struggling to get justice. Hence,
injustice for citizens who do not break the regulation leads to not responding people who are seeking
for justice, in case of being cheated, discriminated and harassed. Therefore, it is the foremost duty of
Australian Criminal Justice to ensure stability and legitimacy to all the citizens living in the country
(Lee, H. and et.al., 2015.).
CRITERIA 3
People committing crimes are forced to undergo the system of punishment which
includes incarceration. This system is followed since ages to ensure social welfare and stability
in the country. According to (Prisons policy is turning Australia into the second nation of
captives 2015), the practice of imprisoning criminals has no effect on crime rate but the most
obvious impact was that, it assisted the court is establishing safer environment by prisoning
larger population. There are various rehabilitation and punishing system are launched in order to
remove incarceration from the society but it has been identified that no system or policy can be
more threaten than incarceration to offenders. Imprisonment of the criminals do not allow them
to interact with each other. People who are imprisoned can only talk about labour work in
silence.
However, in contrary, Muftić Bouffard and Armstrong (2016), has stated that people in
prison are forced to work as a labour, in case the criminals do not listen jailers punishes all the
individuals because of which the anger and struggle becomes aggression which impact the
outside world when the prisoners are released. Furthermore, incarceration sometimes become
penalty, when there is a distinction between imprisonment as punishment and detention until the
Infliction of punishment. In contrast, there is no equality in incarceration which impacted the
traces of feminist in which the female prisoners demanded for equality between the male and
female prions which led to revolution. Further the unequal distribution of resources led to
campaign of unequal allocation of weapons.
As per the view of Lee, H. and et.al., (2015) impact of incarceration is generally faced by
the community of poor people and females. The increasing effects of discrimination on the base
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of gender is heading towards instability of universal environment. Beside, there are three crucial
stages on which impacts of incarceration are based are, age, human capital and gender. The
people with these discriminations are force to forced labour or are sexually harassed. According
to scholar it has been stated that, the effects of imprisonment are generally faced by complete
family. Thus, it states that this system if imprisoning criminals impacts the social networks as it
removes one member from a family. Differentiating people on the base of their sex impact the
mentality of all the prisoners which further give all of them the chance to harass all the
imprisoned females. Beside, imprisoning the offenders sometimes leads to sexual harassment
and force intake of drugs which do not assist the justice system in teaching lesson instead it leads
to opposite and worst impact on the mentality criminals. These type of harassments in jails also
leads to serious mental conditions of individuals and sometimes even leads to death.
Henceforth, the over-crowding and increasing imprisonments have impacted the living
conditions in many prisons. Incarceration is depends on prison safety, management and limited
prisoner Muftić Bouffard and Armstrong (2016), The rehabilitation and abandonment has led to
isolation in prison among prisoners which is impacting the mentality of criminals which
sometimes turn into aggression. Incarceration is basically based on making criminals realize their
crime during the time of their imprisonment by creating physical pressure, metal torture or
physiological harm which impact the mentality of criminals and turns that into aggression in
which sometimes it turns prisoners silent individuals or anger ones which affect the environment
of Jail. According to Sex in Australian Prisons (2011), it can be evaluated that, 7 percent of
males physically abuse to other prisoners in the jail. As per this 60 percent of female offenders
and 13 percent males are harassed sexually. 2.5 percent male prisoners and 3.9 Percent females
are forced to get engaged unwanted sexual activity. Beside, 2 percent of prisoner population are
forced to intake drugs.
Incarcerating people in prison affects the mentality of their loved ones which sometime
leads to uncountable strikes and uncontrollable situations because the family start fighting for
justices and rights of their loved ones.
CONCLUSION
The essay concluded, the impacts of imprisonments on prisoners and it explained the criteria
behind Prisons are Obsolete or not. The essay identified the impacts of incarceration on in criminals
at it stated that individuals are harassed on the basis of discrimination such as, age, caste, creed,
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gender and many more. Thus, the essay identifies that there is need of imprisonment in Australia
because of its increasing crime rates. Australian court of Justice believes that if criminals are not
punished on time than it is possible that criminal can repeat its activity and can harm the stability of
the country.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Lee, H. and et.al., 2015. Racial inequalities in connectedness to imprisoned individuals in the
United States. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race. 12(2). pp.269-282.
Muftić, L.R., Bouffard, L.A. and Armstrong, G.S., 2016. Impact of maternal incarceration on the
criminal justice involvement of adult offspring: A research note. Journal of research in
crime and delinquency. 53(1). pp.93-111.
Online
Are prisons Obsolete? Angela Y. Davis 2010. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Angela-Davis-
Are_Prisons_Obsolete.pdf>. [Accessed on 2nd September 2017].
Prisons policy is turning Australia into the second nation of captives 2015. [Online]. Available
through: <http://theconversation.com/prisons-policy-is-turning-australia-into-the-
second-nation-of-captives-38842>. [Accessed on 2nd September 2017].
Todd R. C., 2008. The effects of high imprisonment rates on communities. [Online]. Available
through: <http://myweb.fsu.edu/bstults/ccj5625/readings/clear-cj-2008.pdf>. [Accessed
on 2nd September 2017].
The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison Adjustment. [Online].
Available through: [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/60676/410624-The-Psychological-
Impact-of-Incarceration.PDF>. [Accessed on 2nd September 2017].
Sex in Australian Prisons 2011. [Online]. Available through:
<https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/sex-australian-prisons-facts>. [Accessed
on 4th September 2017].
Prisoners in Australia, 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4517.0>. [Accessed on 4th September
2017].
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