Criminal Justice Essay: Imprisonment, Alternatives, and Reform

This essay delves into the concept of imprisonment as a form of punishment, tracing its historical prevalence and the ongoing debate regarding its abolition. It examines the limitations and potential human rights violations associated with imprisonment, leading to discussions about prison reform and improved living conditions for inmates. The essay explores alternatives to imprisonment, such as probation, parole, and furlough, highlighting their roles in reforming offenders and reducing crime rates. It also addresses the importance of juvenile justice, advocating for the separation of young offenders from adults and the implementation of reformatory programs. The essay concludes by suggesting that imprisonment should be reserved for serious crimes and those with a history of criminal activity, emphasizing the need for effective alternatives to promote rehabilitation and a more humanitarian approach to the criminal justice system. The essay further discusses the concepts of false imprisonment, custodial deaths and the trauma undergone by individuals during imprisonment and the difficulty they face to integrate back into society after release.

Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE 1
Criminal Justice

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Imprisonment and its abolition
The concept of imprisonment has been adopted by many countries as a means of punishment
for various kinds of crimes. During the nineteenth century, it was prevalent in many countries
to a huge level. Even though there have been calls for the doing away with the system of
imprisonment since the twentieth century, it is still prominent to a considerable extent taking
account of the current trends. Additionally, imprisonment also acts as a curtailment of the
personal life and liberty of a person as a result of detention or confinement. In some
jurisdictions, imprisonment also results in physical torture and abuse by the authorities of the
prison thereby leading to the treatment of the prisoner in a derogatory manner, even to the
extent of the blatant violation of basic human rights and civil liberties (Rynne & Cassematis,
2015). As a result, there have been proposals relating to the reformation of prisons thereby
implying a suitable and dignified environment for the inmates as far as the proper and
appropriate living conditions are concerned. Many human rights organizations have reported
that prisoners live in pitiable conditions which are generally below the required living
standards. As a result, custodial deaths are quite prominent in some countries. There has also
been the promulgation of the tortuous act which is popularly known as false imprisonment as
a result of the instances and events pertaining to the imprisonment of a person in an illegal or
wrongful manner without any reasonable cause. Such a measure was adopted by the Court of
Appeal of England and Wales in the case of Meering v Graham White Aviation Company
Limited. For certain kinds of crimes, the sentencing implies imprisonment for a prolonged
period or imprisonment for life. Imprisonment in certain aspects leads to the detrimental
effect over the mental state of the person as a result of the trauma undergone during the
period in prison. After release from prison, such people are also ostracized form the society
on grounds of being apprehended as a potential criminal. As a result, it becomes difficult for
them to integrate into the society again. In order to imply the correctional aspects with regard
to the alternatives to imprisonment in the traditional forms, the concepts of probation, parole
and furlough have been formulated in various legal systems of the world. As a result, there
has been a reformation with regard to the system of criminal justice to a massive extent at the
global level (Rubin, 2019). The concept of probation implies the segregation of first time
offenders from hardened criminals in a proper and appropriate manner so as to prevent them
from the influence of heinous criminals and tendency to commit crimes in a more aggravated
manner after being released from prison. Such a concept was proposed and formulated in the

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year 1841 by John Augustus, a shoemaker by profession based in Boston. As a result, the
concept of probation has gained a huge importance and prominence in the recent past at the
international level (Vanstone, 2017). The concept of parole implies the release of a person at
an earlier period on grounds of good conduct and behavior during the term of imprisonment.
It also implies the release on humanitarian grounds taking account of the overall health of the
prisoner. Such a concept was proposed and formulated in the year 1840 by the Scottish
geographer and Royal Naval officer Alexander Maconochie. He however implied in his
proposal relating to parole that the violation of the terms and conditions of release would lead
to the person being imprisoned again. As a result, at the global level, the aspect relating to
parole implies that a person released on grounds of good behavior and other grounds as per
the circumstances in liable to return to prison in case of acting in gross contravention of the
terms and conditions of the sentence pertaining to parole. In the recent past, the concept of
parole has gained a huge importance with reference to the reformative aspect of the prisoners
at the global level with an objective to reduce crime (Rhine, Petersilia & Reitz, 2017). The
concept of furlough implies the release of a prisoner on a temporary basis and then returning
back to the prison after the terms of release expires. Various grounds such as bereavement are
taken into consideration with reference to furlough. However, prisoners have misused the
system by jumping their furlough terms as a result of absconding, committing crimes and
reporting back to prison after the expiry of the furlough term. Furloughs can be controlled or
uncontrolled depending upon the merits of the case and the possible outcomes pertaining to
the sentence of furlough (Alahdadi, 2016). Furthermore, the aspect related to juvenile justice
has also been incorporated by countries in their systems pertaining to criminal justice. It
implies the separation of young offenders from adult criminals and offenders as far as
preventing them from criminal influence is concerned. As a result, juvenile homes and
borstals have been set and established for housing such offenders where they are treated in
the desired manner as far as reformatory programs are concerned. Special juvenile courts
have also been established to imply the fairness in hearing thereby taking into account the
aspect of juvenile. Counselling services are also provided in the juvenile homes and borstals
as far as the correctional measures are concerned. It is hereby observed that imprisonment
should not be abolished but be limited to only for those who commit heinous crimes.
Imprisonment should also be extended to those with a history of criminal record (Cicourel,
2017). The alternatives to imprisonment must be applied in an effective and efficient manner
as far as the reformation of offenders is concerned in order to decrease the levels of criminal

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activities to a considerable extent. It would help in the reformation of the system of criminal
justice to a large extent as far as the undertaking of a humanitarian approach is concerned.

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References
Alahdadi, A. (2016). Prison and Its Impact on Recidivism. J. Pol. & L., 9, 59.
Cicourel, A. (2017). The social organization of juvenile justice. 9th ed. Abingdon: Routledge.
Rhine, E. E., Petersilia, J., & Reitz, K. R. (2017). The future of parole release. Crime and
Justice, 46(1), 279-338.
Rubin, A. T. (2019). The Birth of the Penal Organization: Why Prisons Were Born to
Fail. The Legal Process and the Promise of Justice: Studies Inspired by the Work of
Malcolm Feeley, 152.
Rynne, J., & Cassematis, P. (2015). Assessing the prison experience for Australian first
peoples: a prospective research approach. International Journal for Crime, Justice
and Social Democracy, 4(1), 96-112.
Vanstone, M. (2017). Supervising offenders in the community: A history of probation theory
and practice. 4th ed. Abingdon: Routledge.